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The Pioneer LaserActive Lives Again: A Retro Resurrection 16 Years in the Making

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If you’ve ever looked at the Pioneer LaserActive (CLD-A100) and thought, “Surely someone’s emulated that beast by now,” you weren’t alone. But until recently, the answer was a surprising no. Despite its wild hybrid of LaserDisc movies, Sega Genesis/Mega Drive and PC-Engine games, and CD-ROM add-ons, the LaserActive remained one of the last major vintage consoles left out in the cold of the emulation world.

That is—until now.

After 16 years of effort, setbacks, and sheer stubbornness, the LaserActive is finally playable via emulation, thanks to the tireless work of developer: Nemesis, a long-time figure in the retro scene—and yes, he’s proudly Australian.

What Made the LaserActive So Weird (and Wonderful)?

Released in 1993, the LaserActive was a Frankenstein’s monster of media formats. It could play LaserDiscs (yes, those dinner-plate-sized video discs), Sega Genesis/Mega Drive cartridges, CD-ROMs and even Mega LD games —if you had the right expansion module (called a PAC). It was expensive, niche, and undeniably cool in that “only in the ’90s” kind of way.

But its complexity made it a nightmare for emulation. Unlike most consoles, the LaserActive wasn’t just one system—it was several, stitched together with proprietary hardware and obscure formats. That meant emulating it wasn’t just about dumping ROMs; it was about decoding a whole multimedia ecosystem.

Enter Nemesis: The Aussie Who Wouldn’t Quit

Nemesis, known in the emulation world for his earlier work on Exodus, a cycle-accurate Mega Drive emulator, began his LaserActive journey back in 2009. What started as a curiosity turned into a full-blown mission: to bring the Mega-LD experience to modern systems.

Over the years, he reverse-engineered hardware, tackled the quirks of LaserDisc data, and even helped pioneer a new file format (.mmi) to preserve the analogue video, audio, and digital content in one playable package. His work culminated in the latest version of the Ares emulator, which now supports LaserActive’s Sega PAC games.

Why It Matters

For retro gaming fans, this isn’t just about playing Triad Stone or Pyramid Patrol on your PC. It’s about preservation. The LaserActive was a bold experiment in multimedia gaming, and now, for the first time, it’s accessible to everyone—not just collectors with deep pockets and working LaserDisc players.

It also marks a symbolic milestone: one of the last major consoles of the pre-2000s era has finally been emulated. That’s a huge win for game history, digital preservation, and anyone who ever dreamed of playing LaserDisc Karaoke without shelling out a small fortune.

What’s Next?

With the LaserActive finally joining the emulation club, the retro community can turn its attention to even more obscure oddities. But for now, let’s raise a glass (or a controller) to Nemesis—the Aussie dev who brought a forgotten console back to life.

Review: Forgotten Worlds no. 6 – The Sega Issue

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SEGA DOES WHAT NINTENDON’T

If you’ve ever blown into a Mega Drive cartridge, battled through Streets of Rage, or argued over the superiority of Blast Processing, then Forgotten Worlds Issue is your new holy grail.

This issue, lovingly dubbed The Sega Issue, is a pixel-perfect tribute to one of gaming’s most iconic companies. From the blue blur himself to the deep cuts of Sega’s arcade legacy, this mag is bursting with nostalgia, insight, and retro goodness.

🌀 What’s Inside?

  • Deep Dives into Sega’s golden era, including the rise of the Genesis/Mega Drive and the console wars that defined a generation.
  • Exclusive Interviews with industry legends who helped shape Sega’s legacy.
  • Rare Artwork & Ads that’ll transport you straight back to the ’90s.
  • Retrospectives about Sega magz from BITD, like Mean Machines Sega, Megatech, Sega Power and Megazone.
  • Opinion Pieces that are as bold as a Sonic speedrun.

The layout is slick, the writing is passionate, and the love for Sega is palpable on every page. Whether you’re a die-hard fan or just Sega-curious, this issue is a must-have. Oh yeah, each issue comes with a limited edition ‘Sega Blue Skies’ cover insets / postcards – if you were lucky enough to grab the limited edition before it sold out, that came with all 8 (4 x double-sided) limited edition postcards.

