The Pop-Culture E-Zine
Check out these amazing tabletop arcade cabinets created by Hidecade!
According to Hidecade, the Xevious tabletop arcade is complete with a vertical screen and a JAMMA harness – which is totally mind-blowing! Oh how we wish these were for sale 😉
source: Arcade Cabinets on ameblo.jp
Emulation is fraught with so much controversy, sometimes for good reason. In this post, we won’t be getting into the moral discussion of emulation nor it’s comparison to playing games in their native format/system. With our recent acquisition of the Anbernic RG280V, we have been asked multiple times, is it better that the PS Vita? Well, as with any comparison, it all depends on the use cases, sprinkled with personal preferences, like playing in a vertical (RG280V) or horizontal (PS Vita) orientation, is it pocketable or does it have an OLED screen, to name just a few.
Let’s get one thing straight, we aren’t comparing apples with apples here. The PS Vita, even though it’s getting long in the tooth, is a powerful beast with an awesome OLED screen (the 1000 series), able to play and emulate everything up till the PSP, plus everything in between like the Nintendo 64, GBA and Sega’s Dreamcast. In comparison, the RG280V is able to play and emulate all your old classic 8, 16 and 32-Bit systems without any issues, including the PS1 and GBA games. So, just on sheer number of systems that can be emulated, the PS Vita wins the battle. However, be mindful that modding the Vita to play emulators isn’t for the faint of heart, so be prepared to manually configure it to make it all work properly. For what it’s worth, getting PS1 games to emulate properly on the Vita was rage inducing. The RG280V on the other hand is (almost) plug and play – just drop your games (legally obtained roms, of course) in their relevant folders and you are good to go – all configuration is set for you, including button mapping and the like. Oh yeah, the RG280V also boots up in less than 10 seconds, so you’ll be playing on it in no time compared to the boot-up sequence on the PS Vita.
We honestly love both of these handhelds, but we do find ourselves playing all the classics more often on the RG280V as it’s easier to setup and use, the D-pad, buttons (face and shoulder) and the screen (and its aspect ratio) are amazing and we absolutely love its form factor – it’s such a pocketable unit when compared to the PS Vita.
So which do you choose? Well, if you like horizontal orientation, and OLED screen and are technically inclined and don’t mind tinkering for hours on end to mod and setup the Vita, then that is the way to go. If you prefer to spend less (under AU$120), have a powerful pocketable little unit with a portrait orientation and its ease of setup and use, then the RG280V is for you – unless you have massive hands, then we’d say go for the PS Vita.
No matter which one you go with, you honestly can’t go wrong. Happy gaming peeps!
The RG280V boots up in no time when compared to the PS Vita
Atari Lynx battle!
APB – horizontal v portrait!
Ninja Five-O baby! Both systems emulate really well.
Our current favourite emulation handheld – it is rock solid
Who would have thought that when we first started ausretrogamer.com in January 2012 that 10 years later we would still be here! Time certainly flies when you are having fun.
Today marks a major milestone for us at ausretrogamer as we have reached the magical decade mark! When starting our site and social media channels in 2012, we honestly didn’t have any expectations that we would still be around in 2022 – but we are glad that we are!
We have been pleasantly surprised over the years to find so many like-minded people who enjoy playing and talking about all the stuff we love, from obscure video games from the 1970s to those schoolyard-type discussions on which 8-bit computer was best (we all know it was the Commodore 64!).
Ausretrogamer has also allowed us to meet a lot of you in real life, either at events like PAX Aus or local pinball competitions or computing club events – which have been a priceless experience. We are humbled to call all of you our good friends. Nostalgia is a powerful force that binds us all – long may it continue!
To all the awesome folks that have contributed and to those that are still contributing content and everyone that engages with us, thank you very much – you all rock our world!
Looking forward to another decade full of retro gaming (and pinball) goodness! 😉
Wow, another year has flown by! It was another year for all of us to put behind and hope that 2022 brings us all a better, safer and healthier year!
From the ausretrogamer team, we wish you all a wonderful Festive Season, which we hope is filled with fun, laughter and lots of gaming, be it video games, pinball, board games or whatever tickles your fancy! Oh yeah, we hope Santa brings you what you wish for!
