Australia's Retro Gaming and Pinball E-Zine
In the beginning, Capcom created Street Fighter (1987). Then came the all conquering Street Fighter II in 1991, and the rest, as they say, is history!
In this three-part documentary, fans and players from around the world discuss what makes Street Fighter special. Each era of the series is explored before heading into the modern era!
Kick back and enjoy – Hadouken!
Part 1: In The Beginning
Part 2: The Community
Part 3: The Next Generation
source: Street Fighter on YouTube
If you missed watching The Lost Arcade, don’t fret, you can now catch it on SBS On Demand. For those of you outside of Australia, you can catch The Lost Arcade on a myriad of streaming services.
Kurt Vincent’s The Lost Arcade is an intimate story of a once-ubiquitous cultural phenomenon on the edge of extinction, especially in New York City, which once had video arcades by the dozen. These arcades were as much social hubs to meet up and hang out as they were public arenas for gamers to demonstrate their skills. But by 2011, only a handful remained, most of them corporate affairs, leaving the legendary Chinatown Fair on Mott Street as the last hold-out of old-school arcade culture. Opened in the early 1940’s, Chinatown Fair, famous for its dancing and tic tac toe playing chickens, survived turf wars between rival gangs, increases in rent, and the rise of the home gaming systems to become an institution and haven for kids from all five boroughs.
A documentary portrait of the Chinatown Fair and its denizens, The Lost Arcade chronicles the evolution of arcades, while celebrating the camaraderie and history of a pop culture phenomenon.
You better hurry Australian peeps, as you have 29 days left (from today) to watch this on SBS On Demand. After that, you’ll have to watch it via a paid streaming service.
Sources: SBS On Demand & The Lost Arcade
Last week news broke that Atari’s Co-Founder, Ted Dabney had passed at age 81. We wouldn’t usually post this type of news on here as it has already been covered enough by the bigger online media outlets. However, we didn’t want Ted’s passing to go unnoticed by our readers, as Ted’s importance to the video gaming industry is equal to his contemporaries, like Nolan Bushnell.
Ted Dabney co-founded the tiny electronics company called Syzygy Engineering in 1971 (renamed Atari in 1972) with his more famous business partner Nolan Bushnell. Ted and Nolan had previously partnered to program Computer Space, the first coin-operated video game ever brought to market. Computer Space was produced at the Northern California trivia game maker Nutting Associates, named after its owner Bill Nutting.
image source: RePlay Magazine
At Atari, Ted played his part, along with designer Al Alcorn (and Bushnell, of course) in the design and production of Pong, the first “hit” TV game which ushered in the age of video gaming. If you have read Curt Vendel and Marty Goldberg’s Atari Inc: Business is Fun, you’d know the background to Ted leaving Atari (Ed: It wasn’t pretty nor fair to Ted). But Ted being Ted, he never harboured any ill will towards Atari and went on to work at electronics firms outside the coin-op business. Ted preferred a simple life to the limelight that Atari should have afforded him.
According to the Huffington Post, Ted died of the esophageal cancer he’d been fighting. He and wife Carolyn had spent part of his remaining years operating a grocery store up in California’s Sierra Nevada Mountains.
May his legacy live on! Rest In Peace Ted Dabney.
This post has been a long time coming!
Not content with the home office acting as our games room, Ms. ausretrogamer came up with the idea to transform the garage into a fun factory – a place where all of our retro gear would be setup to be played and enjoyed.
Once the overall design was pitched, it took a while for me to come around to convert the garage into a gaming space. The garage was basically going to provide an idyllic setting for all of our computers, consoles, arcade and pinball machines in the one space so that they could be enjoyed by anyone at anytime – no more fetching stuff out of cupboards and wiring them up to be used!