📦 Don’t Miss Out!
These mags are flying off the shelves faster than Sonic with a speed boost. If you want to secure your copy before they’re all gone, hit the link below and place your order now:

👉 Order Forgotten Worlds #6 – The Sega Issue

Trust us, your coffee table (and your inner retro gamer) will thank you.

Disclaimer: Forgotten Worlds : The Sega Issue was kindly supplied by Forgotten Worlds for this review.

Internet Archive – Preserving Our Digital Cultural Heritage (Fundraiser)

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We’re Helping the Internet Archive Protect Universal Access to Knowledge — And You Can Too!

If you’re anything like us, you probably can’t imagine a world without the Internet Archive. From preserving classic games and retro computing history to housing a seemingly infinite library of books, software, and media, the Archive is an essential time capsule for nerds, historians, and digital explorers alike.

So when we heard about the Internet Archive’s new Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Fundraising initiative to help “protect universal access to knowledge,” we had to jump onboard.

What’s the Initiative All About?

The Internet Archive has launched a grassroots fundraising effort — where supporters can create their own personalised campaigns to raise funds for the parts of the Archive that matter most to them. Whether it’s emulation, old software, the Wayback Machine, or public domain books, each campaign can highlight what’s most meaningful to the fundraiser and their community.

We’ve created our own fundraising page to support this critical mission, and we’d love for you to join us:

👉 https://donate.archive.org/ausretrogamer

Why Now?

Through September 30, every dollar raised through this P2P campaign will be matched 2:1, tripling the impact of your generosity. That means a $10 donation turns into $30 for the Archive. It’s a rare opportunity to make your support go further — and help keep digital history freely accessible for everyone.

Why It Matters to Us

As lovers of all things retro — from arcade games to crusty old ZIP files — we rely on the Internet Archive to dig into the past and share its treasures with the world. Whether we’re researching obscure 8-bit titles or revisiting classic DOS manuals, the Internet Archive is our go-to.

By supporting this initiative, we’re helping ensure that future generations can still discover the games, media, and knowledge we grew up with. And that feels pretty awesome.

💾 Support our campaign and help preserve the digital past for the future:

https://donate.archive.org/ausretrogamer

📅 Remember: All donations through Sept 30 will be tripled!

Let’s keep knowledge free and accessible — pixel by pixel, page by page. ❤️

From The BBC Archives: 1981 – Nolan Bushnell

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“I like to describe myself as a leisure time technologist” – Nolan Bushnell

You’ve gotta love the BBC Archive—they always manage to tap straight into our nostalgia cortex! 🕹️✨

In this gem from 1981, we catch Nolan Bushnell, the mastermind behind Atari, dishing out insights on video games and whether they tap into our “animalistic nature” when it comes to violence in games. (Spoiler: he’s charmingly candid.). He also talks about the ground-breaking Pong, which was renamed to Ping in the UK due to the word ‘pong’ having a different meaning over the pond 😉

By this point, Nolan had already sold Atari to Warner Communications for a cool US$28 million, pocketing about US$15 million himself 💸—and he wasn’t slowing down. Instead, he pivoted to something even more wild: launching Chuck E. Cheese’s Pizza Time Theatre, where pizza met arcade games, pinball and animatronic mice ruled the stage. 🎤🍕

The best part? The clip shows both kids and adults completely caught up in the early ’80s arcade craze—a full-blown cultural moment brought to life by the guy who basically invented “fun” as a business model.

📼 Total time capsule. Total legend. Total vibes.


source: BBC Archive (Facebook)

Australian Pinball Expo Set for July 2026!

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🎉 Australia Are You Ready For Some Silverball Action 🎉

If you love pinball as much as we do, then get ready—Australia’s silverball scene is about to get even bigger!

Introducing the inaugural Australian Pinball Expo (A.P.E), set to take place from Thursday, 2nd July to Sunday, 5th July 2026 in Adelaide, South Australia.

Organised by the passionate crew behind the Australian Pinball Museum, A.P.E. aims to bring together flipper fanatics from across the country to celebrate the sights, sounds, and history of pinball—from classic electromechanicals to modern marvels.