Next year we celebrate an important milestone, our 10th anniversary of all things ausretrogamer. But for now, it’s time to relax, be merry and we’ll see you all in 2022!
image source: supplied
EGRET II mini – Exclusive version coming to the West
United Games Entertainment – TAITO Partnership Continues to Grow
Ever expanding German media publishing house United Games Entertainment, with its two game publishing labels, ININ Games and Strictly Limited Games, is moving into 2022 with an exciting announcement. They have secured the exclusive rights for the distribution of TAITO’s EGRET II mini in North America and Europe! The home version of the famous arcade cabinet will be available in different exclusive editions for the Western territories starting in 2022.
Great news for all fans who have been eagerly trying to order this yet to be released console, directly from Japan. With this exciting announcement United Games Entertainment, who exclusively distribute and sell TAITO’s titles in the West, both in digital and physical form, continues its growing relationship with one of Japan’s most iconic video games companies, well-known for legendary games such as Space Invaders, Bubble Bobble and many others.
The EGRET II mini is a faithful miniaturised version of the original, successful arcade cabinet TAITO EGRET II, coming with special content and features that make it a ‘must have’ for gamers:
A total of 40 pre-installed games, including classics such as Space Invaders, Lunar Rescue, Bubble Bobble, Darius Gaiden and many more
5-inch 4:3 rotating screen (1024×768 resolution) for horizontal and vertical alignment and an optimal adaptation to the selected game
Joystick individually adjustable for each game – easily switch from 8 directions to 4 directions
HDMI output to play the games also on TV
Two USB Type-A controller ports for the different EGRET II mini controllers (that are sold separately)
Power inlet via USB Type-C port
SD card slot to add even more games
Own integrated sound through stereo speakers
Instruction panel for exchangeable instruction cards
Special in-game features like: Save states, adjustable lives and rapid fire
Games, Games and more Games!
In addition to the 40 pre-installed games on the console, 10 additional games can be added through an SD card that’s included in the EGRET II mini Paddle and Trackball Game Expansion Set, coming with Strike Bowling, Arkanoid, Plump Pop and seven other TAITO classics.
This adds up to an incredible total of 50 games of various genres, from 1978 to 1997 that will be available with the launch of the EGRET II mini!
More details about the different editions, what they will contain and where to get the EGRET II mini will follow soon!
Disclaimer: Press Release supplied by PR Hound
“Have you played your Atari today?”
We have been on a roll lately with product reviews that have surprised us. For this review we test drive Atari’s VCS Wireless Classic Joystick and their Wireless Modern Controller.
Atari needs no introduction for many of you, so we will spare you their history, as it stretches back almost 50 years! The modern Atari company is a very different beast from the one that Ted Dabney and Nolan Bushnell found all those years ago.
With a back-catalogue of awesome Atari IP to choose from, the modern Atari has brought two controllers to the market, one being a throwback to their single button CX40 joystick with a modern twist with their VCS Wireless Classic Joystick, and the other, the Wireless Modern Controller being for the modern gamer that requires total control for their games on contemporary gaming systems. Oh yeah, seeing the Atari logo on a controller is another big selling point!
Atari Wireless Classic Joystick – $104.95 at GAMORY
First cab off the rank was always going to be the joystick! We started our gaming life on a joystick with a single fire-button, so the Atari VCS Classic Joystick felt right at home. We must admit, we were sceptical at first, but upon opening the package, the joystick looked top notch. But looks aren’t everything if the device isn’t much chop. The stick is on the short side, so if you like to grip the joystick by forming a fist around it, then you are out of luck – unless you have really small hands. However, we never like to grip our joysticks that way, preferring the thumb and index finger control, which works and feels superb on this Atari modern joystick. The fact that the joystick doubles up as a paddle for games like Break Out (and Arkanoid), is another feather in the cap for this modern take on a classic stick. Oh yeah, there is also a second fire-button, which is conveniently positioned on the base for those games requiring two fire-buttons. Remember the orange band around the rubber boot/base of the original Atari joysticks? Well, on the modern stick, the band is replaced with a very cool LED light effect, which immediately makes you smile. Rotate the stick and watch the orange lights glow! It is these little touches that add up to a darn cool joystick for any retro or modern gamer.
