Last weekend I attended the second annual Boatfest gathering, which again took place in Hurricane, West Virginia. Despite its name, the event has nothing to do with boats — it’s a gathering of retrocomputing and retrogaming enthusiasts named after the organizer, John “Boat of Car” Shawler.
Boatfest is difficult to summarize because it’s different things to different people. Some people… read entire post
Category Archives: Console Video Games
Anything relating to videogames, from old to new, goes here.
The Art of Selling Nintendo Games
It’s a little difficult to explain how I ended up with more than 200 Nintendo cartridges — a system I never cared that much for in the first place. For those who know me, it may be even more difficult to believe that I’ve decided to part with them.
The Nintendo Entertainment System, or NES, was released in North America… read entire post
Here We Go Again: The All New Atari VCS
What’s old is new again. This time it’s the Atari VCS, a new game console aimed directly at the nostalgic hearts of those of us who grew up in the late 70s and early 80s playing the Atari 2600. If you’re wondering what the Atari VCS is, what it does, how it compares to the Atari Flashback, and whether or… read entire post
Free NES/SNES Controllers (Review)
In early June I ran across an ad on Facebook for free USB NES controllers. The offer was posted by Epictronics, who said all one had to do to qualify for the offer was “Like” their company on either Facebook or Instagram and cover shipping costs. Not a bad advertising gimmick in my book.
I don’t need another USB game… read entire post
Old Skool NES Raspberry Pi Case
Last year, Nintendo released the NES Classic Edition. It was a game console that looked like a tiny version of the original Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) from the 80s. It had 30 built-in games and cost $59.95. Nintendo woefully underestimated demand for the console. Stores couldn’t keep them in stock, and when they did hit shelves, scalpers scooped them up… read entire post
A Guide to (Many) NES Alternatives
Big Lots is already consolidating their Halloween shelves to make room for incoming Christmas-themed items. (Yes, in September.) One hot item for retrogamers this holiday season will be Nintendo’s official NES Classic Edition, a miniature version of the classic Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) that comes with 30 games built-in and goes on sale on November 11, 2016.. If the last… read entire post
Wii-P-R
Over the holiday weekend Susan and I stopped by a thrift store, where I ran across this disgustingly dirty Nintendo Wii for $20. Usually when I find a cheap Wii for sale it means the optical (DVD) drive has died, but I had other plans for one so I decided to take a gamble. The bundle had a power supply,… read entire post
2015 Track and Field Arcade Championships
I like being involved in weird and unusual things. Sometimes I get involved in weird and unusual things by saying “sure” when I get invited to such things. Last week my friend Dean invited me to attend the inaugural Track and Field World Championships at a local private arcade. Dean told me a few well known competitors would be flying… read entire post
Happy 30th Birthday, Super Mario Bros!
I can tell you everybody I knew who had a Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) in 1985: my neighbor Doug, my buddy Jason’s little brother Adam, my buddy Jeff’s aunt and uncle, and not long after that, Jeff’s family. At each one of those houses I remember playing Super Mario Bros.
I got my Commodore 64 in 1985, the best game… read entire post
Ten Games You Should Try To Beat
A friend of mine recently asked me to name five games I would recommend playing all the way through from beginning to end. There are tons of modern games (The Last of Us, Halo, Portal) that have great story lines, but I wanted to go somewhat old school with my list. I also couldn’t possibly limit myself to just five,… read entire post