Whether you’re a seasoned player, a collector, or just looking to soak up the nostalgia, the Australian Pinball Expo promises to be an unmissable event packed with games, guests, and good times.

The all important details (that we know so far):

  • 🎰What: Australian Pinball Expo
  • 📆 When: July 2–5, 2026
  • 📍 Location: Morphettville Racecourse Function Centre, 79 Morphett Road, Morphettville, SA
  • 🎟️ Tickets: TBC

We’re already counting down the days and planning our trip—are you? Adelaide will be the place to be for Aussie pinheads next winter!

Stay tuned for more updates as details emerge—we’ll be covering all the highlights right here on Ausretrogamer!

PS: For those wanting to get involved with this huge pinball event, go and complete the expression of interest form.

source: Morphetville

image: All silverballs lead to Adelaide!

Batong BT-686: The Famicom Frankenstein We Never Knew We Needed!

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Every now and then, we stumble across a retro gem so bizarre, so gloriously bootleg, and so mind-blowingly rare, it makes our collective jaws drop—and today’s discovery is no exception.

While trawling the weird and wonderful corners of the retro gaming internet, we unearthed a system that’s rarer than rocking horse poop: the Batong BT-686 Multimedia Computer — aka the Famicom CRT Unit. And folks, this thing is WILD.

At first glance, it looks like someone fused a miniature 1980s classroom computer with a Famicom, and then dunked it in a vat of 8-bit weirdness. It’s chunky, beige, and absolutely magnificent.

💾 What is the Batong BT-686?

The Batong BT-686 hails from a mysterious corner of the East Asian clone wars era, manufactured by Batong Electronics (八通电子) — a company that (based on what little we could find) specialised in unlicensed or “educational” Famicom-based computers.

But here’s the kicker: this isn’t just some off-the-shelf Famiclone. It’s an all-in-one educational computer/gaming mutant, combining:

  • 🖥️ Built-in CRT display

  • 🎮 Famicom cartridge slot

  • 🧠 RAM and OS cartridge inputs

  • ⌨️ Full-size mechanical-style keyboard

  • 🔌 NES-to-Famicom 62-pin converter

  • 🕹️ Bundled bootleg Famicom multi-cart with classics like Super Mario Bros.

  • 🧃 All in a single, self-contained beige bombshell.

Oh, and it boots into a space-themed loading screen that gives off strong “computer class in a Cold War bunker” vibes. What’s not to love?

🔍 How Does It Work?

Thanks to an incredible video by Russian Video Game Comrade, we got a closer look at this beast in action. The BT-686 appears to boot off a proprietary OS cartridge (à la BASIC interpreters), with additional RAM cartridges providing memory expansion.

But the real drawcard is the Famicom compatibility—it runs bootleg multi-carts just fine, and with the included NES-to-Famicom pin converter, you can even fire up your NTSC NES games, assuming you’ve got the right power supply and a lot of patience.

What’s even crazier? The keyboard is functional. While many of these educational clone machines had non-working or limited-use keyboards, the BT-686 appears to allow typing and BASIC-style input commands, making it technically a hybrid computer-console.

🦄 Why You’ve Probably Never Seen One

The BT-686 isn’t just obscure—it’s basically undocumented. Apart from a handful of collectors and YouTube showcases, there’s almost no digital footprint for this oddity. No marketing brochures, no official specs, no price history—nothing.

Our best guess? It was marketed in China or other Southeast Asian countries during the early 1990s as an “educational” tool to sneak Famicom gaming into homes under the guise of learning computers.

Either way, finding a complete unit in working order—with keyboard, display, OS and RAM carts—is practically unheard of.

Final Thoughts

The Batong BT-686 is a retro dream machine from a parallel universe—part Famicom, part classroom computer, part fever dream. It’s these bizarre, boundary-blurring consoles that make retro collecting so rewarding. You’re not just getting a game system; you’re uncovering a lost chapter of tech history.

Got one in the attic? Know more about it? Drop us a line—we’re dying to know more about this electronic chimera!

