Friday Talklie: Pressies & XBox Live Hacked?

Friday Talklie: Pressies & XBox Live Hacked?

I show you some of the goodies I got for Christmas, and then talk a bit about XBox live allegedly being hacked, or its users being hit with a phishing scam... and Microsoft's reaction to that.

Battlefield 3 on PS3 Long Play Sillyness.

Battlefield 3 on PS3 Long Play Sillyness.

Gameplay (Long Play) from Battlefield 3 on Playstation 3.

Friday Talkie: 1000 Vids Christmas Special

Friday Talkie: 1000 Vids Christmas Special

Big thanks to Tia for sending me some very cool games, calling cards and cute montser :)

I wish you all a very Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and whatever else you care to celebrate.

"We Wish You A Merry Christmas" is provided royalty free by Kevin MacLeod of incomptech.com

Technocop on Mega Drive

Technocop on Mega Drive

Gameplay from Technocop on Sega Mega Drive / Genesis retro video games console.

Strider on Sega Master System

Strider on Sega Master System

Gameplay from Strider playing on the Sega Master System retro video games console.

Friday Talkie: Thanks And Milestones

Friday Talkie: Thanks And Milestones

First, huge thanks to paulspydar, for sending me an uber-funky Apple Mac laptop. I'm chuffed to bits.
http://www.youtube.com/user/paulspydar

Next I talk about hitting the milestones of 6000 subs, 2 million views, and 1000 videos uploaded.
I'd like to thank absolutely everyone who has subscribed, watched, commented, liked... aaanything like that. You're an incredible group of people and it means a great deal to me to receive so much support.

Submarine Attack on Sega Master System

Submarine Attack on Sega Master System

Gameplay from Submarine Attack playing on the Sega Master System retro video games console.

Sonic The Hedgehog on Sega Master System

Sonic The Hedgehog on Sega Master System

Gameplay from Sonic The Hedgehog playing on the Sega Master System retro video games console.

Sky Jaguar on Sony Hit Bit MSX

Sky Jaguar on Sony Hit Bit MSX

Gameplay from Sky Jaguar playing on the Sony Hit Bit MSX vintage home computer.

Robin Of The Wood on Commodore 64 / C64

Robin Of The Wood on Commodore 64 / C64

Gameplay from Robin Of The Wood playing on the Commodore 64 / C64 vintage home computer.

Friday Talkie: Community Shrinkage & Game Formats

Friday Talkie: Community Shrinkage & Game Formats

I talk about the apparent reduction in the number of channels producing retro gaming videos, and ponder why that happened and what it means.

I discuss possible alternatives to the recent restrictive practices of software and hardware publishers/manufacturers.

Head Over Heels on Commodore 64 / C64

Head Over Heels on Commodore 64 / C64

Gameplay from Head Over Heels by Job Ritman & Bernie Drummond and published by Ocean, playing on the Commodore 64 / C64.

The Sentinel on Commodore 64 / C64

The Sentinel on Commodore 64 / C64

Gameplay from The Sentinel by Geoff Crammond, playing on the Commodore 64 / C64

Cosmic Causeway / Trailblazer II on the Commodore 64 / C64

Cosmic Causeway / Trailblazer II on the Commodore 64 / C64

Gameplay from Cosmic Causeway / Trailblazer II, playing on the Commodore 64 / C64.

Friday Talkie: New Layout and Favourite gaming related Christmas memory.

Friday Talkie: New Layout and Favourite gaming related Christmas memory.

I talk about the new YouTube channel layout, or specifically, my channel layout.
I respond to the "What's your favourite gaming related Christmas memory?" tag.
This weeks shoutout goes to pcfaulkner

Barbarian II on Commodore 64 / C64

Barbarian II on Commodore 64 / C64

Gameplay from Barbarian II by Palace Software, playing on the Commodore 64 / C64.

Wednesday Waffle: Massive Thanks To ninjabearhug

Wednesday Waffle: Massive Thanks To ninjabearhug

A short explanation for my recent absence from YouTube, and a massive great big thank you to Stew, ninjabearhug for sending me a load of great games, and a "Brucie Bonus".
Stew's channel is at
https://www.youtube.com/user/ninjabearhug

Daytona USA on Sony PS3

Daytona USA on Sony PS3

Gameplay from Daytona USA HD by Sega, playing on the Sony Playstation 3.

Rez Playing on the Sony PS2

Rez Playing on the Sony PS2

Gameplay from Rez by Sega, playing on the Sony Playstation 2 .

Ed The Duck on Amstrad CPC 6128

Ed The Duck on Amstrad CPC 6128

Gameplay from Renegade by Taito / Imagine playing on the Amstrad CPC 6128 vintage home computer.

The Directory

The YouTubers Directory

I've updated the YouTubers Retro Gaming Directory and removed links to dead, and abandoned channels. I also removed those who's subject matter has shifted away from retro gaming. This is not a judgement on the quality of those channels, I'm merely trying to keep the directory up to date with only relevant content.