With the garage already sporting painted walls and ceiling, the next step was to make it secure from the elements – we didn’t want dust to come in and damage the delicate old school gear. Once the garage was secure and weather tight, the interior design was kicked off by Ms. ausretrogamer. Her eye for detail and use of space was second to none! I must admit, I had trouble picturing how the whole thing would look like, but I should not have had any doubt. Ms. ausretrogamer’s vision for the room was exactly what both of us had wanted, I just didn’t know it till I saw it done!
The games room, now called the ‘ausretrogamer fun factory‘ started taking shape once we relocated the computers, consoles and the Dreamcast kiosk on one side, the cupboards holding the precious software on the opposite side and the larger items (pinball and arcade machines) utilising the rear of the room. Every inch of the room was used to its fullest extent – no waste of space in this fun factory!
The ausretrogamer fun factory has evolved over the last few years, with old items making way for newer old items, with the overall design and function remaining true – which is an ideal space for friends and family to get together and have fun!
All great ideas start with a mess!
Starting the building process
Starting to take shape
Getting the console area setup using a Data Centre grade power-strip!
Testing 1, 2, 3 – we have POWER!
Getting the artwork setup
A comfy chair is a prerequisite!
Fun Factory MK I – console area
Fun Factory MK I – panoramic view
Fun Factory MK I – the pinball and arcade machines area
Fun Factory as it is TODAY! There have been quite a few moves and changes!
Fun Factory – the current pinball and arcade area. Fun times ahead!
If you intend on using any of the photos from our Ausretrogamer Fun Factory, please credit them back to this article – thank you.
The worst kept secret in gaming has finally been confirmed!
The NEOGEO mini, a video game console celebrating the 40th Anniversary of SNK’s brand is announced!
40 legendary NEOGEO titles will be included! #SNK #SNK40th #NEOGEOhttps://t.co/Gttcvw4vZB pic.twitter.com/Hqr5XLrtB8— SNK GLOBAL (@SNKPofficial) May 10, 2018
The NEOGEO mini, the video game console that celebrates the 40th Anniversary of SNK’s brand has been revealed!The system will include 40 legendary and awesome NEOGEO titles!
The NEOGEO mini is a video game console, which will include 40 nostalgic titles from the NEOGEO system, which made its debut in 1990.
Rest of the world NEOGEO mini version
The NEOGEO mini will feature a 3.5 inch display, meaning the games can be enjoyed without the need to connect it to a TV or monitor! The size of the NEOGEO mini means it fits perfectly in the palm of your hand – just like the Atari Lynx does *wink*
The NEOGEO mini will be available in two different designs, one for the Asian market and the other one for overseas markets. With its design in black, white and red, the Japanese version of the NEOGEO mini will faithfully reproduce the original NEOGEO arcade cabinets that were introduced in Japan in 1990. The overseas version will be a simple and modern design in black, white and blue.
The Japanese NEOGEO mini version
SNK hasn’t released any more details, so we are keeping our peepers peeled to find out when these will be released and the confirmed games list!
So what do you think? We actually love the look of both units. Which one do you like?
PRODUCT DETAILS:
■ Product name: NEOGEO mini
■ Number of titles: 40 titles
■ Display size: 3.5 inch
■ Size and weight: W135mm x D108mm x H162mm / 600g
■ Accessories: Power supply cable (AC adaptor will not be included)
■ Connections: HDMI terminal (Input for TV monitor), headphone terminal, 2 external controller terminals
source: SNK via Facebook
The games in the fourth class of The Strong’s World Video Game Hall of Fame® battled enemy starships, avoided tackles, climbed through dark tunnels, and fought off fantastical creatures to win their esteemed places in the hall.
Steve Russell’s Cold War inspired Spacewar!, Electronic Arts’ John Madden Football, Final Fantasy VII and one of the most recognisable game franchises, Tomb Raider have been inducted into the World Video Game Hall of Fame and emerged from a field of 12 finalists that also included Asteroids, Call of Duty, Dance Dance Revolution, Half-Life, King’s Quest, Metroid, Minecraft, and Ms. Pac-Man.
The four inductees span multiple decades, countries of origin, and gaming platforms, but all have significantly affected the video game industry, popular culture, and society in general.