Stay weird, stay retro. 🕹️

image source: Facebook Marketplace

Book Review: Hurt Me Plenty – A Glorious Reload of FPS History (2003–2010)

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Strap in, load up, and check those corners—Bitmap Books’ “Hurt Me Plenty: The Ultimate Guide to First-Person Shooters 2003–2010” is a pixel-perfect deep dive into one of gaming’s most explosive and transformative eras. If you’ve ever reloaded a shotgun with a flick of the mouse, cowered in a duct waiting for your shields to recharge, or yelled “headshot!” at your screen in triumph, this book is your new bible.

Following the much-lauded I’m Too Young to Die, which chronicled the rise of the FPS genre from 1992 to 2002, Hurt Me Plenty picks up the story right where your LAN cable left off—covering the genre’s maturing years. From the raw adrenaline of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare to the haunting chill of Cryostasis, this 464-page beast charts the golden (and sometimes glitchy) era when shooters burst through the mainstream and embedded themselves in gaming’s DNA.

First things first: the book is gorgeous. Bitmap Books has once again gone all-in on production values. The hardback tome uses high-grade paper, vivid Pantone inks, and a cover by artist Ian Pestridge that absolutely slaps. It’s the kind of book you leave out on your coffee table just to start conversations—and then suddenly lose three hours to reading.

But it’s not just about good looks. The content is deep, lovingly detailed, and gleefully geeky. With nearly 220 games featured—from juggernauts like Half-Life 2, DOOM 3, Halo 2, and BioShock, to cult classics (The Ball, Zeno Clash) and beautiful disasters (Kwari, anyone?)—this is a love letter to the FPS in all its chaotic glory. Each entry is packed with sharp commentary, development tidbits, and screenshots that hit you right in the nostalgia gland.

There’s also a real reverence here for the evolution of the genre. Hurt Me Plenty doesn’t just list games; it contextualizes them. It examines the industry’s shift from World War II fatigue to modern warfare spectacle. It digs into the rise of multiplayer-only titles, the impact of digital distribution, and even FPS oddities that never made it past the alpha stage. You’ll find yourself thinking, “Oh yeah! I remember that game!”—or better yet, “How did I miss this?”

Interviews with legends like Ken Levine (BioShock), Minh Le (Counter-Strike), and Tim Willits (DOOM 3) offer rare behind-the-scenes insight that elevates this from mere catalogue to oral history. Harvey Smith’s foreword sets the tone with thoughtful reflections on design, agency, and the enduring power of the first-person perspective.

If there’s a flaw here, it’s simply that you’ll wish there were even more. You’ll be tempted to fire up a dozen Steam wishlists and blow your weekend revisiting forgotten gems like Breakdown, NecroVision, or Urban Chaos: Riot Response.

Whether you were bunny-hopping through Quake Live, creeping through the nuclear shadows of S.T.A.L.K.E.R., or modding your way through Garry’s Mod, this book hits you with wave after wave of “oh wow” moments. It’s part time capsule, part celebration, and 100% essential reading for anyone who ever peered down the barrel of an AK-47 in search of pixels and glory.

Final verdict: Hurt Me Plenty is a masterfully crafted tribute to the games that shaped a generation—and to the players who lived, fragged, and respawned through them. Buy it, read it, and then boot up an old favourite and relive the magic.

Score: 10/10 — One shot, one thrill.

Where to buy and how much?

C64: CLASSIC GAME INSIGHTS VOL 1

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🎮 Take a Byte Out of Gaming History! 🚀

Calling all retro gamers, C64 diehards, and pixel-pushing pioneers—Gracious Films is dropping an absolute must-watch for your collection:

📼 COMMODORE 64: CLASSIC GAME INSIGHTS VOL 1

This documentary is a deep dive into the golden age of home computing, celebrating the brilliance and legacy of the Commodore 64—the best-selling computer of all time. Get behind-the-scenes insights from developers, game designers, and industry legends who shaped the 8-bit revolution.

From legendary titles to forgotten gems, Volume 1 is packed with nostalgia, interviews, and rich context that brings the era back to life. Whether you lived it or just love discovering gaming’s roots, this one’s for you.

