Australia's Retro Gaming and Pinball E-Zine
This is an interesting 17 minute video indeed. Mat Taylor (aka: Techmoan) delves into the history of transparent electronic devices used in US Prisons, from cassette players, cassette tapes, radios to headphones and televisions – it’s a clear case of nostalgia! OK, we’ll see ourselves out.
source: Techmoan
We absolutely love archival footage from television broadcasters, especially footage from amusement centres (or as we used to call them, parlours) from back in the day!
The below video is from the popular segment on ABC News’ ‘This Day Tonight’, with this particular occasion focusing on Pinball Parlours in Australia in the mid 70s. This is very intriguing with some very enlightening discussions with Malcolm Steinberg (from Leisure & Allied Industries (LAI) and Timezone fame) about video gaming and pinball entertainment that are apt to this day.
So, how much did you spend on gaming back in the day? In 1976 a player might’ve spent as much as $5 (approx. $35 in today’s money) on amusement machines!
source: ABC NEWS via Facebook
If you are a fan of the Commodore 64’s SID chip and the brilliant music and sounds it pumps out, then you’ll also know the works of one, Mr. Rob Hubbard! The SID Maestro created countless classic chiptunes for some of the biggest games on the Commodore 64, from Commando, International Karate to Monty On The Run and Sanxion to name just a few.
This album reconstruction of Rob’s classic SID music in full stereo was painstakingly (and lovingly) assembled by Jason Page (aka: No Other Medicine). Jason had previously worked with Rob on the Project Hubbard KickStarter campaign, so this reconstruction was a homage to Rob.
The best thing about this album is that the 11 chiptunes are not remixes or hacked versions of Rob’s work, rather they have gone through a process called “True Stereo” to highlight the brilliance of the original tracks.
We reckon the best way to enjoy this album is via a pair of good headphones (or stereo speakers), so kick back and crank up the volume and enjoy some classic chiptunes in full stereo!
Thank you to Jason Page and Rob Hubbard for this aural pleasure!
By: Alex Boz (Sort of Final Boss @ ausretrogamer)
Every time March 1 rolls around, I am reminded of the day I got my Nintendo 64!
It was March 1 1997 that us folks in Australia received Nintendo’s 64-bit wonder. I had done something that I had only done once before (with the Sega Mega Drive), and that is, I plonked down $400 and bought the N64 on day one! It was a special feeling getting the latest and greatest console on day one, but the realisation that the games were sold out and new stock was still a few weeks away, was a painful experience. Once Super Mario 64 hit the shelves, I could not throw my $100 fast enough to the cashier and get back home to fire up the system to see what the fuss was all about. Let’s just say that I was not disappointed.
Thankfully (or embarrassingly) someone captured my excitement upon receiving the Nintendo 64!
image source: From the Boz Family photographic archives
Even though I have fond memories of the SNES, it is the N64 which tugs more on my nostalgic heartstrings, which till this day I can’t explain why. Perhaps it is the late night Mario Kart 64 sessions with four friends or the 2P battles I had with my cousin playing Wave Race 64, or going dinosaur hunting in Turok (fog included). Whatever it was, I am thankful for the N64 giving me thousands of hours of fun, especially playing with others sitting right next to me, not on the other side of the planet via some wires. Oh yeah, the controller cops a lot of flak, but to be honest, it is one of my favourites, which made gaming on the console even better.
What are your memories of the N64 – share them with me or via Ausretrogamer on Twitter and/or Facebook.
image source: Kelamy
By: D.C. Cutler, U.S.A.
I never knew David Lynch made a commercial for PlayStation 2. There have been a handful of great film directors who have made ads for a company. Ridley Scott’s Super Bowl ad for Apple’s Macintosh, inspired by George Orwell’s “1984,” is probably the most iconic ad made by a legendary filmmaker.