Renegade on Amstrad CPC 6128

Renegade on Amstrad CPC 6128

Gameplay from Renegade by Taito / Imagine playing on the Amstrad CPC 6128 vintage home computer.

Friday Talkie: Ebay Annoyances & Megadrive / SNES Faves/Least Faves

Friday Talkie: Ebay Annoyances & Megadrive / SNES Faves/Least Faves

Responses to MarximumRD's open tag videos.
What pisses you off the most as an Ebay BUYER?
Your Favorite and Least Favorite SNES or GENESIS games.
This week's shoutout: A1dy74

Galactic Conquerer on Amstrad

Galactic Conquerer on Amstrad

Gameplay from Galactic Conquerer playing on the Amstrad CPC 6128 vintage home computer.

Prince Of Persia on Amstrad CPC 6128

Prince Of Persia on Amstrad CPC 6128

Gameplay from Prince Of Persia playing on the Amstrad CPC 6128 vintage home computer.

Slap Fight on Amstrad CPC 6128

Slap Fight on Amstrad CPC 6128

Gameplay from Slap Fight playing on the Amstrad CPC 6128 vintage home computer.

Friday Talkie: Meetups & Games That Take Over Lives

Friday Talkie: Meetups & Games That Take Over Lives

A response to troubl8385's question Are Youtube Meetups Going To Become A Big Thing?


I talk about Minecraft and ask "Is there a game that could or has taken over your life?" and ponder whether this kind of addictiveness in a game is a good thing, demonstrating how brilliant the game is, or if it is in fact dangerous.

Madballs on Amstrad CPC 6128

Madballs on Amstrad CPC 6128

Gameplay from Madballs playing on the Amstrad CPC 6128 vintage home computer.

Freddy Hardest on Amstrad CPC 6128

Freddy Hardest on Amstrad CPC 6128

Gameplay from Freddy Hardest playing on the Amstrad CPC 6128 vintage home computer.

Yoomp on Atari 8 bit / 65XE

Yoomp on Atari 8 bit / 65XE

Gameplay from Yoomp, playing on the Atari 8 bit / 65XE vintage home computer.

Replay Expo at the Norbreck Castle Hotel, Blackpool, on 5th Nov 2011

Replay Expo at the Norbreck Castle Hotel, Blackpool, on 5th Nov 2011



I talk about the day at the Replay Expo 2011, and then show some video footage of the event.

I hung out with:
Tudave
UKRetroGames
zombieAndy1979
markvergeer & his wife Elise
RetroGamerVX & his wife Cheryl

People we met and chatted with:
ianwilson1978
Lorfarius
ukretrogameaddict
RetroGamerDaz
ReplayRetro
28steryan
PSI236
Murfadurf83
RetroBob2084
davidhass3lh0ff
2 Chaps who said hi who we'd definitely met before at Spalding who's names I'm embarrassed to admit I can't remember.

People who were there but sadly we missed in the crowd:
locomaniacs1hmps
fleetwoodsucks
hindleyak
and probably many others.

Friday Talkie: Lots To Talk About

Friday Talkie: Lots To Talk About




I talk about:
Replay at the Norbreck Castle Hotel in Blackpool.
Nintendo admitting that they deliberately delayed the release of some of their top titles for the 3DS.
My New ISP.
Onlive.
Viewer criticism of YouTube videos and channels.
YouTube's approach to policing their service.
Technology used to identify internet users and what this can mean for civil liberties.

This week's shoutout: luasdublin

Stealth on Atari 8 bit / 65XE

Stealth on Atari 8 bit / 65XE

Gameplay from Stealth, playing on the Atari 8 bit / 65XE vintage home computer.

River Raid on Atari 8 bit / 65XE

River Raid on Atari 8 bit / 65XE

Gameplay from River Raid by Activision, playing on the Atari 8 bit / 65XE vintage home computer.

Sim City 3000 UK Edition on PC

Sim City 3000 UK Edition on PC

Gameplay from Sim City by Maxis, playing on a PC.

Arkanoid on Amstrad CPC 6128

Arkanoid on Amstrad CPC 6128

Gameplay from Arkanoid playing on the Amstrad CPC 6128 vintage home computer.

Friday Talkie: Nothing To Say About Stuff

Friday Talkie: Nothing To Say About Stuff

Thanks to murrayefc78 for sending me Barbarian II on C64.

I have nothing much to say on a variety of subjects including Halloween, GTA5, BF3, GT5, BF2, BF 1943, and Daytona USA.
I talk a little about the camera I'm using to capture footage from CRT TVs and monitors.

A respond to markvergeer's Open TAG: Modern Multi-Communication: A Blessing or Curse?

Q*Bert on Atari 8 bit / 65XE

Q*Bert on Atari 8 bit / 65XE

Gameplay from Q*Bert playing on the Atari 8 bit / 65XE vintage home computer.

