MegaWars: “The Ultimate Computer Conflict”
I betcha Neil Armstrong didn’t do this while he was on the moon.
…or did he?
P.S. You can read more about MegaWars, an early online multiplayer computer game, here.
Discussion topic of the week: If you were a half naked combat-astronaut on an artificial planetoid, what would you do for fun?
Forty years ago today, man set foot on the moon for the first time. To celebrate the anniversary, I decided to take a look at the history of that old computer game stalwart, Lunar Lander.
Much to my surprise, I soon discovered that Lunar Lander itself turns 40 this year as well: a few months after Armstrong’s first stroll on the moon, a high school student named Jim Storer wrote the first version — all text — on a DEC PDP-8 computer. Yep, in 1969.
Up today on Technologizer is the world’s first in-depth history of Lunar Lander, one of the earliest computer games ever written. The article tells the story of the first text version, the first graphical version for the DEC GT40, and Atari’s 1979 arcade game of the same title (now turning 30, interestingly enough) through information from the men who created them. It then examines notable versions of Lunar Lander through the years, bringing us up to the present.
I’d especially like to thank Jim Storer, Jack Burness, Howard Delman, and David Ahl for their help in writing my article. I couldn’t have done it without them.
So without further ado, here’s the history of Lunar Lander. I hope you enjoy it.
Just yesterday, PC World published my slide-filled list of The 10 Worst Video Game Systems of All Time on their site. You might not agree with the list, but that’s almost the point — who agrees with Internet top 10 lists anyway?
I do have to say that I don’t think I could have found any worse video game consoles than those listed. Already, a few commenters at PCWorld.com have noticed that the standard Internet whipping boys (i.e. Virtual Boy, Sega 32X, Atari Jaguar, etc.) aren’t on the list. Well, believe me, those systems are downright wonderful compared to the dreck examined in my article. Instead of going for the “worst popular systems,” I just decided to shoot for straight-out worst, period.
And honestly, the Virtual Boy is not that bad. It has good games, and it’s a great concept (albeit with a few major flaws) — it mostly just failed in the marketplace. The Jaguar has a handful of genuinely good games that are unique to the system, and in my book that disqualifies it from the list. The 32X is a little iffy, but it’s still not as bad as what you’ll see in my piece.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy it, for what it’s worth. I’d love to hear your nominations for the worst video game systems of all time, so comment away.
“8 Ways You Can Play Frogger at Your Pad.”
These days, big name games usually come out on a couple different platforms: Xbox 360 and PS3, and sometimes PC or Nintendo DS. But imagine a time when a standard multi-platform game release included eight computers and video game systems: Atari 5200, TI-99/4A, Atari 400/800/600XL, Intellivision, Commodore VIC-20, Atari 2600, Commodore 64, and Colecovision.
That time was 1983, as seen in the ad for Frogger above. Thanks to the lack of a common standard in home computers at the time, there were actually far more than eight computer platforms available in the early 1980s, but some of the most major are listed above (along with the main video game consoles of the day). I bet it was an enormous effort to coordinate the development and release of all those different versions within a short window of time.
Discussion topic of the week: For those who were there: How many computers/consoles did you own simultaneously around 1983?
Click image above for full advertisement.
Discussion topic of the week: What’s your favorite classic (say, pre-1996) Konami game of all time?
Rambo you are not.
Here’s another rare Atari 7800 video game ad from 1990, this time for Ikari Warriors. Previously, we’ve seen one for Alien Brigade. I’ve heard that the 7800 version of Ikari Warriors is pretty good, but I’ve never played it myself (well, maybe once on an emulator). Can anyone out there tell us what it’s like?
Trivia Alert: According to Wikipedia, Ikari Warriors’ theme and name were inspired by the film Rambo: First Blood Part II. The Japanese title of that movie contained the word “ikari,” which means “anger” in Japanese.
Discussion topic of the week: What’s your pick for the best movie in the Rambo series: First Blood, Rambo: First Blood Part II, Rambo III, or Rambo (the 2008 movie)?
You could eat off of this logo.
This week, I present to you the TurboGrafx-16 logo in relatively high resolution lossless PNG format for all to use and enjoy (click on the image above for the big version). Nice and clean. I’ve always considered this logo to be an exceptional example of good graphic design.
Discussion topic of the week: What’s your favorite game system logo of all time?
Every once and a while, I receive emails from people looking for a certain game, electronic toy, or computer from their distant past. This time, a friendly fellow named Daniel has sent me a puzzling inquiry regarding an action-adventure game from the early 1990s. As usual, I’m not an oracle of infinite knowledge, so I need your help to crack the case.
[ Continue reading [ Fuzzy Memory ] The Secret Illusion of Evermore Mana » ]
Yep, here’s one more Game Boy 20th Anniversary article from yours truly, this time on Ars Technica. It covers six strong reasons why the Game Boy was so successful during its long run. Judging by your RSOTW discussion answers yesterday, many of you already agree with me, so odds are that you might enjoy reading the piece.
But don’t worry, folks. The torrent of Game Boy coverage will soon be over.
“Just pop it in your pocket and pull it out any time.”
Twenty years ago tomorrow, the Game Boy went on sale for the first time in Japan. It retailed for Â¥12,500 (about $94 US at 1989 rates), and Nintendo offered four games at Game Boy’s initial launch: Super Mario Land, Baseball, Alleyway, and Yakuman (a Mahjong game). Four months later, Game Boy reached American shores with a retail price of $89.99 and a powerful pack-in game — Tetris.
Nintendo’s inclusion of Tetris as the US pack-in was a stroke of absolute genius. The handheld version of Alexey Pajitnov’s addictive puzzler made such waves in US that its release will long be remembered not just as a defining moment in video game history, but as a major cultural event for an entire generation.
As we now know, Game Boy’s long and successful run created an immense legacy, far beyond just Tetris. Overall, publishers released 1246 licensed games for the Game Boy in Japan and 952 in the US. To date, Nintendo has sold 118.69 million units of the original Game Boy line (including Game Boy Color) worldwide.
Above, we see an original Toys ‘R’ Us newspaper advertisement announcing the arrival of the Game Boy and its launch games in the United States. (Gotta love that line art.) It really brings back memories of my excitement regarding Nintendo’s first handheld system.
In your opinion, what factors made the Game Boy so successful?
On the other hand, what mistakes, if any, did Nintendo make with the Game Boy over its twenty year run?
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