The Pop-Culture E-Zine
If you ever wanted a quick reference guide on the history of pinball, then you have come to the right place. Those Silver Oak Casino guys aren’t just about online gambling, they also create awesome and informative infographics, like picking the right video games and indulging you in a brief history of pinball. Check it out, you may learn something.
source: Silver Oak Casino
Following on from our look at Aussie made NES games, the Made In Australia series dives straight into the 16-bit era this time around, starting with Sega’s Mega Drive. The Mega Drive was an instant hit for Sega – it had a headstart on Nintendo’s 16-bit offering and it never looked back.
With a pedigree in arcade gaming, Sega’s 16-bit machine wasn’t short on awesome arcade conversions. Who could forget their first play on Golden Axe? It was like (Ed: almost) having the arcade machine in your bedroom! With sleek looks and a plethora of crtically acclaimed games, the Mega Drive went from strength to strength and smashed all kinds of sales records across the globe. Australian coders also jumped on the 16-bit development bandwagon (Ed: especially Beam Software!) and created a handful of Mega Drive games – some more well known than others. Do you remember playing any of these?
NBA All Star Challenge (1991) – Beam Software
George Foreman’s K.O. Boxing (1992) – Beam Software
Blades of Vengeance (1993) – Beam Software
Tom & Jerry: Frantic Antics (1993) – Beam Software
Radical Rex (1994) – Beam Software
True Lies (1994) – Beam Software
Australian Rugby League (1995) – Dreamtime Interactive (in conjunction with I-Space Interactive)
image source: Moby Games, Games Database, retro gaming australia
In the next Made In Australia feature, we will look at Super Nintendo games that were made down under. Till then, play hard and have fun!
I must admit, I am a sucker for infographics! I am a visual person and would prefer to see more pictures than words. Don’t get me wrong, a well constructed piece will hold my attention, but I get excited over pictures – the more of them, the merrier. As the saying goes, “a picture is worth a thousand words”.
You don’t need words to explain what you are looking at below – just click on the infographic and then zoom in and enjoy the visual ride!
source: Pop Chart Lab
There have been a swag of quality books published recently based on our rich history of video gaming. This illustrates the importance of the impact and value that video gaming has played in our recent past. The cultural importance of video games has gained enough momentum that it has become our favourite form of entertainment. What these publications do for the history of video gaming is to document eras, games, systems of our wonderful industry for us to indulge in the nostalgic memories and also act as a reference for future generations.
One book that caught our attention was Read-Only Memory’s ‘Sega Mega Drive/Genesis: Collected Works‘. The book aimed to become the definitive retrospective of Sega’s 16 -bit beast, featuring development and concept illustrations of Sega’s best-loved game franchises, original developer interviews and previously unseen hardware production plans.The crowd-funding campaign of a year ago was so successful that Read-Only Memory added additional content to sweeten the already quite tasty book. The finished product not only surpassed what it promised to deliver, but it provides loads more – from exclusive interviews with legendary US developers, Greg Johnson and Mark Voorsanger (ToeJam & Earl), Naoto Ohshima (Sonic The Hedgehog) and Yu Suzuki (Space Harrier et al), to concept art and level visualisations for Vectorman 2 and detailed pencil-drawn level maps for Comix Zone.
For those that only know Sega as a software publisher, this book is a reminder of its former glory – making awesome gaming hardware. The Sega pedigree carried from its arcade systems to its home systems reached a pinnacle with its 16-bit world beater, the Mega Drive (Genesis for our North American gaming friends). With an estimated 40 millions consoles sold world-wide, the 16-bit beauty assured itself a place in the pantheon of great systems. This ‘Collected Works‘ book not only celebrates the Mega Drive hardware, but it also showcases the wealth of Sega’s 16-bit software titles; from blockbuster games such as Bare Knuckle/Streets of Rage, Sonic the Hedgehog, Phantasy Star, Gunstar Heroes, Super Shinobi/Revenge of Shinobi and Golden Axe, through to cult gems such as Rent-a-Hero, Vectorman and DecapAttack. This book has it all!
If you are after the definitive book on all things Sega Mega Drive / Genesis, then look no further – this book oozes quality and makes you want to come back to it again and again to feast your eyes on each page – from it’s well written foreword, to the never before seen Sega production blueprints, and to the great collective artwork. Even if you are not a Sega fan, this book’s historical value and page-turning ability is simply irresistible. For those not into gaming at all, we guarantee this book will get lots of attention if placed on your coffee table. This is the only Sega Mega Drive / Genesis book you will ever need. Highly recommended.
Vital Stats:
Title: Sega Mega Drive/Genesis: Collected Works
Price: £35.00 (plus shipping)
Size: 216mm x 267mm
Binding: Hardback
Pages: 352pp
Specials: 8 x Gatefold Pages
image source: Read-Only Memory
Growing up during the golden age of arcade gaming, I didn’t know nor care who created them, I just wanted to have fun playing them. I was always on the lookout for titles that other gamers and friends were talking about. Who was Dave Theurer or Eugene Jarvis? These names didn’t mean a thing to me as a youngster. As long as I had coins to pump into the machines, I was happy.
With passing of time, my curiosity got the better of me. Forgetting about the Sega, Atari, Taito, Nintendo, Namco arcade brands, I was curious to know who the human beings were behind some of the industry’s most iconic arcade games.
This is my way of paying homage to the real creative legends of the arcade games I loved (still love) playing.
Welcome to the ausretrogamer ‘Arcade Legends Hall of Fame’.