Game Over on Amstrad CPC 6128

Game Over on Amstrad CPC 6128

Gameplay from Game Over playing on the Amstrad CPC 6128 vintage home computer.

Pitfall 2 on Atari 8 bit / 65XE

Pitfall 2 on Atari 8 bit / 65XE

Gameplay from Pitfall II: The Lost Caverns by Activision, playing on the Atari 8 bit / 65XE vintage home computer.

Rodland on Amstrad CPC 6128

Rodland on Amstrad CPC 6128

Gameplay from Rodland playing on the Amstrad CPC 6128 vintage home computer.

Pitfall on Atari 8 bit / 65XE vintage home computer.

Pitfall on Atari 8 bit / 65XE vintage home computer.

Gameplay from Pitfall by Activision, playing on the Atari 8 bit / 65XE vintage home computer.

Friday Talkie: Toot Your Own Horn.

Friday Talkie: Toot Your Own Horn.



BIG thanks to murrayefc78 for sending me a bunch of great C64 games

Toot Your Own Horn open tag by atarileaf

-----------------------------------
My Stuff:
Space Assault

Out Of The Dark

Music Appreciation

My Music Videos

My Photos on Flickr

My Retro Gaming Collector Website

------------------------------------

trouble8385: What Do You Expect From A ShoutOut Video?

My open tag: What do you look for in a channel?

electricadventures: Game Varients - Which to collect

This weeks shoutout: GamingHistorySource

Missile Command on Atari 8 bit / 65XE vintage home computer.

Missile Command on Atari 8 bit / 65XE

Gameplay from Missile Command, playing on the Atari 8 bit / 65XE vintage home computer.

The Legend Of Kage on Amstrad CPC 6128 vintage home computer.

The Legend Of Kage on Amstrad CPC 6128 vintage home computer.

Gameplay from The Legend Of Kage playing on the Amstrad CPC 6128 vintage home computer.

Pole Position on Atari 8 bit / 65XE vintage home computer.

Pole Position on Atari 8 bit / 65XE vintage home computer.

Gameplay from Pole Position, playing on the Atari 8 bit / 65XE vintage home computer.

Pit Fighter on Amstrad CPC 6128 vintage home computer.

Pit Fighter on Amstrad CPC 6128 vintage home computer.

Gameplay from Pit Fighter playing on the Amstrad CPC 6128 vintage home computer.

Game Videos Playlists

Game Videos Playlists

On all of the system review pages where I have gameplay videos, but haven't yet got round to producing dedicated webpages for them, I've included links to my youtube playlists from those gameplay vids.

Damn... that was a bit of a mouthful.
What that means is, if you go to say... my Atari 65XE page, I don't have any dedicated pages on this site for Atari 8 bit gameplay videos, so I have put up a link to my Atari 8 bit YouTube playlist, where you can find lots of videos (by me) of games for that system.

Megamania on Atari 8 bit / 65XE vintage home computer.

Megamania on Atari 8 bit / 65XE vintage home computer.

Gameplay from Megamania by Activision, playing on the Atari 8 bit / 65XE vintage home computer.

Ghouls And Ghosts on Amstrad CPC 6128 vintage home computer.

Ghouls And Ghosts on Amstrad CPC 6128 vintage home computer.

Gameplay from Ghouls And Ghosts playing on the Amstrad CPC 6128 vintage home computer.

Jumpman on Atari 8 bit / 65XE

Jumpman on Atari 8 bit / 65XE

Gameplay from Jumpman playing on the Atari 8 bit / 65XE vintage home computer.

Friday Talkie: Guilty Pleasures & Games That Kick Your Arse

Friday Talkie: Guilty Pleasures & Games That Kick Your Arse



I talk about "I Got This", started by FuyuAkiWorld


Tag response to Gaming Guilty Pleasure, by neojake999gamer


Games That Kick Your Arse tag by thesaintedmagnusshow


Shoutout - edt1138

Gyruss on Atari 8 bit / 65XE

Gyruss on Atari 8 bit / 65XE

Gameplay from Gyruss playing on the Atari 8 bit / 65XE vintage home computer.

Ridge Racer Revolution on Sony Playstation / PS1

Ridge Racer Revolution on Sony Playstation / PS1

Gameplay from Ridge Racer Revolution playing on the Sony Playstation / PS1 games console.

Frogger on Atari 8 bit / 65XE

Frogger on Atari 8 bit / 65XE

Gameplay from Frogger playing on the Atari 8 bit / 65XE vintage home computer.

Dropzone on Atari 8 bit / 65XE

Dropzone on Atari 8 bit / 65XE

Gameplay from Dropzone playing on the Atari 8 bit / 65XE vintage home computer.

Donkey Kong Jr on Atari 8 bit / 65XE

Donkey Kong Jr on Atari 8 bit / 65XE

Gameplay from Donkey Kong Jr playing on the Atari 8 bit / 65XE vintage home computer.

