PlayOldGames » Hardware

Twelve Unique Arcade Cabinets

Jonathan — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 17:32:09 +0000

oobject.com has up a gallery of unique arcade cabinets that were unique for their day.

During the golden age of video arcade games, arcades were blowing up and reaching all new levels of popularity in the states. However, in the mid 1980s the fad suddenly came to a halt with the production of home computers and home video game consoles which assured players that they would never need to leave the house or burn quarters to play their favorite games.

Hologram Time Traveler arcade cabinet

I remember playing Hologram Time Traveler once in a nearby arcade when I was a kid. While unique in presentation, I didn’t find it that interesting. I think most people in the area agreed with me, as it was pretty much neglected by patrons for Smash TV and Street Fighter II.

12 Failed Game Consoles and Add-Ons

Jonathan — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 15:00:19 +0000

While some items on this list of failed consoles shouldn’t be there in my opinion (the bottom four items, actually), it’s still interesting to see what companies have tried over the years. The Nintendo 64 Disk Drive in particular is a curiosity.

Sometimes, it doesn’t matter if you’re a huge company like Sega or Atari. All it takes is one bad idea put into production to bankrupt you, which is the case with many of the systems on this list. Many had less than 20 games developed for them and one (Gizmondo) even had its founders linked to organized crime.

10 Console Light Guns

Jonathan — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 15:00:55 +0000

I’m willing to bet there’s a few in this list of 10 console game light guns that you haven’t seen before. Unfortunately, most of these light guns (aside from the Wii Remote, of course) will not work with current flat panel HDTV technology, so you’ll have to have an older television around in order to enjoy their classic games.

Though light gun games have been available since the late 1960s, their prominence in the gaming community didn’t really come full swing until the release of Nintendo’s “Duck Hunt” in 1984. It included the NES Zapper, a light gun that stormed into people’s homes and brought endless hours of shoot ‘em up entertainment.

Nintendo “Ball” Game & Watch LCD Reissued

Jonathan — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:00:54 +0000

Much better than a Mario hat.

For many years Nintendo of Japan has had a customer rewards program called Club Nintendo. As you buy Nintendo products you earn points that can be redeemed for premium items direct from Nintendo. If you earn over a certain amount of points in one year, you are awarded different status levels, with Platinum being the highest at a 400 point threshold.

This year’s Platinum reward is a reissue of Nintendo’s first Game & Watch hand-held, Ball. Gold status members aren’t left out in the cold – they have earned a pretty spiffy 2010 calendar. These rewards only apply to Japanese customers, as Nintendo’s North American and European branches have their own rewards program. Speaking of which, did you order the Mario cap or the Punch Out!! minigame?

Spotted on RetroThing.

Nintendo Life reviews Retro Bit’s Retro Duo

Jonathan — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 16:00:40 +0000

NES, Game Boy (via Super Game Boy), and SNES in one package!

Nintendo Life-Retro has recently reviewed the Retro Duo console, with the results sounding pretty good. It’s a compact system that will play NES (North American and European carts only, no Famicom games because of a different pin-out) and SNES cartridges (North American, European and Japanese carts will fit). Supposedly compatibility is improved over previous “Fami-Clones”, but details about which games still have trouble is unfortunately missing.

The Retro Duo provides composite video output for both NES and SNES, with the ability to output S-Video for SNES only. The included SNES-style controllers are removable, if you prefer to use your own SNES controllers. All in all, sounds pretty decent for $40.

The Retro Duo isn’t 100% perfect by any means and according to reports there are some games which still stubbornly refuse to run, but for the most part the compatibility is excellent. It even accepts the Super Game Boy device (for playing handheld Game Boy titles) and the Game Genie cheat cartridge – two items which have confounded previous FamiClones.

Game Boy Added to the National Toy Hall of Fame

Jonathan — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 17:02:08 +0000

Creator of an empire that has yet to be overthrown

Introduced in 1989, the Nintendo Game Boy was an instant hit, selling through its initial North American shipment in one week. Nearly 120 million Game Boys (including original Game Boy, Game Boy Pocket, and Game Boy Color) have sold worldwide. Despite facing competition from other, more technically advanced competitors, the Game Boy line has reigned supreme in the hand-held market, recently passing the torch to Nintendo’s DS portable. The Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester, New York recently added this portable powerhouse to its National Toy Hall of Fame (PDF). This year’s other inductees include the Big Wheel tricycle and the ball.

Nintendo should be proud of its little grey brick being considered as iconic as the ball.

SEGA Genesis Turns 20

Jonathan — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 16:57:18 +0000

Twenty years ago Nintendo faced its first real challenge to its dominance in the home console market: SEGA introduced the Genesis to North America. With a faster processor, stereo sound, and many excellent arcade ports the Genesis was a hit, eventually wrestling dominance away from Nintendo’s NES.

Click for the full poster.

The 10 Worst Videogame Consoles

Jonathan — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 20:20:35 +0000

PCWorld.com has a slideshow showcasing ten videogame market failures and the reasons for their downfall. What’s interesting about this slideshow is that the usual suspects are not present. Nowhere will you see the Virtual Boy or 32x. Benj Edwards from VintageComputing.com has chosen some very obscure bits of hardware to feature in his slideshow.

Since the appearance of the first video game console–the Magnavox Odyssey–in 1972, dozens of companies have tried their hands at crafting successful and lucrative game platforms. Each new machine brought with it the promise of a compelling, novel gaming experience, but the vast majority failed miserably to deliver. For every blockbuster like the NES, the Atari 2600, or the Sony PlayStation, there are a bunch of duds that never made it far in the marketplace. And for good reasons: Some of the consoles I’ve listed here were ridiculously overpriced, some were woefully underpowered, some worked only with a stable of pathetically bad games. And a special few possessed every one of those characteristics.

I don’t want to be uncharitable, though. Even the worst console here had at least one redeeming quality (well, maybe not the RCA Studio II), so I’ve tried to point out the bright spots in this otherwise dark and melancholy history.

Spotted at VintageComputing.com.

Retro Gaming 101: Sega Master System

Jonathan — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 15:30:22 +0000

I’ve been impressed with Racketboy.com’s Retro Gaming 101 series of articles. For the younger or newer gamer they serve as an introduction into the history of the medium, covering both popular and obscure hardware alike.

Recently Chrono put together a guide for Sega’s first international console, the Master System. While it saw excellent sales in South America and Europe, it had a more difficult time in the North American market. Technically superior to Nintendo’s NES, the SMS has quite a few entertaining titles for it and some unique accessories. I pull mine out every once in a while for some Fantasy Zone!

Get your background education about one of Sega’s earliest home consoles!

Patentmania: The Golden Age of Electronic Games

Jonathan — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 15:30:29 +0000

From a post at technologizer.com:

The first three decades of digital gaming saw a flurry of concepts, technologies, and products that were groundbreaking in their era and still matter today. And the drawings their inventors used to document them in patent filings are a nostalgic, charming blast. Here are thirty-two of those sketches–including ones for some the most successful games ever and a few which I’m not sure ever made it to market at all.

Sleek 80s high-tech design

Check out the rest of the list at technologizer.com.