Name: Yu Suzuki
Company: Sega Enterprises
Games: After Burner, Out Run, Space Harrier, Hang-On, Virtua Fighter
Comment: The Michaelangelo of the video games industry
Name: Eugene Jarvis
Company: Atari, Williams Electronics
Games: Defender, Robotron:2084, Stargate, Smash TV, NARC
Comment: Arcade games and pinball designer extraordinaire
Name: Ed Logg
Company: Atari
Games: Asteroids, Centipede, Millipede, Gauntlet series
Comment: Quarter guzzling arcade master
Name: Dave Theurer
Company: Atari
Games: Missile Command, Tempest, I,Robot
Comment: Pioneering game designer that was inspired by Pong
Name: Yoshiki Okamoto
Company: Konami, Capcom
Games: Time Pilot, Gyruss, 1942, Gun.Smoke, Final Fight, Street Fighter II
Comment: The arcade games innovator
Name: Shigeru Miyamoto
Company: Nintendo
Game: Donkey Kong
Comment: Critically acclaimed influencer of the video gaming industry
Name: Toru Iwatani
Company: Namco
Game: Pac-Man
Comment: World record holder of the most installed arcade machines
Name: Tomohiro Nishikado
Company: Taito
Game: Space Invaders
Comment: The granddaddy of the killer arcade game
Name: Yoshihisa Kishimoto
Company: Technos
Game: Double Dragon
Comment: The grandfather of the beat’em up genre
It is always difficult composing such a list as there will be other deserving arcade game creators that will miss out. Who would be your pick for your arcade legends hall of fame?
Ah, 1991 – what a year! I was half way through finishing high school and was knee deep in mid-year examinations. In the midst of the educational pressure (and hanging out with mates at the local arcade), I did find time to play video games. Speaking of which, these were the chart toppers for the month of July 1991. I am still shocked that there were no Konami games in the top 5 for the NES!
Do you have any fond memories of these titles?
 |
1) Golden Axe (Sega) |
| 2) Ninja (Sega) | |
| 3) Indiana Jones & The Last Crusade (US Gold) | |
| 4) Wonder Boy III: The Dragon’s Trap (Sega) | |
| 5) World Soccer (Sega) |
 |
1) Gremlins 2 (Sunsoft) |
| 2) Super Mario Bros. 2 (Nintendo) | |
| 3) Mega Man 2 (Nintendo / Capcom) | |
| 4) Wrath of the Black Manta (Taito) | |
| 5) World Wrestling (Tecmo) |
 |
1) Midnight Resistance (Data East) |
| 2) PGA Tour Golf (Electronic Arts) | |
| 3) Gynough (Sega / Masaya) | |
| 4) Lakers vs Celtics (Electronic Arts) | |
| 5) Verytex (Sega / OperaHouse) |
 |
1) Parasol Stars (Taito) |
| 2) Legend of Hero Tonma (Irem) | |
| 3) Jackie Chan (Hudson) | |
| 4) Dead Moon (NEC / T.S.S.) | |
| 5) Final Match Tennis (Human) |
There is no denying that there were some awesome games released towards the end of 1990. The below charts are testament to these great games that still endure till this day (Ed: well, some of them anyway).
So, take out those Amiga Operation Stealth diskettes and blow into that dusty Super Mario Bros. cartridge for some unabashed retro gaming experience. Nostalgia rules y’all!
| |
1) Golden Axe (Sega) |
| 2) Chase HQ (Sega / Taito) | |
| 3) Operation Wolf (Sega / Taito) | |
| 4) Battle Out Run (Sega) | |
| 5) Double Dragon (Sega / Technos) |
| |
1) Super Mario Bros 2 (Nintendo) |
| 2) Zelda II: The Adventure of Link (Nintendo) | |
| 3) The Legend Of Zelda (Nintendo) | |
| 4) Super Mario Bros (Nintendo) | |
| 5) Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest (Konami) |
 |
1) Corporation (Core Design) |
| 2) Shadow Of The Beast 2 (Psygnosis) | |
| 3) Operation Stealth (US Gold / Delphine) | |
| 4) Shadow Warriors (Ocean) | |
| 5) Wings (Mirrorsoft / Cinemaware) |
 |
1) F-19 Stealth Fighter (Microprose) |
| 2) Their Finest Hours (US Gold / Lucasfilm) | |
| 3) Shadow Warriors (Ocean) | |
| 4) Operation Stealth (US Gold / Delphine) | |
| 5) Midnight Resistance (Ocean) |
What goes on behind the scenes in the video gaming business is somewhat of a mystery to the ordinary gaming punter, till now! We searched high and low for a number of luxurious video gaming dev kits, demo disks, promo bits and pieces you wouldn’t see every day. Take a gander at this lot!
Image sources: Atari Age, MDK137, Square Faction, Giant Bomb and Gamesniped
I love video gaming facts, especially those little known about ones. When it comes to Sonic, I knew about his original working-title name, Mr Needlemouse, but I definitely didn’t know about the early designs having him lead a music band with a Madonna girlfriend!
The Alltime10s crew have given us 10 very little known facts about Sonic The Hedgehog. Watch the video, you may learn something new about Sega’s speedy blue mascot.
source: Alltime10s
Pins! Lots and lots of pins! Even if you are not into video gaming related enamel pins, you have to admit, these are quite cool. Ah, if only I had kept my Atari Lynx club badge.
These gaming related promotional pins are definitely becoming harder to find and are starting to demand the big bucks. If you have some in your possession, wear them proudly!