Dig Dug on Atari 8 bit / 65XE

Dig Dug on Atari 8 bit / 65XE

Gameplay from Dig Dug playing on the Atari 8 bit / 65XE vintage home computer.

Friday Talkie: Ads & Plug'N'Plays

Friday Talkie: Ads & Plug'N'Plays

R.I.P. Steve Jobs 1955 - 2011

I explain the presence of ads on my videos, and then talk about a couple of Namco plug'n'play joysticks.

Deluxe Invaders on Atari 8 bit / 65XE

Deluxe Invaders on Atari 8 bit / 65XE

Gameplay from Deluxe Invaders playing on the Atari 8 bit / 65XE vintage home computer.

Caverns Of Mars 2 on Atari 8 bit / 65XE

Caverns Of Mars 2 on Atari 8 bit / 65XE

Gameplay from Caverns Of Mars II playing on the Atari 8 bit / 65XE vintage home computer.

Bonus Video: I Can Play Really

Bonus Video: I Can Play Really

I explain the reasons for the apparent lack of playing skill in my usual videos while demonstrating that I actually can play quite when when I do it properly.
The game I use for this demonstration is Pole Position on the Namco 5 Games in 1 Plug'n'Play Joystick.

Loderunner on Atari 8 bit / Atari65XE

Loderunner on Atari 8 bit / Atari65XE

Gameplay from Loderunner playing on the Atari 8 bit / 65XE vintage home computer.

H.E.R.O. on Atari 8 bit / Atari65XE

H.E.R.O. on Atari 8 bit / Atari65XE

Gameplay from H.E.R.O. by Activision, playing on the Atari 8 bit / 65XE vintage home computer.

FridayTalkie: Atari and Arcade Cab Tags

FridayTalkie: Atari and Arcade Cab Tags



A great big thank you to TheSymbianFreak for sending me a bundle of games

My response to MaximumRD's Atari computer and console open tag

My response to PsimanUK's Ultimate 6 game arcade machine tag


Shoutouts:
troubl8385
Jason Moore
AcornElectronTV
phreakindee
niceandgames

Ms Pac-Man on Ataro 8 bit / 65XE

Ms Pac-Man on Ataro 8 bit / 65XE

Gameplay from Ms Pac-Man playing on the Atari 8 bit / 65XE vintage home computer.

Defender on Atari 8 bit / 65XE

Defender on Atari 8 bit / 65XE

Gameplay from Defender playing on the Atari 8 bit / 65XE vintage home computer.

Decathlon on Atari 8 bit / 65XE

Decathlon on Atari 8 bit / 65XE

Gameplay from Decathlon playing on the Atari 8 bit / 65XE vintage home computer.

Choplifter on Atari 8 bit / 65XE

Choplifter on Atari 8 bit / 65XE

Gameplay from Choplifter playing on the Atari 8 bit / 65XE vintage home computer.

6128 Fix - An Amstrad Adventure (Not a game)

6128 Fix - An Amstrad Adventure (Not a game)

Opening up an Amstrad 6128 to change the disk drive belt, and then sorting out a power supply for said drive.

Atari 7800

I've included a system review video on the Atari 7800 page.

Bruce Lee on Atari 8 bit / 65XE

Bruce Lee on Atari 8 bit / 65XE

Gameplay from Bruce Lee playing on the Atari 8 bit / 65XE vintage home computer.

Miner 2049er on Atari 8 bit / 65XE

Miner 2049er on Atari 8 bit / 65XE

Gameplay from Miner 2049er playing on the Atari 8 bit / 65XE vintage home computer.

Bounty Bob on Atari 8 bit / Atari65XE

Bounty Bob on Atari 8 bit / Atari65XE

Gameplay fromBounty Bob playing on the Atari 8 bit / 65XE vintage home computer.

Boulder Dash on Atari 8 bit / 65XE

Boulder Dash on Atari 8 bit / 65XE

Gameplay from Boulder Dash playing on the Atari 8 bit / 65XE vintage home computer.

Friday Talkie: PC or Console and My Gaming Preferences.

Friday Talkie: PC or Console and My Gaming Preferences.



My response to the PC or Console tag that's doing the rounds. Other responses are:
lawnboyspost1975

MaximumRD

markvergeer


I talk about my taste in games, in response to a question by n2thepast


This weeks shoutout goes to thejoyofsticks

Berzerk on Atari 8 bit / 65XE

Berzerk on Atari 8 bit / 65XE

Gameplay from Berzerk playing on the Atari 8 bit / 65XE vintage home computer.

Ballblazer on Atari 8 bit / 65XE

Ballblazer on Atari 8 bit / 65XE

Gameplay from Ballblazer playing on the Atari 8 bit / 65XE vintage home computer.

Gameplay videos

Gameplay videos.

Obviously there are gameplay videos on the Retro Gaming Collector website, and these are separated into sections dependant on what system they're played on.

