The Missing Retro Gamer features

[theantmeister]

Can we get an article about the old PC games Paratrooper, Alley Cat, Round 42 and Sopwith?

Alley Cat especially. I would love to know how such an awesome little arcade game was published by IBM of all people!?

Before some wrong info gets around again, Alley Cat is an Atari 8-bit original programmed by Bill Williams (also programmed the famous Necromancer and Salmon Run for A8), published by Synapse and later converted to MS DOS. Bill Williams died in the late 90s.

Oh dear. Well, thanks for the info.

[kleinemaus]

A welcome feature (obviously impossible) would be Strategic Plus, an excellent company from the Midlands, selling SSI, Epyx, Microprose, Origin, Sir-Tec (and others) software for C64 and A8 (and later ST, Amiga, IBM).
I remember ( whilst I was re-reading my complete collection of C&VGs) them advertising in C&VG and ZZAP and Atari User (plus some other important UK gaming magazines).
That was a great mail order company selling strategy titles for the main 8-bit and 16-bit computers, 99% of their inventory where USA titles.

[NorthWay]

Someone is doing the more quirky machinery: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/03/20 ... ters_lynx/

[merman]

A welcome feature (obviously impossible) would be Strategic Plus, an excellent company from the Midlands, selling SSI, Epyx, Microprose, Origin, Sir-Tec (and others) software for C64 and A8 (and later ST, Amiga, IBM).
I remember ( whilst I was re-reading my complete collection of C&VGs) them advertising in C&VG and ZZAP and Atari User (plus some other important UK gaming magazines).
That was a great mail order company selling strategy titles for the main 8-bit and 16-bit computers, 99% of their inventory where USA titles.

Unlikely to cover just one mail order company like that - maybe a wider look at how mail order changed (and could now die out thanks to digital distribution).

[NES Max]

Maybe I missed it, but the Sega Saturn needs a huge spread, with special focus on the amazing Japanese games we never received and the RPGs that were released in the West (the multiple "Shining" games, Panzer Dragoon Saga, Magic Knight Rayearth, Albert Odyssey, Dragon Force, etc.). The Saturn is hotter right now that it has ever been at any point in time: for an indication, look at the prices its games garner.

P.S. I don't even own the system, but love looking with envy at videos of some of the most sought after titles.

[retrojc]

Ps1 collectors guide.
Sony's shooting library. - the playstations 1 and 2 do this very well, arguably better than any other console.

[NorthWay]

In the "XX years old" series you have missed out System 3?

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/30-years ... rs/0114224
http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/30-years ... es/0114221
http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/30-years ... le/0114220

[NES Max]

Love the magazine to death, but it is in dire need of a feature on a JRPG series OTHER than Final Fantasy or Dragon Quest.

For one, I'd love to see a spread on all the Westernized Tales of games as well as the many that stayed in Japan, like Tales of Destiny 2 and Tales of Rebirth.

[NorthWay]

The Register is on a roll: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/04/23 ... cro_is_30/

Hm... that keyboard looks scarily much like the one I have on this Fujitsu Lifebook U772!

[CraigGrannell]

In the "XX years old" series you have missed out System 3?

I have to say, I wonder what the infatuation is with the 'xx years' thing. I guess it's an excuse for a look back, but these days, you can swing a cat and crack its head on a bunch of retro-gaming companies that'd be 20, 25, 30 or 35 years old pretty much every month.

As for System 3, I thought this comment from Cale was funny: "We have also started work on Ferrari Challenge 2, California Games and Arcade Pinball Classics." California Games, eh? I seem to remember a DS version being promised years ago—did that ever get an actual release?

[kiwimike]

A possible future feature that might be of interest: A few forum members are talking about a trip to Japan. I'd be interested in seeing the trip covered a little in the mag, including the good finds on the trip- Both in terms of products found and bought, and a guide of great places to shop for games in japan, killer arcades etc etc.

If possible I'd be keen on catching up with a few forum dudes there, if it all comes about. I'd love to visit Japan

[Gabe]

A possible future feature that might be of interest: A few forum members are talking about a trip to Japan. I'd be interested in seeing the trip covered a little in the mag, including the good finds on the trip- Both in terms of products found and bought, and a guide of great places to shop for games in japan, killer arcades etc etc.

If possible I'd be keen on catching up with a few forum dudes there, if it all comes about. I'd love to visit Japan

Given that retro gaming events only get mentioned in the news section (which I think is fine), I don't see why such a trip would be in any way worthy of an article.

[NES Max]

For its 18th birthday, I'd love to see the Sega Saturn on the cover. I don't believe it has ever been on the cover of RG. (You could even try to reach the former editor of Sega Saturn Magazine, Rich Leadbetter, for an in-depth interview.)

[kiwimike]

A possible future feature that might be of interest: A few forum members are talking about a trip to Japan. I'd be interested in seeing the trip covered a little in the mag, including the good finds on the trip- Both in terms of products found and bought, and a guide of great places to shop for games in japan, killer arcades etc etc.

If possible I'd be keen on catching up with a few forum dudes there, if it all comes about. I'd love to visit Japan

Given that retro gaming events only get mentioned in the news section (which I think is fine), I don't see why such a trip would be in any way worthy of an article.

Yes, I see what you're saying there...but I was thinking of the trip (as an 'event') in conjunction with a tour guide type of thing of the gaming shopping areas of Japan, what to buy, where to buy it, guides for gamers wanting to do this trip- That sort of thing. It must be regarded as a holy grail type of trip for game collectors

[NorthWay]

In the theme of The Big Crash, would it be worth doing a small thing on how shelf life for games have varied through the ages? You could even get an excuse for writing "SKU" in the mag for once too!

The way I remember it when I was a wee laddie, games sat there (especially on the top shelf - in huge boxes) forever enticing you with their lure of electronic magic within. Then gradually they got replaced at an ever faster rate. Until a new generation of machine came about with truck-all but a handful of launch games to chose from for ages. Must not forget compilation releases where the games went out for a second time. Then there are of course the budget releases too. And of course we have the more recent developments of Good Old Games, Valve, and console marketplaces with all-download versions of old and new games.

But warp back to the early 80s. Talk to those crash&burners (2600 companies stateside, Imagine UK, others?) and find out how long they thought they could occupy shelf space before being pushed out by others. How did that compare to what really happened? You probably need to say something about piracy and the golden 2-3 week window of a new release that was bandied about in the late 80s.

/asbestos-on