Skippy B. Coyote

I'm in total agreement with the previous posters on this one! Seeing the trailer and gameplay videos for Breath of the Wild today completely sold me on not only picking up the game day 1, but also pre-ordering the NX as soon as the option is available. That may not sound like too big of a deal but the last time I was excited enough about a new game or console to pre-order anything was the DS Lite back in 2006. It's been 10 years since then, but this game looks absolutely worth shelling out the money to play it on Nintendo's latest and greatest hardware ASAP! To me it's like the classic Legend of Zelda formula meets the freedom and immersion The Elder Scrolls series, and the result is something far more beautiful and enthralling than I could have ever imagined. I am so looking forward to this game consuming untold hours of my life next winter!

Well that was unnecessarily offensive.

From what the Treehouse gameplay demoers (is that even a word?) were saying it is totally possible to go through the entire game without ever hunting if you don't want to kill any animals. You can just harvest and eat fruit, mushrooms, etc. to restore your health instead if you'd rather go the vegetarian route.

Forgive my lack of proper English, but there ain't nothin' wrong with that!

After the trailer and all the gameplay videos for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild today both my wife and I are practically twitching with anticipation for the NX to launch in March of next year! In the meantime I've gone ahead and purchased a US version Wolf Link amiibo new in box, so we'll be ready to enjoy all the extra amiibo fueled goodness when the game and system launches!

Yoshi (Game Boy) Dance Dance Revolution GB (Game Boy Color) Bram Stoker's Dracula (Game Boy)

Holy guacamole! I was really just looking forward to E3 for Nintendo's new games and wasn't expecting much from the other companies this year, but I think Sony really knocked it out of the park and stole the show with their presentation tonight. The Last Guardian, Resident Evil VII, Days Gone, Horizon: Zero Dawn, God of War, and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered all knocked my proverbial socks off! I was already planning on buying a PS4 at some point just for The Last Guardian and DOOM, but tonight's press conference definitely took the PS4 from "want to buy at some point" to "must buy ASAP" territory for me. Man am I ever jealous of those PlayStation Plus subscribers who are going to get to play the demo of Resident Evil VII tonight!

Alright! Finally got some news that I can get excited about! This afternoon Ubisoft announced that their new game Just Dance 2017 would be (and I quote) "available on all motion-control gaming platforms, including Nintendo's Wii, Wii U, and NX systems." Now I have no interest in the Just Dance game, but I am very interested in the NX and this is the first official confirmation we've gotten from any developer about what exactly the NX is or how it will work. It may only be a small bit of information, but from Ubisoft's statement it's clear that the NX will: 1. Have a motion control element like the Wii. 2. Be a home console (though a portable element is still possible). For me so far that's the most exciting news of the show, and I'm really hoping that there will be some more minor NX spoilers as the show goes on.

I say go for it. No point in having a system (or anything for that matter) that you're not going to use, so if you think you'll get a lot of use and enjoyment out of a PS4 then by all means feel free to sell off something that is just going to sit in a box collecting dust to pay for it. Especially if you can still play the games for the system you're selling on other consoles just as well. Hopefully whoever buys it will put it to good use and you'll get an equally good amount of use out of your new PS4, making it a win/win situation for everyone involved. But, bear in mind that this from the perspective of someone with very limited funds who buys games and systems to play and not just to collect. With an income of less than $5,000 a year I can't afford to keep around anything that I'm not going to use and only have just over half a dozen systems and a few drawers full of games for them, so those with huge console libraries like yourself and bookshelves full of games may feel very differently about the issue.