The 2000 PlayStation 2 commercial feels very Lynchian. The commercial is extremely bizarre, even for Lynch’s standards; and I’ve seen “Lost Highway” twice. In the ad, titled “Welcome to the Third Place,” there’s a fire woman and a floating head. Lynch plays with his trademark, skewed perspectives in the short ad. I wonder how the executives at Sony gave the green light for a Lynch commercial. It breaks down advertising logic, but that is what’s so appealing about it. Lynch puts his stamp on it, and it’s a fascinating ad that pulls you in. You can’t look away from the strange, sensory experience. I wish I could’ve been a fly on the wall when the higher ups at Sony and PlayStation watched the ad for the first time. Did they give notes?
source: PlayStation Europe
I’ve always thought that David Lynch is one of the most imaginative filmmakers in the history of cinema. Lynch’s “The Elephant Man” is a masterpiece. Whenever I watch the black-and-white, 1980 film, I’m floored by how intimate and visually powerful it is. It’s so engrossing, you feel like you’re in late 19th-century London. The film, starring Anthony Hopkins and John Hurt, still holds up. It feels like it’s directed by an old, wise filmmaker who knows his way around a period piece. Lynch was in his mid-thirties when he directed “The Elephant Man,” which was nominated for eight Academy Awards. “Blue Velvet” is another Lynch film where every frame looks like a vivid painting. The auteur never shies away from uncomfortable subject matter. “Eraserhead” and both “Twin Peaks” television series had unforgettable, haunting images.
Disney’s “WandaVision” has a David Lynch feel to it. Some of Westview, or the small town that Wanda has perfectly envisioned, reminds me of the town in Lynch’s “Blue Velvet.” I’m waiting for Frank Booth (played by the late Dennis Hopper) to walk around a corner of Westview, huffing on an unknown gas from a tank.
Absolutely adore these kinds of videos of news reports from department stores in the early 80s featuring some awesome footage of their home and entertainment departments from back in the day.
The best part about this video is that it is a b-roll (raw footage) taken from inside a Sears store in mid-December 1982 (just before the Christmas rush for that year), which features clips of Atari computers and kiosks, a Vectrex store display and Donkey Kong being played on the Intellivision amongst other great clips!
Check it out and let the nostalgia wash over you.
source: btm0815ma
There are some images that need to be shared for their informative awesomeness, and this NEO•GEO games infographic is one that definitely fits that bill.
Created and shared by Ange Albertini of the Corkami Reverse Engineering and Visual Documentation github repository, this image speaks to us loud and clear! We love the fact that in one image, we can see the timeline of all the games that were released for SNK’s mighty NEO GEO.
To get a sense of this amazing graphic creation, please click on the image below to see it in its native resolution!
Now this is a blast from the past! Well, a blast from 1982!
While trawling good ole eBay, our nostalgic interests were piqued when we found this 12-page ‘The Players Guide To Programmable Videogame Systems’ advertorial, which is cool to read in hindsight. We were glad to see the Bally Astrocade featured amongst the heavy hitters.
Check it out!
We got to say, we absolutely played the heck out of anything Epyx made and published for the Commodore 64 back in the day. Still can’t believe they are gone, so this complete history of the once mighty Epyx, from their simple beginnings in 1978 until their fall in 1990, it is a great trip down nostalgia lane.
The documentary is over 70 minutes in duration, so you’ll be staying a while, but not forever! 😉
source: BastichB 64K
Are you like us, obsessed with the Atari 2600, Intellivision, NES, Sega Master System, 3DO, GameCube, Xbox, PlayStation 5 and everything in-between? Meet the inventor whose work made them all possible – Ralph Baer, creator of the first home video game system, the ‘Brown Box’ (which became the Magnavox Odyssey)!
The Boy Who Thought Outside The Box – The Story of Video Game Inventor Ralph Baer is an awesome picture-book biography of Ralph Baer, whose family fled Nazi Germany for the US. It introduces kids (Ed: and adults!) to a great inventor and the birth of the first home video games console. Using wartime technology, Baer thought outside the box and transformed the television set into a vehicle for gaming; Baer’s invention, the Odyssey, was the precursor to the Atari VCS. Today, interactive gaming systems like the Switch, Xbox and PlayStation are descendants of Ralph’s innovative ‘Brown Box,’ making this award-winning inventor the true ‘Father of Video Games.’
The hardcover book is available via Amazon for AUD$18.99.
