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10 Years Of Classic Gaming at PAX Aus

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Cheers to 10 years of inducing intoxicating gaming nostalgia at PAX Aus!

Another PAX Aus is done and dusted, but this was no ordinary year, it was the 10th year the event had been held here in Melbourne (Australia, not Florida).

For this celebratory year, the Classic Gaming (CG) area was moved from its usual Freeplay section to the main Expo Hall, rubbing shoulders with modern AAA gaming heavyweights and indie devs.

Starting the Classic Consoles (as it was known back then) area in 2013 with Retrospekt, Retro Domination and our (Ausretrogamer) team, we knew it would be a hit with attendees of all ages – which not even Melbourne’s inclement July weather could stop anyone getting their nostalgia hit at the inaugural PAX Aus event.

Over the years, the Classic Gaming area has grown from strength to strength, with its popularity ensuring that it returns at every PAX Aus – with an even bigger floor space! The inaugural teams may no longer be involved, but the baton change with the Weird and Retro and the Press Play On Tape Podcast crew has ensured the growth and sustained popularity of the Classic Gaming area.

For the tenth anniversary, the Classic Gaming area didn’t disappoint, with a plethora of amazing machines from yesteryear to tickle every nostalgic nerve in the body. From all of our old favourites from the 8-bit and 16-bit era (hello Atari, Commodore, Sega and Nintendo) all the way through to some darn awesome old-school PC power – and whomever thought of using the Dance Dance Revolution mat to control your (Doom Slayer) character in Doom (cheekily christened Doom Doom Revolution) should be given a knighthood! We hear that we have to now call Aaron (aka: Blahjedi), Sir Aaron of Press Play On Tape podcast, from now on 😉

Doom Doom Revolution!


image & video source: Aaron ‘Blahjedi’ Clement – PPOT

Back in 2015, Skott Kellett proposed to include pinball in the Classic Gaming area, which was an instant hit! The pinball section has now become a permanent fixture of the Classic Gaming area, ensuring gamers can get their mechanical hit via the silverball game. Skott is still the main wrangler of the pinball section, with games provided by Reality Games Australia, Mr Pinball Australia and the Australian Pinball Museum. We were lucky enough to experience some quite rare and hard to find pinball games, from Dutch Pinball’s The Big Lebowski, CGC’s Cactus Canyon Remake, Pinball Brothers‘ Queen, to American Pinball’s amazing Galactic Tank Force, complete with tank tracks and backbox turret!

But wait, there was more! PLAION Australia had the yet-to-be released Atari 2600+ console on display, which was impressive. We have been quite critical of Atari over the years, but even we are quite excited to get our hands on the new 2600+ console!

Last but not least, it is the people that bring the Classic Gaming area to life that we love the most, from the CG showrunning team members to the PAX Aus Enforcers, and the public that come in and reminisce with us about systems and games from a long long time ago.

See you at PAX Aus 2024!

We are going home – to the Classic Gaming Area!

Here are a few of the nostalgia inducing systems and displays!

Pinball in the Classic Gaming area is as popular as ever!

Classic Gaming is nothing without the awesome people that make it happen and for those that come and visit!



GoldenEra – The Film About The N64 Video Game, GoldenEye 007, Is Now Available for Pre-Order!

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The fantastic documentary on the most awesome FPS game, GoldenEye 007, is now available for pre-order!

In case you weren’t aware of this fantastic film, GoldenEra is a celebration of a magical moment in video games history, when 3D games burst onto screens and into our imaginations. The film showcases GoldenEye 007, a game that would inspire a generation with innovative gameplay and a multiplayer mode that would change gaming forever. Who doesn’t remember their 4-player death-matches with mates on their Nintendo 64?! Ah, it was so much fun!

GoldenEra is a nostalgic celebration of one of the most important video games of all time. A game that broke all the rules and defined a generation of gamers. The story is told by academics, journalists, celebrities, fans and the game’s designers.

