Recently while doing a bit of research on older handheld game systems, I found LOTS of systems I'd never even heard of, much less played. I figured I was a fairly well-rounded gamer as far as my knowledge of such things go, but I was really surprised at how many systems were released by someone other than the Big Three (or maybe I should say Two, since we haven't heard from Microsoft yet...) I ran across so many, as a matter of fact, that I abandoned my original idea of putting down specs, titles and suchforth and limited my thread to a photo timeline (if anybody wants to take a looky, click here). I still have a lot of data to look through, and a few more pics to double-check on, but a few realy caught my attention so I thought I'd give them a few more moments in the sun before they vanish into the depths of obscurity....

 

Microvision

Made by Milton-Bradley in 1979, this game system held on for a few years before failing due to screen size and lack of support from game developers. It featured perhaps twenty titles before disappearing from the market in 1981. Finding a working copy of one of these beauties is extremely rare, as screen rot took out the primitive LCD screens.

 

The Gamate (a.k.a. Super Boy)

Released by the Bit Corporation in the early '90's (makers of the Amigo game system), this particular one never made it to the U.S. Released in a few European countries, Asia, and Australia, this system had about 50 titles in its library, including a Mario Brothers title.

 

Watara Supervision

Developed as a cheap competitor to the Game Boy (note the copycat design in the first pic!), it actually survived several incarnations of body-design changes and seems to have enjoyed some popularity despite its faults. Some games are still available as emulations. An interesting history of the system can be found on this website.

 

Mega Duck/Cougar Boy

Originally made to be released in France, Germany and the Netherlands as the Mega Duck, an identical version was released in South America and called the Cougar Boy.

 

The Gizmondo

Sadly, this rather prettily-designed system barely lasted a year before its developer, Tiger Telematics, went bankrupt in 2006. A larger system was being planned for release that same year that looked very similar to the PSP. It offered an interesting range of features, including a GPS module for in-car navigation that could also be used to track player movement in real-time games. Bluetooth compatibility was in the works also before the system went under.

I'll probably be bombarded by friends who are avid collectors who are going to tell me they knew about these systems already, but  I was totally unfamiliar with them.  How sad, I never got to know them!  A moment of silence, please, for those who have moved on...

I'm sure everybody has heard by now of the events that took place Monday at Virginia Tech. I was a bit slow to get the news, as I almost never watch TV and I've been a bit addicted to my MP3 player, so I didn't find out until last night.  It's already touted as the worst school shooting in U.S. history, and almost eight years to the day of the Columbine High School massacre.

As I perused the articles on Yahoo, it really struck me how many articles seemed to mention right up front that the gunman was a South Korean. Maybe I'm being oversensitive, being of Asian descent myself, but it seemed pretty ironic. Do they feel oblgated to report the race of every insane gunman? If he was Scot-Irish, would they have mentioned that?

There really is a point to be made from this. Sad to say, it seems there are so many volatile spots in America, inhabited by people who can't seem to separate the action of one from the people. For example, even now there's still Middle Easterners being accosted for the 9/11 attacks - people who were not even Islamic, but just had the misfortune of being from the Middle East. Just the other day one of my friends posted about some people harassing a young child who was in her care at the time, like what does a KID have to do with that disaster in 2001? I have a few friends who have had to deal with related issues. One guy, who's of mixed heritage and has an attractive dark complexion was recently pulled from an airport line TWICE and searched.

I really don't worry so much for myself - I grew up here in N.C., in a small town. My family's well-known around here, and I'm pretty Americanized. But I can't help but worry about some of my other Asian friends and co-workers who live in the more heavily-populated areas, like Fayetteville and Raleigh - Durham. Is there going to be a backlash against those Asian communities that have called this state home? Due to the proximity of Fort Bragg, we have a big population of Koreans, Japanese, Chinese, Thai...will those communities come under fire from those too ignorant to realize one unhinged person with severe mental issues is not the spokesperson for all of them? I wish I could say I have faith in my fellow Americans, but there's too many people here who think they have the right to hurt others.