Getting a grip!
We much prefer using our thumb and index finger for precision control
The joystick can be connected via USB (micro-USB cable supplied) or Bluetooth – we had a few issues trying to connect via Bluetooth (getting the dreaded unknown device message) on our Dell XPS laptop, but didn’t experience this on our other Lenovo laptop. With that said, once you are connected, you can really only play games that require one or two fire-buttons, which means this joystick is perfect for playing your old Amiga, C64, Amstrad, ZX Spectrum, Atari 2600, 7800, 400/800 and ST games (via emulation).
Love the orange light-up ring!
We tested this joystick on our LaunchBox (RetroArch / MAME) setup playing all of the two button Neo Geo games, and we must admit, the stick was absolutely flawless playing Sonic Wings 2 (Aero Fighters 2) with no lag, just total precision movement and firing, which helped us get very close to our personal best score, which says a lot for a stick we’ve had minimal amount of play time. The stick does have more freeplay when compared to something like the old TAC-2 joystick, but it snaps back to centre quite rapidly, which is exactly what a gamer needs, especially in games requiring ultra quick reflexes with precision control.
The stick is about as tall as the Sega Master System Control Stick
The old school QuickShot is built for a fist grip, whereas the Atari Classic Joystick isn’t!
The Atari Classic Joystick looks retro but has all the modern conveniences, like Bluetooth connectivity – the best of both worlds!
The more we played with the Atari VCS Classic Joystick, the more we grew to love it. It doesn’t knock the TAC-2 off the perch for our favourite joystick of all time, but the advantage of the Atari joystick is that it can be played on a multitude of gaming systems, albeit via emulation (mainly). We were going to test hooking up the joystick to our THEC64 Maxi, but ran out of time for this review. We will be sure to update this post when we do so and tell you all how we fared.
If you are yearning for a joystick to play your (one or two button type) games on PC or Android, then we highly recommend this Atari Wireless Classic Joystick – it is pretty darn awesome!
Atari VCS Wireless Modern Controller – $104.95 at GAMORY
After the awesome experience with the Classic Joystick, the Modern Controller had a lot to live up to!
It really isn’t fair to compare the joystick with the modern controller, as they couldn’t be further apart in aesthetics, controls, buttons and their use. Where the joystick can only really be used on games that don’t require too many buttons or multi-analogue input, the modern controller is right at home to be used on most (if not all) modern video games.
Just like the joystick, the controller can be connected via Bluetooth or cable (micro USB cable supplied) to your PC or via Bluetooth with an Android device. The detection and setup was a cinch. For comparisons, the Atari VCS Modern Controller is closest to the Xbox Series X|S / Xbox One controllers, so if you are familiar with those, then the Atari controller will feel right at home.
Atari vs Xbox
Face-off!
Since we do love our Xbox Series S controller, holding and using the Atari one to play games on our PC felt familiar and comfy. The triggers are just as clicky and the analogue sticks were equally as good. The D-pad is great and I prefer it to the clicky Xbox Series S controller. The Atari Modern Controller is great in hand, with smooth to touch surfaces – oo’er! We obviously love anything with a nostalgia inducing Mt Fuji logo, which is great to see dead centre on this controller. There is a feature that we didn’t understand which was the ability to switch the controller between PC or Xbox mode – we couldn’t figure this out, so if anyone has, hit us up on Twitter or Facebook!
Both the joystick and controller charge quite quickly and hold their charge for a fair few hours – we only had to charge them once while using them during this review (and they still have charge juice left!).
If you are after a modern controller to play on your PC, be it Xbox Game Pass games, AntStream, Prime Games, Steam, emulators and anything in-between, then you should check out the Atari Modern Controller. And if you are a sucker for the Atari brand, like we are, then you may not need too much convincing.
Where to buy:
Both the Atari VCS Classic Joystick and Modern Controller are available at GAMORY.