GoldenEra the feature length film, explores the passion, ambition and naive exuberance of the team from countryside England that produced countless hours of joy to millions of gamers around the world.

Featuring hours of content, including:

  • Art of GoldenEra
  • GoldenEye and Obsession
  • GoldenEye inspired VR
  • In Game Reenactments
  • Mick Gordon on Rare
  • Music of GoldenEra
  • The Memes
  • The N64 Hardware
  • Writing GoldenEra
  • Bringing Back GoldenEye (Feature Length GoldenEye Movie!)

You can now pre-order the GoldenEra Limited Edition “Most Deadly” Blu-ray with N64 Slip Case film right here!



The Legend of Super Mario: The Zelda X Super Mario Bros. You Must Play

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The Legend of Zelda takes on Super Mario Bros. in this cool mashup!

There is one way to make us play the original The Legend of Zelda, mash it up with one of our fave NES games, Super Mario Bros.!

Hacking games and mashing them up isn’t anything new, but when the hacked sum is greater than the individual games, we take note. Swedish ROMHacking user NESDraug has hacked together two of the greatest NES games, The Legend of Zelda and Super Mario Bros. to create an awesomely playable The Legend of Super Mario mashup game. Featuring Super Mario elements set in the original world of Hyrule might just make us experience a Zelda-like game on the NES – yes, we are one of those in the minority that never were into or wanted to play Zelda games.

If you want to experience The Legend of Super Mario, you can get the game patch from ROMHacking right here. Oh yeah, you will need a patching tool (like Lunar IPS) to patch the original rom file with the .ips patch file – that’s all we can tell ya without incriminating ourselves.

Go on, what are you waiting for?!


source: Hack Games Longplay Channel



Stunt Car Racer Coming To The Commodore Plus/4

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Brrrrrrrrrmmmmm, brrrrrmmmmm, brrrrrrrmmmmmm

Geoff Crammond’s Stunt Car Racer (SCR) on the C64 was our most played car racing gaming (sorry Buggy Boy) back in the day. Surprisingly, it has held up quite well and is still a joy to play.

Hungarian developer, Gergely Patai, had reversed engineered this superb racing game on C64 and modified its physics to run at 50 FPS – yep, you read that right, 50 (freakin!) Frames Per Second! You can grab the SCR C64 50FPS version here.

To our astonishment, Gergely is now porting this marvel to the Commodore Plus/4! With plenty of limitations to work around, we are darn impressed with Gergely’s achievements and devleopment skills in squeezing SCR to play on the Plus/4. Not bad for two weeks worth of effort!

Gergerly notes the challenges he had porting SCR to the Plus/4:

The biggest limitation was RAM space. The original game doesn’t leave much of the C64’s memory untouched, and the Plus/4 has less accessible RAM while needing an extra 1K for colour information. For the time being, my solution was to remove load/save functionality and the ability to change key bindings, so I’d be able to get a working game and have some breathing room to shuffle things around. At the moment I have a bit over 2K memory left, so I should be able to restore some of the missing bits.

We can’t wait to see the finished product!



Shop Till You Drop At PixelCrib

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If you are after some cool gaming related products, including memorabilia and collectibles, then you must check out PixelCrib!

Our good friends at PixelCrib have been wonderful supporters of Ausretrogamer for a long while now, which we are always very thankful for.

For those of you in Oz (and beyond!), PixelCrib is really your one stop shop for video game related products, including rare, high-quality video game memorabilia and collectibles – they are after all, the gaming culture specialists! The best bit is, you can shop from the comfort of your own home.

With a plethora of amazing items in their store, here are some of our fave picks (Ed: this list was really really hard to whittle down):

  • Nintendo Switch – Physical Games

You know those Nintendo Switch games that you thought you could only download from the Nintendo eShop? Well, those awesome games, like Celeste and Cuphead (amongst many others) are available in their physical form!