I love this GS community. I am so proud of the way all of us can post together and have fun together despite different age groups, nationalities and colors. Our biggest disputes are over things like game consoles, and what genres we like best. I get on my computer and I can feel the heartbeat of the world, sometimes - all of us coming together in the name of FUN and common love, with no barriers, the way we all should be.

So why do I feel my own heart racing right now, in my world?

 

So I'm sitting here, debating where to start cleaning the disaster zone I call home and I look over at my poor lonely little PS2...I've got 4 games in the mail I haven't even attempted to open yet, plus a few GBA items (though the fortuitous system crash at work this week did let me get going on Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow :D).  I still have some work to do on a thread at one union - I started the preliminay breakdowns but still plenty to work on.  Not to mention a couple of movies a friend lent me that I need to watch and return.  And grass to mow (though I think I'll dump that one on Pete, hubbies are handy like that).  Then there's the new window blinds I need to hang, and stuff I need to haul away from my Mom's house for her...wow, I need about a week off to just catch up on all this stuff.  I'm getting a headache just thinking about it!  Unfortunately, I have to pin the blame on myself - I get happy with the posting lately, reality starts piling up and I'm going "OMG, when did all THIS happen?" :lol: So I think I'm going to be a little thin on the posting for the next week or so, my loves - I'm going to work on that thread for GSUHU because I promised to, and I'm keeping my eye on the VGA because it's still a fairly new union, but I think the rest of you guys can handle the Spook being AWOL for a brief while.  Don't worry, I love you boogers too much to stay away for too long, and I'll check in daily - just not going to be too chatty on the threads. (and Fantasy_Angel & Smitticus, if I find both of you leave me 300+ posts on the threads that I have to catch up on, I'm...I'm....gonna skip them and just read the last one, so there!)  Forgive me, O Leaders Of The Almighty Unions - I'll try to be quick as I can! And if anybody REALLY needs me, drop me a PM and I'll be on it!

Not that I have a lot to say today, but I'm having a supreme moment of serendipity.  Had a terrific night at work...only had 6 jobs to work on, so I knocked those out in two hours and spent the rest of the shift holed up with my GBA playing Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow with minimal stress - even the press guys were pretty quiet tonight, a minor miracle in its own right.  Got the family up and out the door on time for a change (wow), and log on to find I got a new banner! (You're a sneak, psycho, but I love it!)  Totally unexpected, but it really just tickled me silly.  Especially the fact it goes with my new siggies so well.   

Yeah, maybe it's as sappy as a Hallmark card, but those little moments of coolness really pick me up. When the best youi're hoping for is not a lot, and it ends up being something  that makes you smile....and you end up finding it's more than ONE thing, it's a lot of them, well,  you just have to feel content with the world.  At least, until the next world class disaster :D  Truth to tell, I have been somewhat flat lately.  Maybe just the change of the seasons, maybe stress catching up with me, I definitely haven't been getting much sleep lately.  Whatever the reason, a few simple things are all I needed, looks like.

It may fall down around my ears in 20 minutes, but right this moment...feeling just fine, thanks. :) 

Well, so far it looks like all your well-wishes have worked to my benefit, I have managed to avoid the latest bout of ickyness to permeate my home. Let's just hope I haven't jinxed myself :lol: I HATE being nauseous....

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I found a new union I'm interested in; GameSpot's Unofficial Help Union. I've been tracking it a while now and the members do seem to be involved in helping folks out. It seems since that weird glitch over on The Squaresoft Union that turned us temporarily into mods, I get PM's from complete strangers asking me how to do things. Also I have a nasty habit of helping peeps on threads when they ask how to post links, pictures, etc. It just boils down to the fact I like to help out others - I remember what it was like when I didn't know what the HECK was going on. I was terrified of tagging strangers, and I got majorly flamed on my first few posts; felt like I was starting preschool or something :D Even the Mod forums were a pretty cold place, something like 500 pages of threads and you get griped at that you didn't find the one on page 342 that had to do with your question! So with that in mind, I like to do what I can to make GS a warmer place for everybody. All of us deserve to be treated like human beings. Ignorance is curable, stupidity is forever. Anyway I joined up with them yesterday, we'll see how it goes, yes?