It was a fairly small week for my household in terms of play time and variety of games played, but we did log quite a bit more tracker eligible time this week than we have the last few! Ineligible Dead Space: Extraction (Nintendo Wii) - 744 minutes The House of the Dead: Overkill (Nintendo Wii) - 52 minutes Resident Evil Archives: Resident Evil Zero (Nintendo Wii) - 131 minutes Arcade New Rally X - 28 minutes Game Boy Boggle Plus - 29 minutes Bram Stoker's Dracula - 47 minutes Street Fighter II - 13 minutes Game Boy Color Dance Dance Revolution GB - 41 minutes Monopoly - 59 minutes PC-DOS Final Doom - 132 minutes Sega Master System Alex Kidd in Miracle World - 5 minutes Psycho Fox - 17 minutes Total Play Time This Week 1,298 minutes (21 hours 32 minutes) [371 minutes eligible] Individual System Play Times This Week Nintendo Wii: 927 minutes PC-DOS: 132 minutes Game Boy Color: 100 minutes Game Boy: 89 minutes Arcade: 28 minutes Sega Master System: 22 minutes To cut right to the chase, the big highlight of the week for me this week actually wasn't the game that saw the most play. I did log a ton of time in my newly acquired copy of the phenomonal Dead Space: Extraction for the Wii, playing through it once on Normal and then again on Hard (though I haven't quite finished the Hard difficulty play through yet), but the game that I was the happiest and most excited to have played this week was Bram Stoker's Dracula for the Game Boy. It may not be one of the most well known titles for the iconic green and black screened handheld, but I remember seeing this game on store shelves so many times as a kid, wanting it soooo badly, and begging my parents to buy it; but alas they never did. Back then I already had a copy of Bram Stoker's Dracula for the Genesis and adored it, but since I already had a home console version of the game my parents didn't want to shell out the money for the handheld port. Fast forward about 25 years later and Bram Stoker's Dracula for the Game Boy has become a strangely rare and hard to find game, most likely due to the fact that it didn't sell too many copies when it first came out. Sales numbers aside, it's actually a pretty darn good game and was well worth the $8.74 shipped that I paid for my cartridge on eBay. It did take me about 6 months of patiently watching and waiting for a copy to come up for sale at a reasonable price, but it was definitely worth the wait and I've already played through and beat it on Easy difficulty. I've yet to tackle a full play through on Normal difficulty (which adds several more levels) due to a nasty case of Game Boy Thumb the last few days, but I am really looking forward to giving it a go when my left thumb gets a little less sore. Maybe I should lay off the Maniac difficulty Dance Dance Revolution GB marathons for a couple days. As far my wife's gaming time this week goes, she stayed pretty focused on the deviously difficult Resident Evil Zero (and died way more times than I've ever seen her die in any Resident Evil game in the process) but also managed to get in a little time in House of the Dead: Overkill and the arcade classic New Rally X on our 60-in-1 multicade. Due to some physical limitations I've never seen her play any game that she couldn't use an arcade stick for before, but with some careful balancing of the Wii remote she has been able to play some light gun games like HotD Overkill and HotD 2 on the Wii lately. Needless to say I've been thrilled to be able to share these games with her, since light gun games have always been one of my favorite game genres, and she's been having a really great time with them too. I think that's about it for all the big gaming news from around here for the week! For next week I think it's safe to expect that I'll log some more Game Boy and Game Boy Color play time as I continue to find myself drawn back to my old favorite handheld, and the misses is definitely far from done with Resident Evil Zero. As far as what else the future may have in store, only Madame Zokar knows... and I'm not paying $6.75 a minute a find out.

Very nice list! For the record, all the games I mentioned for the systems in my post were games that are not only impressive from a technical standpoint but also fun and enjoyable to play. Though the autocorrect on my tablet did end up misspelling "Baniff" in the Game Boy Color title Towers: Lord Baniff's Deceit. And oh, one little correction for your list. Ōkami was only published on the Nintendo Wii and PlayStation 2, and never appeared on the GameCube. Still a very impressive and fun game regardless of what system you play it on though.

I wasn't sure whether this should go in Modern Gaming or Events, so the mods can feel free to move it to Events if they think that would be the more appropriate section, but with E3 2016 beginning tonight I thought it would be nice to have a thread for people to discuss what new and upcoming games and hardware being shown off at E3 this year they're excited about. Is there anything that you know is coming or has already been revealed that you're looking forward to?

Off the top of my head, for the systems that I know a reasonable amount about: Game Boy: Faceball 2000, Chikyū Kaihō Gun ZAS Game Boy Color: Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare, Cannon Fodder, Dragon's Lair, Project S-11, Towers: Lord Braniff's Deceit, Warlocked Game Boy Advance: Doom, Doom II, Duke Nukem Advance, Iridion 3D, Max Payne, Need For Speed: Underground 2

I've been pondering this question off and on over the last few months and there's really only two systems other than the aforementioned front lit Game Boy Color that I don't own but really wish I did, and I'm actually not sure which of the three I want the most. The first of the other two is a backlit and biverted original gray brick Game Boy, with an olive green backlight specifically (to match the color of the original Game Boy screen as closely as possible). I still love playing games on the old gray brick, but man can it ever be hard to see the screen indoors unless I'm sitting directly under a light source. I'm not sure if I'd get more use out of this or a front lit Game Boy Color, but I sure do want both of them! The second system, and the only other system I can think of that I don't own and would really like to have, is a black colored normal sized New 3DS. At this point I have owned a couple nice New 3DS travel cases and a set of pretty purple New 3DS cover plates imported from Japan for the better part of a year now in preparation for Nintendo to release the black New 3DS in North America, but they still haven't done it! I'd really love to own a New 3DS but the XL size ones are too heavy for my carpal tunnel to handle, and I learned my lesson about the way white handhelds discolor over time from my original launch model DS Lite. But alas, for now the only color option for a regular non-XL sized New 3DS in North America is white. I'm still crossing my fingers that they'll release the black one over here at some point before the NX launches in March next year, and you can bet that I'll be scrambling to get the cash together to pre-order one the moment they're announced.

