Even if you’re a fan of pre-NES homebrew video games, such as those available from AtariAge and Intellivision Revolution, you may not be aware of one independently-developed Atari 2600 game from back in 2010 titled A Slow Year, one of the most unique video games I’ve ever seen. Not to reignite the “games as art” debate, but on the sliding scale with “Game” at one end and and “Art” at the other, A Slow Year easily lands farther toward the “Art” end than any other game — yes, much farther than Ico or Journey — causing one to wonder if it even qualifies as a “Game” at all. It does, I think, but as with all the most interesting things in art, entertainment, and life itself, the lines are blurred and the decision is up for individual interpretation. Continue reading “A Slow Year”
Lately, there’s been an influx of little-bitty arcade games hitting store shelves. There’s the steadily-improving “Arcade Classics” series that can be found at Walmart; the keychain-sized Tiny Arcade series; the working, accurate scale models coming from Replicade; the forthcoming Neo-Geo Mini. All of these have been reminding me of the original Coleco mini tabletop arcade games that came out in the early 1980s, when I was a kid, and how badly I wanted them. Continue reading “Itsy-Bitsy-Teeny-Weeny Arcade Games”
Despite the fact that I don’t think I’ve ever actually played an actual fishing videogame on purpose (and holy carp, are there a lot of them), I certainly have “fish stories” — you know, legendary tales of great catches, and the ones that got away — about videogame collecting. There’s no better feeling than stumbling across a rarity for a cheap price, and no worse feeling than finding out that that one game you passed up for a few bucks years ago is a rare find. I have both types of stories, as I’m sure you do too! So sit right back and you’ll hear a tale… Continue reading “Game Collecting Fish Stories”
I have a lot of favorite games. Who the heck doesn’t? But rare is the game that I love so much that I buy it again. Sometimes they’re remakes, sometimes a Japanese version to complement my US copy, sometimes just different or more convenient formats. And even rarer is the game that I buy again…and again.
Having just picked up the PS4 remake of Shadow of the Colossus — my third version — I got to thinking about which games I love so much that I’ve bought three times…or more! Continue reading “Triple-dippin’”
If you’re hardcore about your hobby — whatever it might be — chances are, you’ve actually dreamt about it at some point in your life. Not just daydreams, but actual, vivid, REM-sleep dreams. Continue reading “The Collector’s Dream”
So, this is a topic I’ve wanted to write about since I started Retro Game SuperHyper, and now that we’ve just crossed the 6-month mark, I think it’s a good time to tackle it. If you’ve been reading the blog for a while, you’ll know that I’ve mentioned this in a few posts. I want to talk about the process of downsizing my videogame collection.
This year’s Midwest Gaming Classic went down last weekend in Brookfield, Wisconsin (right outside Milwaukee), on a beautiful 70-degree weekend (unseasonably warm for this time of year in Wisco). This being somewhere around my 12th visit or so, I’ve seen the event come a long way from being a one-ballroom affair at a small hotel in Oconomowoc. MGC takes up every available inch of expo space (including the hallways and the bar) on the ground and basement levels of the Sheraton Hotel, as well as the circus-sized tent in the parking lot which houses the vendor area.
Things start rolling on Friday night for early-bird passholders with parties and gaming, but the event officially opens up on Saturday morning and runs into Sunday. As a tattoo artist, I am always busy working on Saturdays, so I always go on Sunday. This is a double-edged sword, as there’s lots of amazing loot to be purchased on Saturdays, but the vendors are more willing to deal on Sundays. So I might see better prices, but less selection. One of these years, maybe, I’ll actually take a Saturday off and see what it’s like. But trust me, the place is a madhouse even on Sunday! Continue reading “Midwest Gaming Classic 2017”
As I’ve mentioned, I’m actually working on downsizing my video game collection. I’m still planning on writing about the how and why of this stage in my gamer life, but for now it’s a backdrop to this post.
So even though I’m not adding a lot of games to my collection, I naturally still have the urge to collect. How does one scratch that particular itch? My solution is to make my existing collection better. Continue reading “Upgrade!”
Without getting too deep into it, repros, or reproductions, are physical video game cartridges of rare or unreleased games that are being made by hobbyists for enthusiast collectors who want to enjoy these previously unavailable games on their original game consoles. Usually they’re prototypes, cancelled games, translations (fan or unreleased) of games that never came out in certain regions, or very hard-to-find titles that are otherwise cost-prohibitive for the average gamer to obtain.
Okay, actually, I guess that’s about as in-depth as it needs to get.
Anyway, I’m a big fan of the repro scene, as I do love playing games on original hardware as opposed to on a PC or mobile emulator. And as as collector, I love having unique, unusual pieces that many (if not most) collectors won’t have. Continue reading “Repros: I dig ’em!”
