The Pop-Culture E-Zine
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
Our friend and Atari developer extraordinaire, Howard Scott Warshaw, you know, he made Yars’ Revenge and E.T. amongst other notable Atari 2600 games, has released his new book, Once Upon Atari: How I Made History By Killing An Industry, which is available right now on Kindle and Paperback.
Upon the release of his new book, Howard stated that, “I needed to put something fun and interesting into the world. Is it “The feel good book of 2020″? Nah, that’s too low a bar. This book was a labour of love, but a labour nonetheless. If you know me, you know this is a fun read. If you don’t know me, it’s still fun. I’m happy with the result and I hope you enjoy reading it”.
This book provides an intimate view into the dramatic rise and fall of the early video game industry in the US, and how it shaped the life of one of its key players. Howard’s book offers eye-opening details and insights from someone that was there during Atari’s heyday.
What are you waiting for, go and grab it!
We are huge fans of Daniel Ibbertson’s (aka: Slope’s Game Room) history vids, just like his recent full-length documentary based on the history of one of the biggest game franchises of all time, CASTLEVANIA.
The Castlevania games series is one of the most expensive and well-loved retro gaming collections ever released. In this doco, Daniel not only talks about its history, but also showcases some of the rarest games in the series.
So chuck your headphones on, put your feet up and immerse yourself all things Castlevania.
source: Slope’s Game Room
image source: Sleepy Ursaring
When our Twitter friend, Brad, informed us of a mysterious find in our hometown of Melbourne, we thought we’d let you all know!
The mysterious find by YouTuber, Sleepy Ursaring, is a huge 10 kilogram Lego Game Boy Advance SP replica that looks absolutely awesome with a level of detail that is simply amazing. Could it be a retail store display or was it made for a Lego Ideas project? Who knows? All we know is that the inscription on the back of the replica states that it was ‘Made in Windsor’ by ‘KT+IW ’04’.
We wish we had the answer, but we don’t! We had a chat with Sleep Ursaring on Twitter, and were advised that this find was part of a retro gaming haul, with all contents at the property up for the taking – now that is darn awesome! If anyone knows more about this Lego Game Boy Advance SP creation, please hit us up via Twitter or Facebook (or email, if you are that way inclined).
source: Sleep Ursaring
Wow, it has been a year that most of us would probably rather forget. Here’s hoping that 2021 is a better, safer and healthier year for everyone!
From the ausretrogamer team, we wish you all an awesome Festive Season, which we hope is filled with fun, laughter and lots of gaming, be it video games, pinball, boardgames or otherwise!
Be merry and we’ll see you all in 2021!
Simon Parkin’s The New Yorker interview with Nintendo’s legendary Shigeru Miyamoto is an interesting, insightful and wide-ranging, reflective conversation. Seldom do we hear or read anything so candid or beyond Shigeru’s amazing creations in his four decade long career with the Big N.
So kick back and read Simon’s refreshing interview with Miyamoto-san, as he speaks openly about his video games design philosophy, being the boss, guns in video games, his kids love of Sega (Ed: what?!) and the new Super Nintendo World theme park at Universal Studios in Japan.
image source: The New Yorker
Now this is the kind of Star Wars Christmas Special we can get behind and actually enjoy – no cheesiness added 😉
Here are some of our favourites from the ‘Celebrate the holidays in a galaxy far far away‘ Lego Ideas contest – there’s heaps more if you click on the link.
May the X-mas Force be with you!
source: Lego Ideas – Celebrate the Holidays in a Galaxy Far Far Away
With Christmas just around the corner, you know it’s time to start hunting for gifts for your family, friends and of course, yourself. With the kind of year we’ve all had, you’d be forgiven for splashing your cash on those dearest to you (or on yourself).
This year’s Christmas Gift Guide has something for every kind of geek, no matter your budget. We have action figures, books, movies, toys, retro gaming stuff (of course!), video games, watches headphones, t-shirts, Star Wars stuff, flip clocks, pinball related gifts and magnets to whet your Xmas Gift ideas appetite.
Get your pen and paper ready and let’s go! 🎅
LEGO Star Wars TIE Fighter Pilot Helmet via Amazon: $75.00
STAR WARS Rebel Classic Graphic T-Shirt (medium size): $29.99
Game & Watch Super Mario Bros. via Ozgameshop: $114.15
PC-Engine Mini via Play-Asia: $253.00
Portable LCD Monitor for PC-Engine: $203.25
NBA Jam Book via Amazon: $30.76 (paperback) or $7.23 (Kindle)
Best Hit Chronical 2/5 Scale SEGA SATURN (HST-3200) Plastic Model Kit via Catch: $47.99
Star Trek: Stardate Collection (10 movie collection) via Amazon: $59.41 (Blu-ray) or $29.96 (DVD)
World of Nintendo Action Figures via Amazon: prices start from $20.00
Timex Pac-Man watches via Amazon: prices start at $88.50
Space Invaders Tiny Arcade Table Top Edition Electronic Game via Catch: $29.99
Magnets of classic arcade games and pinball machines from the 70s, 80s and 90s by Magnetism via Etsy: prices start at $4.00
Just Pinball – The Zine: A Photojournalist’s Journey through Modern Pinball via Etsy: $42.25
Atari Pong Mini Arcade with 12 games: $61.14
Flip Clock – Vintage TV Auto Flip Down Clock in Retro Red by MIDCLOCK: $57.73
Seiko 5 Sports Street Fighter Limited Edition Watches: Blanka $620.00 / Guile $720.00 / Ryu $720.00
Retro Gaming / Video Game Controller Poster via Etsy: $47.51
Super Nintendo (SNES) Controller keyring via Etsy: $10.00
Arcade1up 4-in-1 Pac-Man 40th Anniversary Counter-Cade Console: $299.00
Commodore 64 Xmas Bundle (of games!) via itch.io: $5.00 or above
8BitDo NES30 Gamepad via Play-Asia: $35.52
Atari Micro Arcade Electronic Game – includes Missile Command, Centipede & Pong: $24.99
Mini Arcade Asteroids via Catch: $37.60
PinSwitch – the ultimate pinball peripheral for the Nintendo Switch via Etsy: $325.00
Last but not least, we can’t recommend the EPOS Sennheiser GSP 600 ESports headset ($319.00) enough for your aural gaming pleasure. We always thought all headsets are the same, but we were very very wrong. If you want to treat your ears with some awesome sound, be it gaming, podcasts or music, then you should treat yourself this Christmas with a pair, it’s been a tough year!
Hope you all have a safe and awesome Festive Season and may you all receive awesome gifts from Santa!
NOTE: Prices are in AU$ and correct and all items in stock as at the time of publishing.
Stop the press! What the heck is this dark side of the force creation? We LOVE it!