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I talk about unions quite a bit, ya? Seems I spend more time talking about games in them than actually playing them! Interestingly enough, I am now officer in over HALF of my unions. And I'm strongly considering dropping my membership in a few I'm not an officer in. No, not because I'm power-happy, but either I'm too busy to be an active member or I just dislike the people. I do tend to be oversensitive, but if you don't enjoy being there what's the point? One big notable exception: I really like GameSpots: Designer's Union for some reason. I have no time to learn the programs and I almost never contribute to the threads but I just like the crowd over there. I'd like to be a more involved member of that union, I really would, but I'd need to learn more about designing, first! (I have The Gimp, BTW - anybody knows a good tutorial for complete total beginners, give me a holler!). I'd also like to mention that the majority of my unions are pretty small, but I like it that way, to be honest. It's a lot more fun to have a small, involved crowd! The PSW is getting HUGE, but in its short life I've already seen a lot of faces come and go. I think we have a TERIFFIC officer lineup right now, and it's great to have a group that gets into the topics. That's the exception that proves the rule, I guess.

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Just broke bad and ordered the Castlevania Dual Pack and Circle of The Moon for the GBA. I've always enjoyed the Castlevania franchise so figured I'd splurge a bit. Also I recently got my daughter a Fat Chocobo - don't know who loves it more, me or her!



You know you want one...
eBay is, truly, an evil place...

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Well, that's it for now. Nothing really big, just the usual junk. Love you all, peeps!

Mini-Me has struck again, this time with a stomach bug. Nothing more fun than an upchucking 5-year-old, let me tell you. I'm going to go spray myself down with Lysol now :( WHY ME, LORD?!?!?!

    Well, first she deleted my Okami save.  Now she's managed to give me her flu bug.  She's still sick, but on the upswing and is rapidly approaching her usual hyperactive level (but not enough to go back to school), while Mommy feels like week-old interstate roadkill.  I'm even too drained to play a game, tried to grab some sleep but was going from roasting alive to freezing every few minutes.  So here I sit, typing away and too miserable to even think of anything entertaining.  I think when Pete gets home from work I'll ask him very nicely to please go pick himself and Naomi up some dinner, and then find a nice spot in the backyard to bury me in....

    Well, in case I missed mentioning this anywhere, I have given up on Okami for the time being.  It seems my last save, with about 8 hours worth of gametime on it, somehow vanished from my memory card.  I think the responsible party is a certain 5-year-old who's out of school with the flu right now, who likes playing "mommy's wolfie game".  I tell you, I nearly cried.  I had just opened up a LOT of new skills and I was doing some back-tracking on side missions on that save, and I just didn't think I could stand going back and trying to figure out where I left off.  My own fault, though - I usually pull the memory card when Mini-Me is on the system. And thus, I am finally starting to play Final Fantasy XII which I got for Christmas.  I shall just re-attempt Okami at a later date.  My job is a bit peeved with me, too - I took a few days off since the pipsqueak's sick, and it seems there's several other people out right now on pre-scheduled time.  I'm the one they usually come screaming for when the work is coming on heavy because I'm fast setting up the new impositions, and it looks like they dropped a ton of new jobs this weekend.  Bad planning on their part, I'd say!  I may try to go in tonight but it'll be without any sleep so I doubt they'll get their money's worth out of me anyway :D
    BTW I just got a call from my oldest sister - Mom's surgury went really well, they finished up much faster than anticipated.  She may be able to leave the hospital tomorrow with any luck.  Thanks guys for all the well-wishes.  I told Mom she had some people wishing her a speedy recovery from all around the world, and she looked at me like I was nuts.  She doesn't quite get the whole online thing, heck, she was impressed when she found out she didn't have to rewind DVD's :lol:  Parents, eh?
    Next up will be my Authors: Volume 2.  I'd do it now but my kid's blowing snot rockets at the cat.  Love you guys, catch you on the threads.

