A battle to the death is raging these days between Sony and Nintendo to see who is going to take control of the handheld market. Of course long before the PSP and DS were conceived, there was another portable console war. Between 1989 and 1991, four handheld videogame systems were released--each had its advantages and disadvantages. Here's my basic impression of the 1st generation of portables:
Game Boy (B&W): The only portable of the time to have any killer apps. Tetris was unsophistocated but more addictive than morphine. Super Mario Land blew me away with stellar platform gameplay.
Lynx: Excellent graphics (with some unparalleled special effects) and several good renditions of arcade classics, but no real lasting value. Lacked the essential support of 3rd party developers.
Game Gear: It might've impressed folks in 1989 with it's backlit color screen, but for a system with such a large catalogue of games, it SUCKED! I own a bunch, and can say quite seriously that very few Game Gear games were anything more than very poor translations of Master System or Genesis titles. They're simply unplayable by today's standards.
Turbo Express: Probably the best all around package of the time, this little baby could've easily competed with the Game Boy Advance SP if it hadn't been for the exhorbitant pricetag! How cool was it that you could play full-fledged TG-16 games on the go AND watch TV?! Way ahead of its time. TE had some great games, but never enough to warrant spending $400 for the unit itself!! Too bad, so sad.
allenfrisch Blog
LOG 010: Integrity & eBay
by allenfrisch on Comments
Here's something that annoys me to no end. The sellers on eBay all think that the buyers are so stupid as to type in the word "Rare" when they search and then automatically trust that everything that comes up really IS rare. Lame!
But I will say that I've come across a lot more honest people on eBay than I ever expected to! I bought a Master System II from a guy in Australia not long ago, and he had improperly listed the shipping as only $5 USD worldwide! When I received my invoice, the shipping amount was significantly more than that. So I sent him an email stating that he'd charged me more than the amount listed on eBay. He quickly replied and explained that the mistake was his AND that I should only pay the $5 which I'd agreed to! I was so thrilled at finally running into somebody who took responsibility for his own mistake that I told him I'd pay the full amount anyway! So there ya go! eBay is not all bad, but it's FAR from being all good!
But I will say that I've come across a lot more honest people on eBay than I ever expected to! I bought a Master System II from a guy in Australia not long ago, and he had improperly listed the shipping as only $5 USD worldwide! When I received my invoice, the shipping amount was significantly more than that. So I sent him an email stating that he'd charged me more than the amount listed on eBay. He quickly replied and explained that the mistake was his AND that I should only pay the $5 which I'd agreed to! I was so thrilled at finally running into somebody who took responsibility for his own mistake that I told him I'd pay the full amount anyway! So there ya go! eBay is not all bad, but it's FAR from being all good!
LOG 009: Favorite Tabletop Arcade Game
by allenfrisch on Comments
I was so jealous of all my friends who'd come to school with their Coleco Tabletop Arcade Games! The most my parents could ever afford was to buy us a cheap knock-off of Galaga/Galaxian called Galaxy 2. It was fun and I was extatic to get my hands on one through eBay again recently, but it just wasn't the same as one of those slick Coleco games which looked like tiny versions of the actual arcade games! The one I wanted the most myself was the Donkey Kong mini-cabinet. How about you?
LOG 008: Two Great Flavors that Taste Great Together...
by allenfrisch on Comments
Do you play your classic games on the original consoles? Or do you get your fix via emulation? I dabble in both worlds myself. I dearly love playing on my consoles in their original form. However, being able to play EVERY game ever made for a given system and nearly all of the classics from the arcades anywhere I go on my laptop simply rocks! One thing I like about playing emulated stuff on the PC is that you are able to use the kind of controller that best suits you as an individual. In fact, if you're willing to invest in some of the ingenius hardware being created out there, you can even play your emulated games on your PC using the original controller! Nonetheless, there is nothing quite like the real thing. I just wish that my systems didn't take up quite so much room. My wife certainly prefers me to play on my laptop...
