Ever wondered what retro technology (including retro gaming systems) would be worth today when you factor in inflation? Wonder no more – the kind people at Portable Universe have created this awesome ‘Money Behind Retro Tech’ infographic documenting some of the most iconic retro technology of our time.
Money Behind Retro Tech by Portable Universe
History
Sharp Metal Blades
‘Thunder Blade’ or ‘Blades of Steel’ – what’s in a name? Hang on; are we talking about helicopter gunships, ice hockey or a samurai sword fighting game here? Don’t you just love mysterious titles?
Of course you know these games have nothing more in common than the reference to ‘Blade’ in their titles.
‘Thunder Blade’, possibly borrowing from the movie, Blue Thunder (Ed: not confirmed!), is about a high-tech attack helicopter trying to save mankind from some evil-doers. Sega’s 1987 arcade shooter was housed in two arcade guises: a stand-up cabinet with a force feedback joystick; and the awesomely cool sit-down cockpit version with the seat moving in tandem with joystick movements. The conversions sadly lacked this aspect. On the other hand, Konami’s 1987 ice-hockey game, ‘Blades of Steel’ is about dudes trying to play a game of ice hockey while breaking out into a bare-knuckle interlude (or should that be the other way around?). The arcade controls were unique for this game – a back-lit optical trackball to control players and three buttons, one dedicated for punching! Apart from both games being released in 1987, they could not be any more different from one another.
So there you have it, confusion clarified (Ed: really?) – Two very different games with very similar titles. You are more than welcome. Now go and play some video games!
C64: Ode To Thee
“Are you keeping up with the Commodore? Because the Commodore is keeping up with you.” – the famous jingle from the 1980’s TV advertisements for the C64 is still stuck in my head. As it turned out, millions of computer gamers were keeping up with the jewel in Commodore’s crown.
The affinity we have with the C64 spans more than three decades. It has seen us grow from that awkward shy kid to a charismatic adult (well, for most of us!).
The trusty 8-bit from Commodore was released on this day (August 9, 1982) at a cost of $595 (almost $1500 in today’s money!). What you got for this price was “A computer that’s light years ahead of its competition”. At the time, the C64 was pitched as an office computer, which threw it up against the likes of the Apple II+ ($1530), IBM PC ($1565), Tandy TRS-80 III ($999) and Atari 800 ($899) computers. With hindsight, we know that the C64’s success came from those budding kids coding and playing the latest video games in their bedroom – I should know, I was one of those kids.
The C64 went through a number of hardware and cosmetic revisions, with the original breadbox being our sentimental favourite. The C64 enjoyed a fruitful existance, but with the emergence of the 16-bit era, the end was nigh for the brown/beige Commodore – the C64 was officially discontinued in 1994.
Everyone’s memory of the C64 is filled with fondness. The C64 had the power to lure you to it and use it – especially for gaming! It also kickstarted a lot of coding and music / chiptune maestro careers. The C64’s rivalry with Amstrad and Spectrum were (still are) legendary, with school-yards becoming the arguing battlegrounds. Just for the record, the C64 was and still is the king!
The C64 will forever be remembered for the joy and fun it brought to the masses, myself included. The C64 still remains in use in our household with the view to passing it on to the next generation to enjoy and appreciate. Long live the C64!
For those of you keen to know what was under the hood of the C64, read on:
Microprocessor: MOS 6510 – a beefed up 6502 with additional input/output lines
Memory:
- RAM: 64K
- ROM: 20K (containing the OS and Commodore BASIC language)
Keyboard: Full size typewriter style with 66 keys
Display: VIC-II chip
- 40 columns x 25 lines;
- 16 colours;
- 320 x 200 pixels;
- TV out (RF)
Sound: 6581 Sound Interface Device (SID) chip
- 3 independent voice
- 9 octaves
- 4 waveforms (sawtooth, triangle, variable pulse and noise)
- Programmable ADSR (attack, decay, sustain, release) generator
Connectivity:
- 2 x Joystick ports
- Power
- Cartridge (ROM) port
- TV Out (RF)
- Printer
- Digitial Tape
- GPIO/RS-232 (Serial)
Top 5 Games Charts: September 1987
Do you recall what you were bopping to in September of ’87? Let me remind you – “Never Gonna Give You Up” by Rick Astley. Don’t even try to deny it! Perhaps you were more of a Pet Shop Boys fan? Whatever your music tastes were, I bet that you would have been playing a number of the following chart toppers either on your Amstrad, Spectrum or C64:
 |
1) Paperboy (Elite)
2) Barbarian (Palace Software) 3) 6 Pak (Elite) 4) Exolon (Hewson) 5) Ball Crazy (Mastertronic) |
 |
1) BMX Simulator (Codemasterts)
2) The Milk Race (Mastertronic) 3) Barbarian (Palace Software) 4) Road Runner (US Gold) 5) Destructo (Bulldog) |
 |
1) Last Ninja (System 3)
2) Barbarian (Palace Software) 3) Enduro Racer (Activision) 4) Road Runner (US Gold) 5) World Class Leaderboard (US Gold) |
FAMICOM: The Phoenix Rising From The Video Gaming Ashes
In the early eighties, the video gaming industry was brought to its knees. It seemed that every man and his dog wanted in on the video gaming action. These fly-by-night cowboys flooded the market with mediocre products, subsequently leading to the great video games crash!