Just a couple of pre-bedtime rambles....I seem to be stuck in a few grooves, lately...

    -Hm, somehow I made officer again - this time in The Squaresoft Union.  This one needs some work but peabrain1 has put some hard effort into it, and I think it could really shine with a little polishing.  Stripeknight was kind enough to let them affiliate with PSW so I hope membership picks up, like most small unions it needs more active members.  After that big long blog I wrote about unions I'm starting to feel like a hypocrite...still, peabrain1 is a very cool cat and I'd really like to help her out, so I'll just have to get over that, won't I? :lol:

    -For some strange reason I like to save my :oops: ultra-D'OH! :oops: moments for the Silent Hill Resort.  I like the crowd in this union, they're very relaxed - I think maybe I get on there and relax past the point of coherent thought, thereby enabling whatever functioning brain cells that are still awake the opportunity to short-circuit on me.  Still, Lus is a very forgiving guy (thank GOD, I think anybody else would have strangled me by now!).  It's appreciated, big fella!  (I can hear you now, "Don't be so hard on yourself...")  Yeh, I'm a perfectionist, self-bashing is my hobby - allow me the luxury of wallowing in my private pity-party :P  Maybe I should start posting there first off, and save my big boo-boos for Stripey....JUST KIDDING BOSS!  REALLY! :D Actually I did do one on PSW - I deleted a thread by accident...how do you delete a thread by accident?  Be NekoTheSpook, and you too shall know the true terror...

-Had to listen to my mom get morbid.  She's going in for back surgery next week, and she felt the need to start talking about if she dies during the surgury she's told my sisters I get the house, and she didn't care if she croaked because of all the pain the degenerated disc puts her through...yeh she does need to convey her wishes but good grief, Mom...she's even got it mapped out for me how much taxes and the freakin' LAWN SERVICE is going to cost me a month.  Then she says, "Oh, don't worry about taking off of work, I'll go stay at your sister's house while I'm healing".  It makes sense because Tammy's a nurse but the whole thing made me feel a bit like "We got it covered, don't need you, and everybody else will take care of you".  Maybe it's because I'm the baby of the family, it's not like I'm an irresponsible person. I'm probably just reading more into it than I need to (see, Sithy, you're not the only one!)

-I am so far behind everything I want to do.  I haven't had time to finish Okami and I got 3 games just sitting around.  Got a lot of overtime at work going on, and trying to catch up on chores and still having enough time to spend with my family.  Oh yeah, also got a stack of books to finish reading 8).  I got a few that you guys recommended to me, currently finishing off Blue Like Jazz.  At least I read fast - makes me feel like I'm getting something accomplished, anyway.

Okay, enough, Neko!  I gotta get some sleep, peeps.  Love all you guys, peace out.

    Just went and did a check of the Portable System Wars - a few hours shy of our one-month anniversary, and we have not only exceeded 300 members, but hit the Level 3 mark!  Not only that, but stripeknight says we are in the top 15 (no idea where he checked that at, but I don't doubt it).  This has been a crazy ride so far, but I'm enjoying every minute of it.  The 13th also marks my anniversary as an officer in my two favorite unions, and I already feel quite at home with the task, which surprises me.  I normally hate taking on responsibility.  On a down note a lot of us are wondering why we haven't got an Active Achievement badge yet - I probably need to check the mod threads out.  That will have to wait though - Heroes is on (the one T.V. program I watch regularly, and REFUSE to miss!)  Love ya, peeps!