However, since it takes me forever to get those pages sorted out, and I'm behind by about 3 years, I'm thinking I shall embed all current videos on this blog.

Obviously, there will be nothing to see here that you can't find on my youtube channel, but on the offchance that there are some people who don't care to follow me on there, but check out this blog... oh... you get the picture.

It's all about maximising my exposure.
Anyway, I'll start doing this with the Atari 8 bit series that I'll be starting (continuing) tomorrow.

Friday Talkie: Streaming Games, Nintendo, HCG

Friday Talkie: Streaming Games, Nintendo, HCG



I respond to a tag video started by BigDaddyDarth

and also covered by markvergeer

and PocketMego

I also talk about Nintendo's 3DS plans, as discussed recently by ReviewTechUSA


I talk a bit about the recent video by HCG and how I'm fairly disgusted by the hate campaign that followed.
This is also discussed very eloquently by PsimanUK

and will I believe be discussed by troubl8385 in the near future.


This week's shoutout goes to GT3x24x7

Facebook

Facebook
I'm now on facebook at http://www.facebook.com/RetroGamingCollector.

Clones

Clones



My appearance on the 1hmps podcast is at
http://1hourmonthlypodcastshow.co.uk/?p=2924

Big thanks to Malc and Andy
http://www.youtube.com/user/malc1976
http://www.youtube.com/user/locomaniacs1hmps

In this video I talk about the ATGames (AT@ames) Blaze Mega Drive clone, and then discuss clone systems in general, and their place in a retro collection.

This weeks shoutout goes to Dan
http://www.youtube.com/user/DansGameCorner

1HMPS Retro Episode 17 – Steve Benway

1HMPS Retro Episode 17 – Steve Benway

"Hello retro gaming fans, we are back again with another fantastic episode of 1HMPS Retro and this time we have Game collector and Youtube channel extraordinaire, the legend that is …..Steve Benway! Malc is the host this time and he finds out about how Steve got into gaming and what were his early gaming experience were. Steve also talks about his gaming collection and druken Shenmue video + loads more If you want to find out more about the legend that is Steve Benway then sit back and have a few beers and enjoy this great interview."

Moose, Vectrex Multicart and Tags

Moose, Vectrex Multicart and Tags



Talking about my intros and outros, and the story of the moose.

A response to kazxena's "What games or gaming genre can you NOT get to grips with?" tag.


Rob MaximumRD did a good response too.


A response to sandamtod's "Could we (partially) be to blame for thrift store pricing?" video.


This week's shoutout goes to ChrisKlein1980

Sinclair ZX81

Sinclair ZX81

I've updated the Sinclair ZX81 page, with full info and a system review video.
Do feel free to go buy one via the ebay links :)

Thanks, Grumble, Tag, Chat & Stuff

Thanks, Grumble, Tag, Chat & Stuff



Thanks to Andy

and malc

RetroGamerVXs tag video

RetroGamerVX's chat

revolutionactiondk's chat announcement video

retrogamersunited site

Channel And Community Expectations

Channel And Community Expectations



Talking about people's expectations both for their own channels, and of the community.

trouble8385 covered this very well recently at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ns_ylYTSEok

This week's shoutout goes to gamerslivingroom

Game Link Event & Holiday Gamers Survival Kit Tag

Game Link Event & Holiday Gamers Survival Kit Tag



Talking about the retro gaming event at Game Link in Spalding last weekend which was attended by the following plus many more.

http://www.youtube.com/user/murfadurf83
http://www.youtube.com/user/Angelmurfette
http://www.youtube.com/user/Retr0Rewind
http://www.youtube.com/user/ReplayRetro
http://www.youtube.com/user/XFile2708
http://www.youtube.com/user/TheGebs24
http://www.youtube.com/user/RetroBob2084
http://www.youtube.com/user/dancentral
http://www.youtube.com/user/interghost
http://www.youtube.com/user/jurassicjunkie
http://www.youtube.com/user/JuniorD1975
http://www.youtube.com/user/Airwlof
http://www.youtube.com/user/ninjabearhug
http://www.youtube.com/user/TheSecretGameRoom
http://www.youtube.com/user/GamersKeep
http://www.youtube.com/user/TheDebbles28
http://www.youtube.com/user/ToJo841
http://www.youtube.com/user/shockz16
http://www.youtube.com/user/ArtyGirlZiggy15

Do check out Martin's channel for details of the next event in October
http://www.youtube.com/user/murfadurf83

A response to Mark Vergeer's Gamers Holiday Survival Kit tag.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Y1FURzjLhA

Game Link / YouTube Retro Event in Spalding

Game Link / YouTube Retro Event in Spalding



Very random footage from the retro event held at Murfadurf83's Game Link in Spalding on 11/12 June 2011. This footage is all from the Saturday.

The store is Game Link, 46 Holbeach Road, Spalding, United Kingdom.