The 2018 inductees join other illustrious video games from years gone by like Street Fighter II (2017), Donkey Kong (2017), Grand Theft Auto III (2016), The Legend Of Zelda (2016), Super Mario Bros (2015), Tetris (2015) and Doom (2015) to name just a few.
Surely the old gaming classics that missed out this time, like Asteroids, Ms. Pac-Man and Metroid will make it in the Hall of Fame at some point in the not too distant future?
Let us know what you think of this year’s inductees on Twitter or Facebook! For more details on the complete World Video Game Hall Of Fame list, go here!
image source: The Strong – Museum Of Play
Special occasions like anniversaries usually come about a few times in a lifetime, so what better way to commemorate and remember a special anniversary than a beautiful and awesome memento to mark the occasion!
There were a few arcade games that came before it, but in 1978 Taito’s Space Invaders single-handedly propelled arcade games into mainstream popular culture and helped kick off the golden age of arcade video games.
When Tomohiro Nishikado created Space Invaders we bet he wouldn’t have thought that it would become such a global hit. With its legacy well and truly cemented in arcade video gaming lore, we wonder then what Mr Nishikado-san would make of New Zealand Mint’s commemorative Space Invaders 40th Anniversary 1oz Silver Coin? If we were to guess, he would be most impressed, just like we were.
The first thing that struck us when opening the package was the beautifully recreated (to scale) Space Invaders arcade cabinet. The base of the cabinet carries the numbered (out of 3,000 units) Certificate of Authenticity. The precious cargo is housed inside the arcade cabinet, which can be opened by lifting the cabinet off its base to reveal the gorgeous 1oz silver coin, cushioned in black felt.
Removing the coin we were impressed with its size – it is bigger than we imagined! On one side of the coin you will find Space Invaders engraved on a proof background and lenticular printed coloured aliens that move as the coin is rotated at different angles. The other side of the coin has Queen Lizzie (just like on all of our Australian and NZ legal tender). Holding the coin feels special as it connects us via nostalgia for the video game that kickstarted the arcade scene in the late 70s.
Rotate the coin to move the aliens, just like in the actual game!
image source: NZ Mint
If you do want this beautiful and officially licensed limited edition memento to commemorate one of the greatest arcade games, then you may want to act fast, as there are only 3,000 coins available worldwide! This coin is a great investment for any gaming fan. Long live Space Invaders!
Specifications:
Disclaimer: NZ Mint kindly provided the Space Invaders 40th Anniversary silver coin for this article.
As Nintendo started to break into the U.S. market, they searched for a spokesperson with a true passion for gaming. They chose Howard Phillips, an employee working in the Nintendo warehouse. Little did he know that he was about to become a gaming legend!
Learn the entire origin story behind Mr. Nintendo in the Emmy® nominated series 8 Bit Legacy!
source: Great Big Story – 8 Bit Legacy
Gotta share this video that was posted by video game history guy, John Anderson. Using John’s words, this is, “A 1981 TV news report by WMAQ-TV in Chicago about the makers of Defender (Williams Electronics) and inside the Midway factory assembling Pac-Man arcade cabinets (350 a day!)”.
Ah the 80s, we definitely miss you so much!
A 1981 TV news report about the makers of Defender (Williams Electronics) and inside the Midway factory assembling Pac-Man arcade cabinets (350 a day!) from WMAQ-TV in Chicago. Via: The Museum of Classic Chicago Television. pic.twitter.com/x3fayTqlJw
— John Andersen (@JohnAndersen21) December 18, 2017
source: John Anderson via Twitter
Kevin Lieber of Vsauce2 fame checks out the old, interesting and weirdly obscure 10kg portable CP/M machine, the Zorba!
Now imagine lugging this beast around to play video games like Zork! That is exactly what Kevin does as he dives into the complexity of this early text adventure which paved the way for the Skyrims and Witchers of today 😉
source: Vsauce2