Bargains Galore—The Wii Virtual Console's Prices Can Be Amazing
26 September 2011 9:43 pm

When you think Neo Geo, Neo Turf Masters and Magical Drop III probably aren't the first two titles that jump to mind. They are, however, the best Virtual Console titles to download if you want to get incredible value (in addition to great gameplay). To acquire the original Neo Geo AES cartridges would set you back around $2000, assuming you even manage to find someone actually selling them! To find more killer download bargains on the VC, check out the full feature, covering everything from the Neo Geo and TurboGrafx-16 (aka PC Engine) to the Sega Mega Drive and Super Nintendo.

America Deserves Great Wii RPGs!—Join Operation Rainfall
8 September 2011 10:16 pm

Wii may not be a retro console, but it is definitely the most retro system among the current generation's offerings. Sadly, the Wii is in the process of suffering an unnecessarily early death due to lack of quality games. Why? That's a good question, because Japan has received some pretty sweet RPGs like Last Story, Pandora's Tower, and Xenoblade Chronicles. Although Xenoblade has been published in Europe, none of these RPGs are currently slated for an American release. What a crime! After all, the Wii has sold over 40 million consoles in North America, the greatest number in any region. Is there any hope for RPG fans? But of course! There is one Internet pressure group is fighting the good fight. Operation Rainfall is a blog with the goal of convincing Nintendo to release these RPGs in North America. Wish them the best of luck!

PSN Retro Coverage—TurboGrafx-16 and Neo Geo Titles Available!
28 August 2011 10:45 pm

Covering the Wii Virtual Console was always a no-brainer for this site, but the Playstation 3 is stealthily becoming an excellent source of classic retro games as well. Though it's off to a bit of a slow start, Sony definitely has the right idea with providing great value, because it's always been the TurboGrafx-16 (aka PC Engine) games and Neo Geo games that represent the best bargains. Even with the small initial library of titles, you can already find some that are not available on the Wii Virtual Console—bravo! To help you weed out the best of the retro offerings, you'll find a new PSN system selector that takes you to the best titles currently available, ignoring the crap titles that so often cloud these sorts of services. Enjoy!

Nintendo's Virtual Console—Potential Greatness Eclipsed by Mediocrity
28 July 2011 8:23 pm

I hate to hit a good man while he's down, and believe me—as an owner of a small amount of Nintendo stock—I can guarantee that the Big N is feeling VERY down right now. With that caveat out of the way, I cannot help but unleash years worth of frustration about the Virtual Console service. The Virtual Console is a brilliant concept, yet Nintendo has executed it so poorly, barely exceeding minimum expectations. WTF? Step it up! Nintendo, you know there are tons of fanboys who will buy your greatest retro games over and over again. So give them a worthwhile digital product!

[Taking deep breaths. Trying to calm down.]

Anyway, this in-depth examination of the failings of the Virtual Console has been brewing for quite some time. Now that I see the 3DS Virtual Console service is hardly any better, I think it's time to let it rip. Nintendo, I'm always pulling for you, but you'd do well to read this feature and treat your retro gamers better.

The National Pinball Museum — Play Pinball There While You Can!
26 July 2011 12:16 pm

Originally scheduled to close on 4 July, I'm very pleased to report that The National Pinball Museum has managed to extend its lease until 5 September. Sadly, what happens after that remains uncertain (if you have any leads, please reach out to the museum's curator). So what are you waiting for? There are already plenty of good tourist reasons to visit Washington, DC, but for the fist time ever a fine collection playable pinball machines is one of them. Get yourself to The Shops at Georgetown Park and fire it up. There, you'll find a museum covering the history of pinball along with a wide variety of electromagnetic machines and solid state ones. You'll find just a few highlights from my last visit below. Games rotate, so if you want the latest list of what's currently playable, you can find it conveniently listed here.

The SunSoft Seven Pt. 3 — Batman
10 July 2011 6:47 pm

In the ongoing effort to extoll the finest developers from the golden age of video games, here's the latest feature in the SunSoft Seven feature series. I started collecting comic books not very long after discovering the NES, so it gives me great pleasure to extensively cover a fantastic game based on Batman. Enjoy!

GamerSpots — The Union of Google Maps and Video Game Info
8 July 2011 11:27 am

Once again summer has preoccupied me and I'm a little behind on updates, but I promise there are many items in the works. In the meantime, I want to give a shoutout to this excellent site: GamerSpots. Search your area for video game locations and add your favorites to the database.