LOG 007: Using Guidebooks & Walthroughs
by allenfrisch on Comments
There is simply no better feeling than when you finally figure out the solution do a difficult puzzle all by yourself without any help! The best games understand this and go a step further to ensure that the puzzle is fun even while you're TRYING to solve it. I like games to be intuitive enough that guidebooks aren't necessary.
That having been said, I think guidebooks are okay if you want to find out all that is available in a game! The Legand of Zelda: Ocarina of Time on the N64 was difficult but not so difficult I couldn't finish the game without help. But it WAS pretty cool to open up a guidebook and be able to find the depths of goodies the designers hid throughout the game. There were dozens of items I wouldn't have found in a thousand years without SOME kind of guidance. Looking at the guidebook after playing through the game a couple of times just made the game that much more fun...for me!
That having been said, I think guidebooks are okay if you want to find out all that is available in a game! The Legand of Zelda: Ocarina of Time on the N64 was difficult but not so difficult I couldn't finish the game without help. But it WAS pretty cool to open up a guidebook and be able to find the depths of goodies the designers hid throughout the game. There were dozens of items I wouldn't have found in a thousand years without SOME kind of guidance. Looking at the guidebook after playing through the game a couple of times just made the game that much more fun...for me!
LOG 006: State of Emulation Ep. 1: PSP
by allenfrisch on Comments
Recently, a retro-gaming journalist's description of GamePark's GP2X and its rising status in the opinion of the emulation community had me absolutely salivating in envy. It also inspired me to comment on the PSP's emulation capabilities. I must say that I was very pleased at the ease with which the PSP handles its current crop of emulators. At present, the ones I've got fully-working include:
Atari LYNX
NEC TurboGrafX-16
Nintendo Game Boy (B&W)
Nintendo Game Boy Color
Nintendo NES
Nintendo SNES
Sega Master System
Sega Genesis
In addition to these, the Sony PSX and Commodore Amiga are supported by fully-functional emulators. Unfortunately, I don't have a big enough memory stick to save most PSX ISOs, and haven't really tried messing with the port of WinUAE for Amiga games YET.
Several other emulators for systems including (but not limited to) the Atari 2600, the Game Boy Advance, the Commodore and Atari 8-bit computers, and the Bandai WonderSwan are in various states of development. All in all the state of emulation on the PSP is very exciting right now!
Especially impressive to ME are the Genesis and Super Nintendo emulators which I have never been able to properly emulate on anything other than a PC previously. Emulators for both systems are operable on the Dreamcast but neither have been fully optimized and probably never will be. Additionally, my PDA simply just doesn't have enough horsepower to support such powerful 16-bit systems.
In any case, I'm amazed at how many options are available within the PSP emulators and how easy it is to optimize things to your liking! In many cases the games are actually IMPROVED compared to the originals because the PSP has so many more buttons available to which various functions can be mapped! Currently, I'm playing through Pokemon Yellow for the Game Boy as well as the Final Fantasy series on the NES and SNES.
It's really unfortunate that Sony's taken the stance it has against homebrew development on its portable. Because of this fact, setting up the system to be able to run all this great software is quite a chore. But, if you luck out and get an extra PSP for Christmas like me, and you don't mind not having it operating with the latest updates, I really do feel the PSP is the portable system of choice for emulation-enthusiasts! (Dare I say, even moreso than the GP2X? So far anyway...)
In any case, there you have it. Share your thoughts if you will...
Atari LYNX
NEC TurboGrafX-16
Nintendo Game Boy (B&W)
Nintendo Game Boy Color
Nintendo NES
Nintendo SNES
Sega Master System
Sega Genesis
In addition to these, the Sony PSX and Commodore Amiga are supported by fully-functional emulators. Unfortunately, I don't have a big enough memory stick to save most PSX ISOs, and haven't really tried messing with the port of WinUAE for Amiga games YET.
