One of the most successful consoles of all time.

Nintendo released the Nintendo Entertainment System 25 years ago today in the US. Here’s a scan of that famous console itself.

I first played a NES in 1986 or 1987, likely with Super Mario Bros. as my first game (as described here). What an amazing experience it was. To say that the NES defined video gaming for my generation is almost an understatement. From 1986-1990, the term “video game” was synonymous with “Nintendo” for kids in the US. From their perspective, there was no other.

Unlike many kids my age, I was aware of what had come before (Atari), and that made the NES all the more amazing. Happy 25th birthday, NES. My generation worships you.

Discussion Topic of the Week: How did you feel when you played a NES game for the first time? Tell us when/where it happened and describe the episode.

In October 1985, Nintendo released the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) in the United States. 25 years later, I took one apart for the wood-grained glory that is my “workbench series” of tech autopsies (this is my 11th entry). It’s up now on PC World.com.

Back in 2008, I dismantled the NES’s Japanese counterpart, the Nintendo Famicom (the NES’s Japanese counterpart), if you’re curious to see that. There’s a full list of my workbench teardowns below.

I hope you enjoy it. When you’re done, feel free to share your fondest NES memories in the comments below.

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Here are my previous workbench teardowns: Atari 1040STf, Atari 800, Commodore Amiga 1000, Commodore 64, Nintendo Game Boy, Nintendo Famicom, Apple IIc, IBM Model M Keyboard, TRS-80 Model 100, and Macintosh Portable.

“Dragons attack with talons, fangs, and deadly breath weapons.”

Just yesterday, my wife’s uncle brought over boxes of his old Atari ST stuff and dumped them at my house (per my request, of course). Among the delightful vintage goodies was a Mega ST2 and dozens of boxed Atari ST games. I opened the box for Questron II and was immediately confronted by this colorful 5.5″ x 8.5″ flier for DragonStrike, another game from Strategic Simulations (SSI).

The design proudly proclaims, “The FIRST-EVER dragon combat simultor!” — as if “dragon combat simulator” was a genre gamers had been clamoring for ceaselessly for years.

I’ve never played this game, but I was always a fan of SSI’s gaming titles. They published some of computer gaming’s highest quality software back in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Discussion Topic of the Week: What are some of your favorite Strategic Simulations games?

Recently, Macworld asked me to write something about the rare and mysterious Macintosh TV (1993) to tie in with the launch of the 2nd generation Apple TV. So I did, and you can read the result over at Macworld.com today. Here’s the teaser text from the site:

Apple’s recent overhaul of the Apple TV has pundits scrambling to analyze and dissect the company’s renewed push into the living room. Judging from all the excitement, you might think “Apple + TV” was something unique to the 21st century. Not true. Benj Edwards revisits Apple’s first foray into TV-computer integration, circa 1993.

Hope you enjoy it.

Does anyone out there own (or formerly own) a Macintosh TV? If so, I’d love to hear about your experiences with it in the comments below.

All telephones should look like this. (click above for full scan)

It’s the Rolm Cedar — a combination PC/Telephone with 512K memory, a 9″ monitor, dual 5.25″ floppy drives, and MS-DOS 2.11. I’m not sure if this unit ever went into production, but I want one! (It also came with a keyboard, not pictured.)

Click the image above see the full text from this product’s January 1985 “What’s New” introduction in Byte Magazine.

Discussion Topic of the Week: What’s the weirdest computer you’ve ever used?

I’ve been working too hard and my brain feels like a block of sand (whatever that means), but I need to share this link with you before I collapse.

Just today, PCMag published my latest piece for them, a slideshow of 12 “forgotten” online games that you can still play. It’s mostly composed of intriguing telnet classics, although a few ancient, overlooked MMOs show up on the list as well.

I hope you enjoy it. If you do, please spread word of it far and wide. Leave no door unknocked; no word of slideshow evangelism unsaid. Tattoos — lots of tattoos. If you succeed, there will be more to come.

Spassky is not amused.

Discussion Topic of the Week: Tell us your computer chess history. What’s your favorite 8-bit chess software?

Every once and a while, I receive emails from people looking for a certain game, electronic toy, or computer from their distant past. I then pass it on to intrepid VC&G readers to crack the case.

The Clues

Brenton writes:

I’ve been trying to find an old game I remember playing on an old Windows machine when I was a child. I’m 23 right now, and I would have been something between 8 and 12 when I was playing this [about 1995 – 1999, Ed.], but I don’t want to set that in stone.

The game was a fun little strategy game viewed from an isometric perspective. You controlled an island nation drawn with sprites, and you would spend the game building power plants (maybe?), and missile silos, eventually building these launch pads for walking robots. You would send these sprite-robots over and let them rampage around the opponent’s island, hopefully killing him. I remember spending HOURS playing this game, but though I’ve been searching for it for a few months, I haven’t been able to find a single thing out about it. I am guessing that it came on some kind of compilation CD, since it doesn’t appear to be a launch title with any OS.

Any help would be VERY appreciated!

Thanks in advance,
Brenton

The Search Begins

It’s up to you to find the object of Brenton’s fuzzy memory. Post any thoughts or suggestions in the comments section below. Brenton will be monitoring the comments, so if you need to clarify something with him, ask away. Good luck!

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Have a memory of a computer, video game, computer software, or electronic toy you need help identifying? Send me an email describing your memories in detail. Hopefully, the collective genius of the VC&G readership can help solve your mystery.

“PROCOMM PLUS: Totally Connected”

I used Procomm Plus for DOS during my early years of BBSing, although I called it “PC Plus” because of its shortened executable file name, “PCPLUS.EXE”. I never did migrate to Procomm Plus for Windows, although I remember salivating over it in a software store back when anything and everything modem-related exciting me.

“Terminal” for Windows 3.1 left a bad taste in my mouth, so I didn’t use a GUI-based terminal emulator steadily until the Windows 98 era. After using PC Plus for a few years, I switched to Telix (essentially a PC Plus clone), and one my friends swore by Telemate, which touted some advanced features for a DOS terminal program.

Ah; those were the days.

I’d be interested to hear about your terminal software experiences on all platforms. Hit me up in the comments below.

(P.S. If you’re interested in BBSing again, telnet to my BBS at cavebbs.homeip.net.)

Discussion Topic of the Week: What’s your favorite terminal emulation software of all time?

“Play slots anywhere you go without the expense!”

I believe I bought this Radio Shack LCD Mini Slot Machine unit at a hamfest back in the 1990s. The game broke not too long afterward, but I apparently kept the box and the manual.

Fast forward 15 years later. I recently discovered the box in a pile of my old stuff at my parents’ house. After flattening the box, I scanned the whole thing so you can create your own tiny three dimensional reproductions of it at home (if you’re into that Radio Shack diehard papercraft thing). Heck, fill a whole room with them and dive in!

Discussion Topic of the Week: Did you (or do you) ever own any Radio Shack electronic games? Which ones?