  • Books, books, books as far as the eye can see

If you have bookshelves that need filling (or a coffee table!), then you have come to the right place! PixelCrib has tons of books, here are some of our picks:

A Guide to Japanese Role-Playing Games

Artcade

Go Straight: The Ultimate Guide to Side-Scrolling Beat-’Em-UpsPC Engine: The Box Art Collection

  • Do you like playing tunes on vinyl?

We sure do. If you like gaming related soundtracks / music, then the vinyl section is where you need to be at:

Gamer Boy Disappearing Lines: Chiptune Music of Tetris EP

Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3: Music From The Arcade Games LP

Mother 2 Original Video Game Soundtrack 2xLP

Oh how we wish we could have them all……

Shovel Knight Shadowbox Art

Hyrule Field (Legend of Zelda) A3 Art Print

Dead Cells Shadowbox Art

  • But wait, there is more! Did someone say, where are the retro gaming systems at?

PixelCrib has an array of amazing retro consoles for you to choose from, from the Evercade (VS/EXP), Retron and Sega Astro City Mini systems, to the Quarter Size and RepliCade mini arcade machines:

Oh yeah, in case you missed the news, you can now pre-order Hyper Mega Tech’s Super Pocket (Capcom / Taito) handheld systems on PixelCrib! The best part is, these are compatible with your Evercade cartridges!

These are just the tip of the iceberg of products available on PixelCrib. We implore you to get on the PixelCrib site and take a good look, as there is bound to be gaming related products that will tickle your fancy.

Happy shopping everyone!



Dreamcast and GameCube Gaming On The Go

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Ever dreamed of having a portable version of Sega’s Dreamcast and/or Nintendo’s GameCube consoles? You may not need to dream anymore!

We know you’ll throw the old, “but my Steam Deck (or Ayaneo or hacked PS Vita) can emulate these consoles already!”, well let us tell ya, these portable versions are a step closer to their original source (by using the original’s internals)!

It is quite impressive to see these innovations come to life, even though it may offend the purists (and possibly get Nintendo’s lawyers onto these merchants).

These portable systems aren’t necessarily cheap, but they scratch an itch for the nostalgic in us – especially the Portable Dreamcast! Now, what can we offload to procure one of these……..

Where to buy:

  • Portable Dreamcast (on AliExpress)
  • Portable GameCube (on AliExpress)

Portable Dreamcast

Portable GameCube



Atari Introduces New Collectible Replica Arcade PCBs

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A NEW REVISION IN ARCADE CIRCUIT BOARD HISTORY

Ah Atari, they know exactly how to squeeze every ounce out of their IP with products that hit the nostalgic sweet spot!

This time around, good ole new Atari has partnered with Retro Arcade to create high-quality authentic replica arcade machine Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs) for Black Widow, Gravitar and Major Havoc – iconic Atari arcade games prized for their advanced gameplay and relative rarity of their cabinets.

These reproductions are officially licensed 11.5 x 20.75 inch (29.2cm x 52.70cm) reproductions based on the original arcade board sets and are a new revision in the PCB history. The boards use the original bill of materials, follow the original schematics, and can be used to replace damaged original boards by using the original parts from these boards.

OK, we must admit, we are actually impressed with these replica/repro PCBs, even if the price (US$245) is a tad too much when taking into account the exchange rate.

Oh yeah, these are available in limited quantities at Atari.com.

PS: To sweeten this juicy deal, Atari is offering $10 off (code: “PCBOOPSIE“) on any one of the three Retro Arcade PCB boards (yeah, we know, boards is redundant in PCB boards) 😉

Major Havoc PCB: Revision D

Major Havoc challenges players with a journey through exciting gameplay styles, including Breakout-style mini games where a knowledgeable gamer can warp through different levels.

Gravitar PCB: Revision C

A multi-directional shooter with a reputation for difficulty, Gravitar is arguably also the first cave-flyer ever made.

Black Widow PCB: Revision A

The arcade classic Black Widow is one of the very first twin-stick shooters ever made.