Several other emulators for systems including (but not limited to) the Atari 2600, the Game Boy Advance, the Commodore and Atari 8-bit computers, and the Bandai WonderSwan are in various states of development. All in all the state of emulation on the PSP is very exciting right now!
Especially impressive to ME are the Genesis and Super Nintendo emulators which I have never been able to properly emulate on anything other than a PC previously. Emulators for both systems are operable on the Dreamcast but neither have been fully optimized and probably never will be. Additionally, my PDA simply just doesn't have enough horsepower to support such powerful 16-bit systems.
In any case, I'm amazed at how many options are available within the PSP emulators and how easy it is to optimize things to your liking! In many cases the games are actually IMPROVED compared to the originals because the PSP has so many more buttons available to which various functions can be mapped! Currently, I'm playing through Pokemon Yellow for the Game Boy as well as the Final Fantasy series on the NES and SNES.
It's really unfortunate that Sony's taken the stance it has against homebrew development on its portable. Because of this fact, setting up the system to be able to run all this great software is quite a chore. But, if you luck out and get an extra PSP for Christmas like me, and you don't mind not having it operating with the latest updates, I really do feel the PSP is the portable system of choice for emulation-enthusiasts! (Dare I say, even moreso than the GP2X? So far anyway...)
In any case, there you have it. Share your thoughts if you will...
LOG 005: The Top 5 Retro Systems You Wish You Could Own
by allenfrisch on Comments
If money were no object, what 5 home or handheld game consoles do you wish you could add to your collection (and why)? Mine:
1) Coleco Colecovision - I was very jealous of my friends who owned this for a couple of years until the NES came stateside
2) Magnavox Odyssey - The first home videogame console (nearly impossible to find in both complete and working condition!)
3) GCE/Milton-Bradley Vectrex - Games still look sweet even by today's standards!
4) Sega CDX - Sega Genesis, 32X, and CD in one neat package! Almost wish they'd released this instead of the Saturn! Almost. JVC's X'Eye is similar but lacks support for 32X (please correct me if I'm wrong)
5) Treamcast - Simply a Dreamcast which has been retooled with everything you need to play on the road! Unfortunately, only available from Asia...
Mmmm... Speaking of one ring to rule them all... GamePark GP32 is a handheld imported from Korea that is able to play all sorts of games emulated from many of classic systems and even some of the more modern systems like the N64! Even better... recently, a new addition was made to the GP family! The GP2X is the little brother of the GP32. It is much more powerful and has a wide variety of very cool features that puts in right on par with the PSP. The future of emulation on this little beast already looks very bright indeed! Oh, what I wouldn't give...
Anyway, there's mine two cents. So let's have yours, people!!
LOG 004: Rating Videogame Ratings...
by allenfrisch on Comments
Here's something else to chew on...
I'd like to take a moment to weigh in on the current ratings system used by videogame manufacturers. I'll preface what I have to say by stating up front that I'm an active, born-again Christian.
My opinion is that the ratings themselves are a good thing but that merchants need to be more responsible about selling mature-rated games. I think that it's good for that the videogame industry takes parents concerns seriously enough to establish some sort of way for the parents to monitor what their kids play. I do NOT think that videogames cause children or adults to become violent. People kill people--not guns and certainly not videogames! However, parents ought to be able to decide for their families what forms of entertainment should be admissable in their own homes. I think that if videogame makers DIDN'T monitor themselves, the government would intervene and force every game to pass through its filter of censorship. As a Christian I believe it is up to the individual to be responsible for his family's morality rather than the government. So two things need to happen:
1) Merchants who sell videogames need to be much more strict in making sure they don't sell M-rated games to underage children. It's way to easy for a 15-year old to walk into GameStop and buy whatever he wants.
2) Congress needs to shut its pie-hole and quit pretending they care about public decency. They need to stay out of the videogame market since the videogame market is doing a perfectly fine job of informing parents so that they're able to make intelligent decisions.