I've got quite a bit of new Game Boy pickups I could talk about for this thread, but rather than get into all the games individually I think there's a couple things they all have in common that are really worth bringing up. For me personally, there are three things that the majority of Game Boy games seem to have in common that make the original Game Boy such an enjoyable system to collect for. The first is that most games, even the quite popular ones, are very inexpensive to pick up whether you buy them locally or track down a copy on eBay. With just a few exceptions the majority of Game Boy cartridges (or Game Paks if you want to be technical about it) can be found with pristine condition labels for just $5 to $10. Next is the overall difficulty level of most Game Boy games, which tends to be quite forgiving. There are a few tough-as-nails games out there like R-Type and the like, but for the most part Game Boy games tend to be easy to get into and fairly relaxing affairs. Both the Game Boy and NES were 8-bit Nintendo systems, but while the NES has a well earned reputation for it's games being brutally difficult the Game Boy library is by and large just the opposite. That leads to the third and final observation I wanted to talk about, which is game length. Again, this is an area where the Game Boy went in the opposite direction of the NES. If you want to beat most NES games it tends to be an occasion that you have to set aside anywhere from 3 or 4 hours to your whole day for, where as an equally large percentage of Game Boy games can be completed in half an hour to an hour. Reflecting on it now, in a lot of ways the Game Boy and it's library is the polar opposite of it's 8-bit big brother. A handheld rather than a home console, monochrome instead of color, easier games instead of harder ones, and shorter games rather than longer ones. All these factors come together to make the Game Boy a system that I still pick up and play regularly whenever I have half an hour or so of time to kill, while my NES sits in my entertainment center gathering dust for months on end. How about you guys and gals? We all like being able to find good games on the cheap, but do you appreciate the generally shorter lengths and easier difficulty levels of Game Boy games in comparison to NES titles? For me those are two of the major selling points of system that make me enjoy it so much, but I'm curious to know if others see them that way or not.

It's a cool looking custom handgun for an adult who is clearly a big NES fan, nothing to get up in arms about. Personally I think it's pretty neat and a lot more attractive than the majority of speed shooting competition pistols out there, most of which look like something out of science fiction. Strayer Voigt makes some classy custom offerings as well.

I'd absolutely buy one, but only if it was released by a large and well known gaming company with enough pre-established industry credentials to guarantee third party support and enough money in the bank to ensure that the system's R&D, marketing, etc. was done right. I think everyone would like a new retro system to enjoy, but we've all had enough of crowd funded pipedreams and the fiascoes that seem to inevitably go along with them. At this point it would probably take a company like Nintendo, Sony, Microsoft, or even Sega to find success in marketing a new retro console, since every endeavour by smaller companies and individuals thus far have all turned into disastrous exercises in how to betray consumer confidence. Basically, any company that doesn't have at least two decades of experience in the video game industry and more than a billion dollars in the bank isn't going to be able to pull this idea off with any degree of success. And those companies that could do it, well, they all have more profitable ideas on their mind at the moment.

Based on the fact that the AtariAge forum has more users, content, and activity than even the busiest retro Nintendo or Sega forums I think that pre-crash systems are far from forgotten in the eyes of those who care about retro gaming. This place is like the internet Mecca of retro gaming, and the Atari 2600 stands front and center as the system with the largest fan following here. While it may be true that the trend (or possibly fad) towards retro gaming amongst the younger generations today hasn't spread to pre-crash systems or other simpler systems like the original Game Boy, I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing. We've all seen what happens to prices when a system becomes trendy to collect for, and I don't think any of us would want to have to start paying $20 to $30 a piece for common Atari 2600 or Game Boy carts. Let the trendy collectors have their $50 NES and SNES games, and rest well at night with the knowledge that those who truly appreciate older video games as more than just the latest fad know that there will always be plenty of fun to be had on the simpler systems of yore.

Well, so far my plan to play more Sega Master System games this week isn't off to a very good start. Everything was going just fine until I received Dead Space: Extraction for the Wii in the mail Monday afternoon, and since then I have spent every minute of my gaming time this week metaphorically crapping my pants. I've played a lot of horror themed on-rails shooters (especially lately) but this one just takes the genre to a whole new level, and I don't think any game has ever scared the living daylights out of me quite like this one. The original Silent Hill came close, but Dead Space: Extraction is just... horrific. The story is phenomenal too, which is something that you don't generally see in on-rails shooters, and I think that's what's really kept me playing it over the last few days when I originally intended to just test it out for a few minutes to make sure the disc worked properly. If you happen to own a Wii then I think this game is the reason to pick up a Wii Zapper. Most light gun games on the Wii seem to be best played with either a Nyko Perfect Shot or CTA Sure Shot gun conversion shell, but for Dead Space: Extraction (and Link's Crossbow Training) the official Wii Zapper is definitely the way to go.

