Lendorien

Maybe there's a way to mitigate it by including a note on the bubblewrapped package that asks for consideration for the rarity and value of the item and offering to come down to the local customs office to open it in their presence if necessary. It probably wouldn't work, but it'd be with a try, if you can get your seller to include such a note. It is utterly frustrating that there is no way for people to get compensated when they destroy property like this.

Well, I got my best Goodwill haul in quite a while today. Got all of them for about 33 dollars in toto.

http://whatculture.c...ble-idea.php/10 This article makes a valid point I think. There's a fallacy in the supposition that used game sale dollars would translate over to new game sales if used games didn't exist. If Consoles kill sales of used games, game sales in general could take a big hit. A lot of gamers trade in games to be able to afford the next big title. If every game they buy is now theirs forever, that's a lot less money to go around to the new titles that come out. I suspect that many gamers will not increase their spending on games just because used games are gone. They'll become more discerning about the games they DO buy because well, just because used games are gone doesn't mean we'll have any more money to spend on gaming than we did before. And in fact a lot of gamers would have LESS money to spend than they did before because their gaming budget was supplemented by used game trade ins. I don't think used games hurt the developers as much as they think they do. I buy maybe 5 or 6 new games a year. If I can't get my games used any more, the money spent probably won't change much because I won't be buying games when they first come out any more. I'll wait for reviews and buy them after a couple price cuts to maximize the value for my money. If I was willing to wait to buy my games at a good price used, I'm willing to wait to buy the game when it's been out 2 years and the price is 1/6th of the original price. So the publishers don't get any more money out of me, they actually get less dollars per publisher because I'm going to be more discerning and careful about what I spend it on. I'm sure I wouldn't be the only one. As an aside, the lack of used games could also have a negative effect in that developers will then only release games they KNOW will sell (Call of Duty: Rehash #63). You'll have less quirky experimental stuff, or games that try new things because the stakes will be so much higher. A bad game or a game that simply doesn't catch people's interest will fail even more spectacularly than ever before because gamers will be a lot more picky about what they spend 60 dollars on. So developers will play it safe. Can you imagine if a game like Mass Effect 3 had been released on that model? The bad press about the ending would have KILLED it. As it was, a lot of people bought it because they knew (even if it wasn't a conscious thought) they could trade it in if it really sucked that bad. So the used game market actually might have helped the initial sales of the game. As for the online thing: I think it's too early to do the always online thing. Frankly, while internet usage is becoming more ubiquitous, not everyone in the US has the ability to have their console always online. And there are a good number of people (parents perhaps) who may not WANT their console online for various reasons. Added to that, these consoles will be sold all over the world. A lot of countries lack the reliable internet service Americans/Europeans have. This is especially true in developing countries like India, Brazil, etc. I think the online only idea is just a bit ahead of it's time and frankly while some games may require it, I don't think MS will do it across the board in the upcoming generation because they would have too much to lose in those developing markets.

Well, at least when the Ouya 2 or Ouya 3 comes out next year, there will be plenty of cheap 1s and 2s for us cheapskates to buy.

Has anyone else picked up this game yet. I have to admit that I have this sort of love/hate relationship with JRPGs, The old ones tended to force one into grinding way too much for me to have patiance with them. The new ones now seem to pale in comparison to the more open worlded American RPGs. Enter Ni No Kuni. It's very much an old school jrpg, though perhaps without quite as much grinding. It seems to have a fairly interesting story, with decent voice acting and a fun battle system that is a cross between pocket monsters and your traditional turn based combat system. Anyhow, I was wondering if anyone else has picked it up and if so, what are the impression you have of it?

I have a very nice condition 2 port, though I fear the colors are really muddy on it. Maybe a cap has gone on it or something. I got it at Goodwill at all places. I think I spent too much on it all things considered, but I haven't regretted it. It came with about 10 games, but I've bought a few more over the years. Not a system I focus on, but one I play from time to time. It has a certain level of charm I think the 2600 lacks. I have 19 games for it now, only one of which is cib. The rest are loose carts and onlya couple have manuals or insert cards. One of my controllers has a new flex circuit, and aluminum foil dots installed. For whatever reason, I never got around to replacing it in the other one.

$50 is a bit too much for me to afford right now, but seems like this is a great value release regardless.

Ok, Another reason I really want a vectrix.

Well, That's pretty crazy to be able to do. Way above my skill level, but interesting indeed.

While the responses to this fellow's request were funny (Stan's made me laugh out loud), I do think they were a bit disrespectful. Clearly he wasn't terribly familiar with Atari 2600 games or he'd not have asked. The OP was civil and polite and all he got in response was being made fun of. Not cool. Some people take violence pretty seriously. I grew up in Africa where we had little to no TV and no video games for much of my childhood. You have no idea what a shock it was to see television when we returned to the states. We as a society are pretty desensitized to violence. When you aren't exposed to it for a long time, seeing how prevalent and intense it is comes as a pretty big shock. Without descending into the arguments about video game violence, I completely respect parents who choose not to let their kids be exposed to that stuff until they are older and perhaps better able to internalize and understand it. Ok, so Atari 2600 games are pretty non-violent by today's standards, but hey, I've got a sister too. I wouldn't want to run afoul of her either by getting a gift for my nephew she might disapprove of. You only need to have to endure the unpleasantness of "A QUICK TALK WITH YOUR UNCLE IN THE OTHER ROOM" once before you decide to be more cautious in the future. Just saying.