🎬 Ready to plug in, load up, and rewind time? 👉 Watch or grab your copy now

Press play. Stay retro. Level up your knowledge.

image source: Gracious Films LTD

Step Inside Game Worlds – A One-of-a-Kind Videogame Exhibition at ACMI!

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📅 18 September 2025 – 8 February 2026
🎮 Level up your gaming experience!

From pixel pioneers to modern masterpieces, ACMI’s Game Worlds takes you deep inside 30 legendary videogames that have shaped how we play. Explore iconic titles like World of Warcraft (Blizzard Entertainment), The Sims (Electronic Arts), and Neopets (World of Neopia), plus get an exclusive first look at a highly anticipated Australian game set to launch in 2025!

This isn’t just an exhibition—it’s an immersive adventure. Get hands-on with exclusive game demos, rare concept art, and never-before-seen designs that reveal gaming’s evolution from the 1970s to today. Test your skills in world record-breaking speedrun challenges and experience games in ways you never have before!

image source: ACMI

Whether you’re a casual player or a hardcore gamer, Game Worlds is your ultimate quest. Tickets go on sale in July! Get ready to press start and explore the magic of videogames like never before.

🔗 More info & first look

The Epyx Collection Handheld Landing on XBox and PC

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Seven Classic Lynx Games Arrive on Xbox and PC April 9th in ‘The Epyx Collection: Handheld’

Retro gaming fans, rejoice! Pixel Games UK and Imagine Software are making history with their first-ever release on Xbox consoles. Set to launch on April 9th for both Xbox and PC, ‘The Epyx Collection Handheld’ brings seven legendary Atari Lynx games to a new generation of players.

Priced at £11.99 / US$14.99/ ~AU$23.99 / €14.49, this collection delivers a dose of late ‘80s and early ‘90s nostalgia with beloved classics, including:

  • California Games (1989): Experience extreme sports like skateboarding, BMX biking, surfing, and more in a vibrant, sun-soaked West Coast setting.
  • ElectroCop (1989): Step into the cybernetic boots of a futuristic police officer and battle crime in a dystopian cityscape.
  • Blue Lightning (1989): Engage in high-octane aerial combat and prove your piloting prowess in this arcade-style flight adventure.
  • Gates of Zendocon (1989): Navigate alien worlds, battle hostile creatures, and take down the sinister Zendocon in an intergalactic space odyssey.
  • Chip’s Challenge (1989): Solve over 140 mind-bending puzzles in this brain-twisting classic, now with additional Sega Mega Drive and SNES ports.
  • Todd’s Adventures in Slime World (1990): Explore a hazardous alien world filled with monstrous creatures and slimy traps.
  • Zarlor Mercenary (1990): Pilot a customisable spacecraft and defend the galaxy from waves of alien invaders in this action-packed shooter.


source: Imagine Software

Modern Enhancements for a Timeless Experience

Bringing these iconic titles to modern platforms isn’t just about nostalgia—it’s about elevating the experience. ‘The Epyx Collection Handheld’ includes:

  • Customisable Display Filters – Choose from a variety of filters, including an authentic 80s-style CRT mode.
  • Suspend Points – Save and restore up to four game states per title, ensuring you can pick up where you left off.
  • Live Rewind – Rewind up to five seconds of gameplay instantly to correct mistakes or retry difficult sections.

Additionally, the collection features an overhauled user interface, with interactive 3D-rendered box art and cartridges based on the original releases. Fans can also enjoy fully remastered instruction manuals, bringing even more historical detail to these retro gems.

A New Era for Pixel Games UK on Xbox

This marks the first retro release on Xbox for Pixel Games UK and Imagine Software, but it’s only the beginning. “We’re excited to bring the first collection of classic games to Xbox and PC,” says Nick Tiseo, Director of Imagine Software. “It’s been a goal of ours for a long time.”

As the world of retro gaming continues to thrive, ‘The Epyx Collection Handheld’ is a must-have for both longtime fans and newcomers eager to discover these classic adventures. Don’t miss its worldwide release on April 9th via the Microsoft Store!