In the midst of the video gaming ruins, one bold company, Nintendo, had plans of their own. Undeterred, they were quietly tinkering away creating their own home video gaming system, the ‘Family Computer’ (Famicom).
Nintendo had offered Atari the rights to market, brand and sell the Famicom outside of Japan. Imagine if Atari had taken up Nintendo’s offer! They would most probably still be in business and not become a derelict company ripe for pillaging.
On this day (July 15) in 1983, Nintendo released (in Japan), what was to become a video gaming revolution, the Family Computer (Famicom). What happened after that, well, as they say, the rest is history. Happy anniversary to the Famicom, and thank you Nintendo for resuscitating the home video gaming market!
Vital Stats:
Released: July 15, 1983 (Japan)
Generation: Third Generation (8-bit)
CPU: Ricoh 2A03 8-bit (MOS Technology 6502 core)
Media: ROM cartridge
Retail Price: ¥34,800
Units sold: 61.91 million (combined Famicom & NES)
Vital Stats source: Wikipedia
It’s On Like Donkey Kong
On this day (July 9) in 1981, Nintendo unleashed Donkey Kong in the arcades! Since then, millions of gamers have fallen in love with the great Nintendo gorilla. DK (as he is affectionately known) has gone from being the villain to now being the hero.
From humble beginnings – kidnapping Pauline and throwing barrels at a plumber, DK has come a long way and truly grown up. He has definitely kept us all entertained. Happy Birthday big fella!
What is your favourite DK game?
Image source: Cheezburger
Top 5 Games Charts: March 1996
March 1996 saw the release of the brilliant Coen brothers movie, Fargo. In the same month, we were bopping away to Take That’s “How deep is your love” (we did?!) and the Prodigy’s “Firestarter” (that’s more like it!).
The Sega Mega Drive and Saturn were embroiled in their own 16-bit vs 32-bit war, while Nintendo’s SNES was being stretched to it’s maximum capability.
These were the top games that had us glued to our consoles in March 1996:
 |
1) Donkey Kong Country 2 (Nintendo) |
| 2) Yoshi’s Island (Nintendo) | |
| 3) Killer Instinct (Nintendo) | |
| 4) FIFA Soccer ’96 (EA) | |
| 5) Street Racer (Ubisoft) |
 |
1) FIFA Soccer ’96 (EA) |
| 2) Premier Manager (Sega) | |
| 3) Sonic & Knuckles (Sega) | |
| 4) Micro Machines ’96 (Codemasters) | |
| 5) Mickey Mania (Sony) |
 |
1) Virtua Fighter 2 (Sega) |
| 2) FIFA Soccer ’96 | |
| 3) Firestorm: Thunderhawk 2 (Core Design) | |
| 4) Virtua Cop (Sega) | |
| 5) Daytona USA (Sega) |
Game Time: Watches
For those of us born in the 1970’s, we have fond memories of Gunpei Yokoi’s wondrous Game & Watch series – from the various handhelds to the wrist watches that had mini versions of Nintendo games. The games on these watches were a pared down version of their console or handheld counterparts, but hey, who cared, they looked cool on your wrist.
Fast forward to the present, and these watches still attract attention. Their nostalgic value is not measured in currency, but in smiles from onlookers. The conversations that these watches generate are a sure fire way to meet interesting people, from retro gamers to the curious diner sitting at the next table.
If the Game & Watch wrist watches are too child like for you, then perhaps the Fossil ‘Atari Asteroids’ limited edition is more up your alley. These watches had a limited run (5000 to be exact) and are therefore getting harder to source. Unfortunately, the ‘Asteroids’ game is not playable on these watches, it merely serves as a demo for this contemporary time piece.
If you are into watches of the video gaming kind, then these time pieces are a cool way to tell the time and provide some gaming relief (excluding the Asteroids watch!) if you are stuck on the road without your handheld or smartphone.
Top 5 Games Charts: May 1987
Back in May 1987, Mannequin was released and Starship’s “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now” was rocketing to number one on the music charts. On the video games front, the Spectrum, C64 and Atari XE/XL computers were lavished with quite a few awesome games.
These were the top five games on each platform for the month of May 1987:
 |
1) Park Patrol (Firebird) |
| 2) BMX Simulator (Codemasters) | |
| 3) Gunship (Microprose) | |
| 4) LA SWAT (Mastertronic) | |
| 5) Micro Rhythm (Firebird) |
 |
1) Leaderboard (US Gold) |
| 2) Bomb Jack II (Elite) | |
| 3) Paperboy (Elite) | |
| 4) Olli and Lissa (Firebird) | |
| 5) Gauntlet (US Gold) |
 |
1) BMX Simulator (Codemasters) |
| 2) Colony (Bulldog) | |
| 3) Green Beret (Imagine) | |
| 4) Gun Law (Mastertronic) | |
| 5) Silent Service (Microprose) |
Genealogy Of Video Game Controllers
Pop Chart Lab has created the family tree of video game controllers, from joysticks, paddles, gamepads, power glove to bongos and guitars!