Haha. Mine is those people who stored their Cd based games in their sandbox. Oh, that and musty games. Sneeze.

With Pacman Plus leaving the community, I'd say that it'll be up to someone else to actually release it since he's not doing it any more, though perhaps Albert will release it through the Atariage store.

Catchy. Reminds me of my relationship with my wife. She puts up with my hobby, but sometimes she teases that she's not a video game controller. This guy's other stuff isn't too bad either. Given a little research I found that this actually is a release from the 80's. It was the B-side of a UK single released in 1983 by Sharon Abbot of Poem Elecronique. I'm assuming it was her try at doing her own thing outside of a band. http://www.discogs.c...release/3300076 David Graham Hewson, the guy who posted the track was also it's producer. He's a British composer who has been around since the 70's doing various electronica stuff since then. Really wish the recording was a bit better. Can you imagine what the music video would have been like?

The deyellowing process was developed a few years ago by some enterprising chemists. There's a wiki-page about it. http://retr0bright.wikispaces.com/

Ugh. Seriously? It's not like anyone's making any money off of their silly youtube gameplay videos.

FYI, I never intended to denigrate GroovyBee's work by what I wrote.

Seriously? No-one else has checked this out yet? Man, that's amazing! It plays pretty well, though I don't have a CC2 so I'm not able to try it out on real hardware. On my keyboard, the controls were a bit touchy. I take it you're going to do two player as well int he final implementation. That would be great! What sort of music are you planning? The traditional themes from the original Russian game, or the ones everyone knows? And is this an XM music title, or are you going for traditional TIA... or Both? The 7800 definitely needs more puzzle games.

Yes, I saw that, but it doesn't negate the fact that lack of communication has indeed been a chronic issue. I've been a defender of Mr Vendel thus far, and as I said, I'm willing to keep waiting. I'm just airing frustration about the communication issue that certainly is not unique to me. It's been 2 years for a project that most of us expected to have gotten about a year an a half ago.

How about Final Fantasy 7? No seriously, There are a slew of SNES games that would make great updated games.

My two cents. I'm a pretty patient guy, but now 2 years in, I'm getting a little tired of the wait too. We had a huge blow up about this all about a year ago. People encouraged Curt to update weekly to prevent irritation. He said he'd do it. And he did for like a month... then, he stopped. Now people are getting irritated again, myself included this time. (As an aside, I understand Hurricane Sandy threw a wrench in there, but that only accounts for a month.) Curt really needs to understand that people have put money out there on this project. While I don't think he's not going to deliver, as someone who's been in customer service for almost a decade, I san say honestly that a lot of this whole mess of dissatisfaction could be avoided by just being forthright and updating regularly. Curt is putting more stress on himself by not being smart about this. He's created this situation all by himself, even after numerous people went to him and strongly suggested how he fairly easily could solve the issue. I don't think it's too much to ask to take 5 minutes out of your week to let the people who've spent real money know what's going on. What makes me sad is he's probably burning out over it, and if he'd just communicate, people would be tons more supportive and enthusiastic, which in turn might help to keep him from burning out. I'm not meaning to bitch here. I'm just laying it out like I see it. For me, my money is already spent, 2 years ago. I'm willing to keep waiting, but I will say that expecting people to keep waiting with limited information is starting to get ridiculous.

Oh man. This is sad news indeed. The fact that he is selling his complete collection and has dumped his source code into the public domain says to me that he is trying to make a permanant break from the community. Disinvesting oneself of everything related to one's hobby is a pretty big step, and an indicator that there is an intention not to return to it. I can only hope that whatever the reason Pacmanplus has for leaving the community isn't one that is too awful. I could speculate, as could we all, but it probably would be best not to. I know what is to make a hard choice and abandon something that has been a long term hobby/obsession. If he's had to make this choice for such reasons that I had to make mine, then I fully support his decision and wish him the very best moving forward. Well, I wish him the best regardless. I love his games. He will be missed. As an aside, I agree with the others here who are concerned about the XM with PMP leaving. He was the most prolific of the 7800 programmers. Without him, the XM may end up like Atarivox. Supported by a couple games, and then forgotten. I sure as hell hope not, but well, there it is. With luck, perhaps some other hobbiest will take his example, step forward and continue to support the community by writing.

Great review. Maybe have to look into picking one of these up.

Heh. As interesting as this all is, it's in the wrong forum... Unless that German military sabre is part of a previously unknown German mechanical game system from the 1880's or something similiarly cool.

I must have missed that ebay auction. Has anyone gotten in contact with the seller to get more information about provenance? Sheesh. Three boxed copies, two in as many weeks? I suppose that makes 15 total copies to show up, and Wonder has like 3 of them? And I see that an Atariage member is selling their unboxed copy on ebay right now. With a starting price of 4500, I doubt it'll sell.

Ok, that is really really nerdy and cool at the same time.