Thrill Of The Chase: FurySevenSix visits the Canberra Vintage & Collectible Centre

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Who doesn’t like a sneaky weekend trip to the nation’s capital?!

Well, that’s exactly what our good friend, Noel Wheatley, did this past weekend. Noel (aka: FurySevenSix) shared photos of the amazing retro gaming centre he found in Canberra on his Twitter and Instagram accounts. The Canberra Vintage & Collectible Centre is one of those places that will wow and indulge you in some very intoxicating nostalgia.

The below photos attest to the amazing collections found at the Canberra Vintage & Collectible Centre (Canberra VCC), from iconic gaming systems, classic video games, to mouth-watering collectibles that have been lost to time. Make sure you add the Canberra VCC to your must visit list now!

PS: Check out Noel’s Instagram for more pics and vids of this amazing place!

The important details:

  • Venue: Canberra Vintage & Collectible Centre
  • Address: 11/90 Barrier Street, Fyshwick, Australian Capital Territory

image source (used by permission): Noel’s Twitter and Instagram accounts



Turn Your A500 Mini Into A Retro Console Beast!

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We know there will be the purists out there that will want to leave their THEA500 Mini retro system as it was intended (Ed: stock standard), but for those looking to spice there’s up, Team Pandory’s A500 Mini Pandory500 V2 Mod is for you!

The below video highlights the newly added features to the Pandory mod, which was released a few months ago. There’s the new Amiberry 5.3, new Dreamcast cores, native PPSSPP, and also making it compatible with the official firmware updates, to name just a few!

The installation is easy, all you need to do is download Pandory500 from Github and dump it onto a USB stick – it is that easy! Oh yeah, this is a softmod and does not change anything on TheA500 Mini. Go and have some fun 😉


source: Team Pandory



Elden Ring Reimagined as a Tiger Electronics Game

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Good ole Tiger Electronics, they were quite late to the handheld game (pun fully intended) with Nintendo well and truly taking that crown with their Game & Watch series.

Nevertheless, Tiger were prolific in releasing many classic titles on their handheld platform, with the likes of Double Dragon, Sonic The Hedgehog and Street Fighter II to name just a few, getting the Tiger Electronics handheld treatment. One key feature of Tiger games was that they were particularly frustrating and almost unplayable, but we still loved them.

When we came across Robert Penney’s (aka: Penney Pixels) reimagined Elden Ring getting the Tiger Electronics handheld treatment, we knew we had to let you all know about it! Robert’s novelty creation is part of his hobby of making fake retro game animations, with this particular creation being quite clever in capturing the Tiger Electronics look and feel.

We asked Robert to tell us more about his Elden Ring Tiger Electronics creation, especially how long it took to make, this is what he had to tell us:

“It took roughly a month to put together, but hard to say exactly. I would do bits and pieces on it in the evenings in small chunks. But the core animation was only a few weeks. I got a bit caught up in the texturing and trying to make it look as authentic as possible which took longer than it should have, but it was a labour of love so I enjoyed that aspect of it in a therapeutic way.
The concept itself was based on the humour of a lot of my game animations. In this case it was aimed at Tiger Electronics ports. Those handheld games are certainly charming to look back on now, but most would agree they left a lot to be desired in comparison to the original versions. So I took that concept to the extreme by taking the highly detailed, complex and vast world of Elden Ring and crushing it down to a shell of its former self. 99% of the original game was stripped away (It’s just Limgrave and a few basic trash mob enemies while the real Elden Ring has over a hundred bosses) and I kept the RPG elements, a spirit summon and the levelling up system. Elements all far too intricate to include properly in a little LCD handheld meant for short car journeys. I also wanted to juxtapose the difficulty between the real version and my terrible fictional port. While Elden Ring is challenging in true FromSoftware spirit, this Tiger Electronic is difficult in another way. It’s hard to see what’s going on, has fiddly controls, minimal animation frames and just downright unfair.”
We reckon Robert has definitely nailed it! Check it out!


source: Penney Pixels