Too Cool For School!
Disclaimer: The Atari VCS Classic Joystick and Modern Controller were kindly supplied by GAMORY for this review.
What can we say, we are suckers for sweet, sweet C64 SID chiptunes!
We were recently stumbled upon the Shadow Ninja chiptunes concept-album on Bandcamp by the mysterious musician SID Ninja 64. What we heard was quite impressive and literally music to our ears. The original SID tunes on this album are stylised after great C64 maestros like Tim Follin, Jonathan Dunn, Matt Gray, Ben Daglish, Jeroen Tel and Chris Hülsbeck to name just a few – a pretty good darn pedigree.
If you are into SID tunes or chiptunes in general, check out SID Ninja 64’s Shadow Ninja album right now!
image source: SID Ninja 64
The silly season is upon once again! After the last couple of years we’ve had, we reckon it is time to spoil ourselves and our loved ones on some stuff that will spread the cheer.
With the millions of things out there, we thought we’d give you a hand at picking some cool geeky items in this year’s gift guide. So no matter if you are a retro or modern gamer, into emulation, pinball, a Star Wars fan or into comics, we have you covered.
Anbernic RG351V $209.99 (via Amazon)
LENOXX Bluetooth/Turntable Retro Music Centre $179 (via Catch)
The Legend Of Zelda Game & Watch $69 (via Catch)
Arcade1Up Mortal Kombat II Midway 12-in-1 Legacy Series Arcade Machine $770 (via Catch or Amazon)
Pinball : A Graphic History of the Silver Ball $31.96 (via The Book Depository)
The Best Of Archie Comics $23.14 (via The Book Depository)
LEGO Star Wars Darth Vader Helmet $71.20 (via Amazon)
Pixel Frames Street Fighter II – Car Scene 9×9 inches (Big) Shadow Box Art $45.59 (via Amazon)
Game and Watch Display Stand $9.50 (via Etsy)
Exploded PS1 – Art Print Poster (A4 size) $20.00 (via Etsy)
Enhanced Wireless Controller Super Mario – Nintendo Switch $89.00 (via Amazon)
Hyperkin M07280 RetroN 77 HD Gaming Console For Atari 2600 $103.70 (via Amazon)
TheVIC20 – Full sized VIC20 with working keyboard $260.64 (via Amazon)
LEGO Super Mario Master Your Adventure Maker Set $42.87 (via Amazon)
NOTE: Prices correct at the time of publication
Now this is our kind of thing! Firebox is selling an officially licensed Tetris Waffle Maker (£29.99), which can produce seven different cute Tetrimino-shaped waffles in just a few minutes. This would be a great Xmas gift for that special someone that loves Tetris, which is about 40+ million peeps around the world (including us!) 😉
image source: Firebox
We received the following message from a friend on behalf of Jim (from SBOR – Sinclair Book of Remembrance) so we thought we would share with you all as we think it is a great idea for the community to share their memories of Sinclair’s computers and also remembering Sir Clive Sinclair.
The Sinclair Book of Remembrance (SBOR) is a project dedicated to the memory of Sir Clive Sinclair who sadly passed away on the 16th September 2021.
Moved as I was, SBOR has been a personal labour of love, to do something in honour of “Uncle Clive”. It is not a business project. It’s completely free and non-monetised.
The objective is to create a unique digital monument, composed of our shared Sinclair memories encoded together so that the final product represents each and every one of us.
For those thinking this is an NFT thing – it is definitely not! It is an opportunity for each of us to share a memory, and together create a unique dedication to Sir Clive.
I am asking that each of us contribute a Sinclair memory, by simply sending an email with your story (with up to 4 image attachments). By sending your email to [email protected] it will trigger the system to automatically create an entry to the SBOR site – for example: https://sbor.uk/m/1?code=41ce. You will receive a reply containing the link to your contribution, which I would urge you to share far and wide!
At a pre-determined date, say the 1-year anniversary of Sir Clive’s passing, all of the entries will be combined and encoded into a single unique value. This will be unique in the universe and will represent all of our combined memories of what Sinclair meant to us and something we can all share in.