These are just a few of the great people who I met there.
murfadurf83
Retr0Rewind
ReplayRetro
XFile2708
RetroBob2084
dancentral
interghost
jurassicjunkie
JuniorD1975
ninjabearhug

If you're in this video and I haven't named you, my apologies... I was completely not on the case through lack of sleep. I know there are people who I know, and spoke to... but names evade me. Please a leave a comment and I will name/link you.

I'd like to say a huge big thanks to Dave, Retr0Rewind, for taking me along with him, and excellent work to Martin, murfadurf83 for setting up such a great event. Nicely done!

Friday Talkie: Stick In The Mud?

Friday Talkie: Stick In The Mud?



Talking about the need for console manufacturers to find a new direction, and how I don't much like it.

I'm going to the retro gamers meetup thingie in Spalding tomorrow, so I'll see you there if you're going.

Shoutout: gerion79

Ads and layouts

I'm rationalising the page layouts, removing under-performing advertising and replacing those ads with useful and relevant links.
It's time consuming and probably won't immediately help the performance of the site, but it does provide improved content, if only in a small way.
So a cursory glance at the site might suggest there's not much happening here, but the truth is, I'm busy as hell :)

Sega 32X Games Videos

Sega 32X Games Videos

5 new Sega 32X Game Videos are now up.

Amstrad GX4000 games videos

Amstrad GX4000 games videos

3 new Amstrad GX4000 gameplay video pages uploaded.

Sega Master System Videos

Sega Master System Videos

There are now 22 videos up on the Sega Master System Game Videos page.

Expect more video of retro games soon.

Acorn Archimedes A3010

Acorn Archimedes A3010

I've added a page for the Acorn Archimedes A3010.
This includes 2 videos, specs, history and details of the system, plus the usual ebay custom search links.
Do go and check it out... and maybe buy one... or three ;)

The Future

The Future



A prediction of the future.
Talking about integrated mobile internet, with speech recognition, voice synthesis, automatic language translation, GPS tracking, social networking, cashless economy, medical, criminal and work records, all tied into augmented reality, with a hi-tech "in your eyes" display.

Retro remake, friends list, and is the community dying?

Retro remake, friends list, and is the community dying?



I give my response to MaximumRD's retro remake tag.


Next I talk a little about how I've started using the friends list to maintain control of comments while still giving unmoderated comments to as many people as possible.

I then respond to the question that's doing the round "is the gaming community dying?"

Finally a shoutout of sorts:
DeviousTelevision has set up the 2011 Players' Choice Awards on his website.

Friday Talkie: Emulators Tag

Friday Talkie: Emulators Tag

My response to MarkVergeer's Emulators tag video.

This week's shoutout goes to TheEPROM9

An honourable mention goes to mathowlett

Room Tour

Room Tour
A quick tour of my study and games room, taking in my retro gaming hardware and software collections.

Interview with Mike from tipsandinfo / BigtimeStars.com

Interview with Mike from tipsandinfo @ YouTube / BigtimeStars.com

I recently had the great pleasure of being invited to talk with Mike on the "Interesting People" slot at tipsandinfo, part of BigtimeStars.com.

We talked about how I got into retro collecting, retro and modern gaming in general, and all things in between.

Here are the 4 parts of our conversation.

A big thank you to Mark, UKRetroGames for fixing my Commodore 64.
http://www.youtube.com/user/UKRetroGames

If you're having software compatibility issues with Windoze 7 64 bit, try installing DirectX End-User Runtime Web Installer, which you can find at
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?familyid=2da43d38-db71-4c1...

Getting to know you tag, originally by LightweightSIX9
http://www.youtube.com/LightweightSIX9

Seen by me via Mark Vergeer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wRYxDs10WA

The questions are:
1. Do you have any pets?
2. Name 3 things physically close you you.
3. Whats the weather like right now?
4. Do you drive, if so have you crashed?
5. What time did you wake up this morning?
6. When was the last time you showered?
7. what was the last movie you saw
8. What does your last SMS / text message say.
9. What is your ring-tone?
10. Have you ever been to a different country?
11. Do you like sushi?
12. where do you buy your groceries?
13. Have you ever taken medication to fall asleep?
14. How many Siblings do you have?
15. Do you have a desktop or Laptop?
16. How old will you be on your next birthday?
17. Do you wear contacts or glasses?
18. Do you color your hair?
19. Tell me something your planning on doing today?
20. When was the last time you cried?
21. What is your perfect pizza topping?
22. Which do you prefer Hamburgers or cheese burgers?
23. Have you ever had an all nighter?
24. What is your eye color?
25. Can you taste the difference between Pepsi and Coke?

I have a slideshow of my best photographs on my other channel at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qnfs-jz4sCU

Tape Files and Stuff

Tape Files and Stuff



Talking about collecting, and how tape files are great just for gaming, as opposed to collecting.