Finally, if parents don't like what games are being sold to their children, they should take the time to play games WITH their kids. They should also protest against the retailers who sell these games to children rather than against the videogame publishers. Take responsibility people!!! :!:
LOG 003: Piratey Things!
by allenfrisch on Comments
How do you guys feel about piracy? Personally, I feel that on the one hand it is obviously wrong and should be treated the same way as other forms of stealing. But at the same time it seems to me that the movie/music/gaming industries almost ask for it by keeping prices artificially high.
For instance, the music companies all complain incessantly that they are losing Buhjillions of dollars every year because of music-downloading on Kazaa and the other Napster-wannabes. They now think that the reason they've FINALLY made some headway is because they've prosecuted a handful of teenagers who were caught with too many Brittany Spears mp3 files on their hard-drives. But I believe the real reason fewer people are illegally sharing these files is because the music companies have made LEGAL downloading convenient enough and cheap enough for the average person to want to invest in them! Most people out their are no longer willing to shell out $9.99 to $15.99 on a cd which contains 2 good songs out of 12! But they ARE willing to spend $.75 (or less!) on a song they love! I contend that the risk/reward for legal downloading of music has finally equalized. I honestly believe that the majority of people out there would like to view/listen/play their multimedia stuff legally but simply can't afford it! Fortunately, it appears technology is starting to force the music industry to change its practices. I hope the same thing will happen with movies and videogames soon. I can't believe that I'm forced to spend nearly $10 to see a movie at the theaters these days! Especially when the quality of everything but the visuals seems to drop exponentially every year or so. It's just outrageous and unfair that the major theater chains all collude to keep the prices artificially high in this way.
Anywho, what does everyone else out there think? Am I out of my gourd or what?
For instance, the music companies all complain incessantly that they are losing Buhjillions of dollars every year because of music-downloading on Kazaa and the other Napster-wannabes. They now think that the reason they've FINALLY made some headway is because they've prosecuted a handful of teenagers who were caught with too many Brittany Spears mp3 files on their hard-drives. But I believe the real reason fewer people are illegally sharing these files is because the music companies have made LEGAL downloading convenient enough and cheap enough for the average person to want to invest in them! Most people out their are no longer willing to shell out $9.99 to $15.99 on a cd which contains 2 good songs out of 12! But they ARE willing to spend $.75 (or less!) on a song they love! I contend that the risk/reward for legal downloading of music has finally equalized. I honestly believe that the majority of people out there would like to view/listen/play their multimedia stuff legally but simply can't afford it! Fortunately, it appears technology is starting to force the music industry to change its practices. I hope the same thing will happen with movies and videogames soon. I can't believe that I'm forced to spend nearly $10 to see a movie at the theaters these days! Especially when the quality of everything but the visuals seems to drop exponentially every year or so. It's just outrageous and unfair that the major theater chains all collude to keep the prices artificially high in this way.
Anywho, what does everyone else out there think? Am I out of my gourd or what?
LOG 002: Technology Rant
by allenfrisch on Comments
This is one of the problems I have with tech companies these days: They do everything in their power to make a buck while making life as possible for the consumer. Why shouldn't all phones which use smartcards be interchangeable between phone companies?! Just charge us a flat fee of $25 to get the smartcard for THEIR company! Duh! Why should I have to throw out a perfectly good phone every time I decide to change my provider? And why don't all devices use an AC power cord with the exact same end that sticks into the device? Isn't it stupid that I have to own 27 DIFFERENT adaptors in spite of the fact that 25 of them are exactly the same voltage?! Or how about iPods which are designed to withstand no more than a year or two of normal use but are not upgradeable and do not come with a proper warranty? To make things worse, it seems that Apple insists on releasing a newer, BETTER version of the iPod every other week! This week it's iPod with video functions, next week it'll be iPod with Holographic Imaging and Can Opener capabilities. Ugh... At times the corporate greed really does make me sick.
Cheers!! :wink:
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