Phenomenal video! You found the perfect guest for this one and it was really interesting and informative to hear the thoughts and opinions of someone who has a PHD in the field and is truly qualified to discuss VR in depth (all puns intended). Anyone can share their opinions on a subject, but to hear the thoughts of someone professionally qualified to talk about it was just fantastic. As far as my own perspective on VR goes, sadly I'm among the 30% or so of the population who gets violently ill from just a few minutes of VR use so I'm definitely going to pass on the current VR trend. On the upside of things, I don't have any problem at all with the stereoscopic 3D effect on the 3DS and I love the sense of immersion it creates. So while I may not be able to comfortably insert myself into a 3D virtual world I can still enjoy viewing 3D virtual worlds from an outside perspective, and I really hope that Nintendo carries this technology over to whatever they have coming NeXt.

Not much in the way of tracker eligible playtime from my household this week, but it was still a great week for annihilating untold hordes of zombies once again! Ineligible Animal Crossing: Wild World (Nintendo DS) - 129 minutes The House of the Dead: Overkill (Nintendo Wii) - 85 minutes The Pinball Arcade (Android) - 11 minutes Resident Evil Archives: Resident Evil (Nintendo Wii) - 226 minutes Resident Evil Archives: Resident Evil Zero (Nintendo Wii) - 184 minutes Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles (Nintendo Wii) - 869 minutes Touch the Dead (Nintendo DS) - 101 minutes PC-DOS Final Doom - 93 minutes Total Play Time This Week 1,698 minutes (28 hours 18 minutes) [93 minutes eligible] Individual System Play Times This Week Nintendo Wii: 1,364 minutes Nintendo DS: 230 minutes PC-DOS: 93 minutes Android: 11 minutes Regardless of what system I'm doing it on, for my tastes there are few finer video gaming experiences that can be had than blowing the heads off zombies and other nightmarish creatures with a well made plastic shotgun. Bearing that fact in mind, it's probably no surprise that once I received my CTA Sure Shot shotgun conversion shell for the Wii remote and nunchuck in the mail this week I promptly spent all my free time putting it to good use. I first tried out this very solid feeling and well designed shotgun accessory with House of the Dead: Overkill, and after just a few levels with it I quickly noticed that I was more than doubling my score from when I used the more well known Nyko Perfect Shot pistol shell for the Wii remote. Just having that stock to brace against my shoulder or side vastly increased the stability of my aiming, and after opening up the Sure Shot and lubricating all the moving parts with a little white lithium grease (since it came from the factory with zero lubrication of any kind inside it) the buttons were all smooth as silk. From there I spent most of the rest of the week playing Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles with my new boomstick, until I had beaten every stage on hard and unlocked almost everything there was to unlock. I say "almost" because I never managed to get an "S" ranking in every stage on hard, which is needed to unlock unlimited ammo for the weapon of your choice, but I did unlock everything else and I had a ton of fun doing it! The only other noteworthy events from the past week in gaming for me was that I finally managed to beat Touch the Dead for the DS on Furious (Hard) mode and I did get in a few more levels in the TNT chapter of Final Doom last night to make sure I'd have at least some eligible play time for the week. As far as the misses' week goes, it was all Resident Evil all the time for her! After finishing the remake of the original Resident Evil with Chris on Hard mode she went on to start Resident Evil Zero and has been playing that one all week since. It's been a good half a decade or so since I played RE 0 and at this point the only things I really remember about it (aside from what Umbrella Chronicles reminded me of) is that the game is absurdly difficult even on normal mode and that ammo is scarcer than water in the Kalahari Desert, so I think my better half might have her work cut out for her with this one. As far as next week goes, I think it's pretty safe to expect that my wife will be continuing to play through Resident Evil Zero and I'm really hoping to spend some more time exploring the Sega Master System library. There are so many awesome SMS games that I'd like to play but lately I seem to be getting caught up with lots of long and involved Wii games instead, so I think next week it'll be time to set the newer games aside for a bit and delve into some 8-bit classics. Maybe I'll give the Game Boy Color some attention too while I'm at it.

I sure hope so. The last decade or so retro game prices have been continually rising across the board without ever falling in any category as far as I know (aside from a few individual games that people have discovered warehouses of still new and sealed), so it would be nice to see prices start to fall again eventually. I can't imagine SNES games getting much if any more expensive than they are right now.

Based on online sales data*, I'd say it's about $100 overpriced. *Source: https://www.pricecharting.com/game/super-nintendo/earthbound?q=earthbound