Friday Talkie Time Machine

Friday Talkie Time Machine


Honourable mention, Paul, kvfive
http://www.youtube.com/user/kvfive

Flicking through a scan of issue one of Computer and Video Games magazine, looking at the adverts for the systems of the day.
Next I have a go at entering a "type in" from the magazine into my ZX81.

Memotech MTX512

Memotech MTX512

A video review has been added to the Memotech MTX512 page.

Differences - UK and North American Gaming History

Differences - UK and North American Gaming History

Memotech MTX512

Memotech MTX512

New history and technical info is now on the MTX512 page.
A video will follow in a few days.

Commodore C64GS

New Commodore C64GS System Review

I've added new info on the Commodore C64GS, and a video system review.
Check it all out on the C64GS page.

Dead Machines

Dead Machines

My regular friday youtube post, known as "The Friday Talkie", this time talking about dead consoles and computers, and what to do with them etc.

4000 YouTube Subscribers Q&A Special

4000 YouTube Subscribers Q&A Special

A couple of weeks ago I invited people to ask questions for my 4000 subscriber milestone video.
Here are the answers :)



A few days after posting this video, I received a very interesting message from rednight2476, in response to certain things I'd spoken about.

After asking his permission, I'm pasting his message in here, as it's well worth reading.


"If the sites you look at primarily from the UK and Europe, Amigas are everywhere, however if you look at mostly American sites they are very rare. This is mostly because the Amiga was never popular in the US, most people that had computers in the 80s either had a C64, or Apple II, with a few TRS-80s, then moved to clone PCs or Macs. Everyone in that crowd was aware of the Amiga, but with Commodores stupid dealer programme they simply where not available for purchase in most places.

For example, I went to high school in Austin Texas which was, and still is, a huge tech city. In Austin in 1989 there was exactly one official Amiga dealer, they where a primarily a video production supplier, and did not generally do retail sales. I think there was a whole three official Amiga dealers in the whole state. The only people that had Amigas in the US where people that really really wanted one. A PC on the hand, there where five stores in a residential neighbourhood that sold IBM AT clones. If you wanted a Mac you had to go into the city, but there was still several places that carried them.

If you where an Amiga user in the US, and you wanted a Amiga magazine, they where almost entirely imported from the UK. There was one US Amiga magazine, that had no cover disk, and really only covered software and products that would be of interest to TV producers. Most Amiga software you had to mail order form the UK, or Europe, other than Video Toaster stuff, and DPaint. With that being the case, thats why you see so many 'how to convert NTSC A500 to PAL' in places like Aminet etc.

On the X1000, PPC boards, the Amiga clones, retro gaming, and DRM

When it comes to X1000, and other PPC stuff, I completely agree with you. They are valiant effort, and I commend the people doing them. However these machines will never be bought by anyone other than die hard Amiga junkies(I may even be one). They really are just specialised PCs.

On the new clones that are 68k and have the Amiga custom chipset, I see a lot of potential in these machines. I don't know if your aware of this or not, but the problems with DRM, and NDAs, and other thou shalt not use your hardware in ways not approved of by a corporation, also exist throughout the PC hardware. This is especially true of graphics and sound boards, which is the same problem the Linux guys have with getting drivers from several cards. When the Natami is released it will also be the only 3D graphics processor that can be programmed at a hardware level by a home user on the market.

People absolutely are getting sick of being told by corporations what they can and cannot do with stuff they supposedly own. With the work just started to open up the possibility of small run chip fab, all the home brew systems being worked on with FPGAs can reasonably become high speed ASIC. Moreover with the web returning to being standards based with HTML 5, and not at the whim of who Adobe ports flash too, these system have a real chance. Wouldn't you love to have an 2GHz 68060 A1200 with a 3D accelerator, modern display output, a browser that works with youtube, a real programmers manual, and the promise that you can do whatever you want to with it; I know I sure would.

I am really pleased that the return of real computers at home, is once again becoming a reality. It doesn't matter how matter how fast a PC runs, if you are not allowed to programme it, it is not a real computer."

Commodore PET

Commodore PET

System details and history of the Commodore PET have been updated, including a video covering a brief history, hardware etc.
Check it out on the Commodore PET CBM 8032 page.

A message from Fabio Bizzetti

A message from Fabio Bizzetti



Fabio sent me a very interesting message in response to this video and asked if there was any way for me to publish it, as YouTube limits the length of comments on videos.

Here is his message:

First of all I wish to thank Steve for the time he has spent to video record (whereas the trickly SHRES display mode), game-test and show You my old puppy.

I want also to thank a lot All those that expressed comments, in particular nukinetix, who sadly at the moment I haven't identified exactly, because of the nickname, but I hope to fill the gap soon.

Thank You Steve for being one of the first foreigners (from my point of view, that is) to pronounce my name correctly. :D

My spoken English is all but trained, so I didn't grasp some parts of the (talked) comments by Steve. No problems for the criticism :o but I'm here and hopefully I can clarify some points:

Yes, the game is hard, but I was coming from a real karts experience and I wanted it to be hard. However I think that there was like a "critical mass" to reach, I've seen with my betatester friends, the first impact was "too hard!" but they eventually felt pity for me, had to betatest the damn game, and after x hours (expecially after they managed to remember every corner of the track) they suddenly started to really enjoy it. It's a game that, like real karts, must be driven "instinctively", not like a big heavy car for example. You don't have to think, just move the stick. Eyes/hand coordination, just that, like with karts. Then it can be funny, yes. Or, well, I'm biased, but the project started as "a game for me", then as relatives and friends were impressed with it, I decided to try to get it published too.

The best control device for VK in my opinion is, I say it with no hesitation, the analogue joystick. That changes much in the enjoyment of the game. I can get very good lap times even with the mouse, but it's not the same thing.

An anecdote: when I had to release VK (deadlines, etc..) I was working day and night and was getting really pretty sick. Finally I told my brother "it's finished! I've compiled and packed all files to the 2 floppies, applied the protection.. now I'll send the discs to the publisher". But my brother wanted to betatest it for the last time. :P He found it to be suboptimal that the kart driver's feet weren't moving when he was accelerating or braking, so he actually commanded me to make them move them accordingly. I was really tired but we did it, he made almost all of it, then I compiled and packed and protected all files again and the game was finally ready for release. Then I got 4 weeks of rest, as I was more than tired, really sick. I hated the game for a couple of days, but then I was too happy that I actually made it.

Due credits and big thanks go also to my friend Jonny Johansson for his hard work on many tracks of the game, and Ruben Monteiro for the music.

Perhaps it would have been better if I only made the programming work, however although it can be criticized, I actually like the design of the game, not saying it couldn't be improved, but in general I wanted it to be like this, and being just the programmer would have removed all of my inspiration. I also made the graphics, it was just a pretext to need and get and learn Deluxe Paint. :o At the time I still didn't know if I possibly had more talent as a graphician, a game designer or maybe, who knows, as a programmer. :^) "As a player!".. I had missed the obvious. =8-O

@RPKGameVids, You write: "That is really impressive. I wonder if the Atari ST could do anything like this?".
Not at all. I will describe the chunky technique if You're interested, You'll see it wouldn't work on anything but the Amiga AGA (at that time of course). Not even the Falcon could feature this mode, but it had chunky 16bit truecolor mode, so it really didn't need it either if we want to be honest (I miss the Atari vs Amiga wars a lot! "My Amiga is 100 grams lighter than your ST, blablabla"). ;o

VK2 runs almost* all the time 50fps on plain vanilla unexpanded A1200, I think this is the most impressive achievement, which took a full afternoon of hard work! But it was snowing outside, so that was someway justified. :'D

*meaning that it drops to 25fps only during the pre-race helicopter bird-view, and very very rarely, when You race, if You have a lot of opponents near You (fill rate limitations of the 68020 CPU and slow chipram, those zoomable huge sprites were painful to handle, I could cook eggs on my Amiga's CPU when I was passing by the other karts 8) ).

The same video mode was used in a small intro I made, called "Exotic" (available on Aminet as Exotic.lha archive). There's even a track of VK in there (lazy me). :p I've also released A1200Homage.lha which features the same chunky mode.

@Steve, You haven't shown the 2D mode though. :P That took the morning after (but it was raining =) ).
Also, You wrote: "Believe it or not, it looks better on youtube that in the real world :S".
Really? If You use a real Amiga and a proper monitor (composite! not RGB) then the pixels are much smoother, and the 50fps sure make it appear actually better (in my opinion at least!) than how it could even appear on the slow and inconstant frame-rate of YouTube.

The game was made 98% in my own programming language HLA (High Level Assembly) and the remaining 2% in pure ASM. I.e. just the innerloops of the gfx routines.. while the vehicle's game model formulae (physics), game structures, etc.. were much more comfortably made in my higher level language. I'm (still today) a great fan of pure ASM but I just wanted to try this other route too. I'm a fan also of compiler technology, You see.

For me talking about the Amiga is like getting a knife in the chest, but I'll do it and, if any of You has some questions to ask or is curious about anything, I will gladly answer.
I was young at the time and this (the former VK) had to be the first "real game" I made, I had made a previous game, CyberMan, but obviously with VK and VK2 things were getting more serious. I had many plans about hardware devices to improve the possibilities for the game and demoscene coder, notably the AGAExtender design (AgaEXTENDER.lha on Aminet). It hurts to remind that just when things were taking off, we've been shut down first by mismanagement and finally (this is what I always believed) by Microsoft and its greedy plans with the X-Box.

You know, the world has changed after the Amiga.. perhaps not just the home computing world.

One book You all should absolutely read is "The Home Computer Wars: An Insider's Account of Commodore and Jack Tramiel" - author Michael Tomczyk.

Cheers,
Fabio