Warp Zoned Presents
Most Recent: Retro
More details about the Retro VGS console revealed
Retro Media, the people behind the Retro VGS console, have updated their online FAQ and confirmed a few more details about the cartridge-based system.
On the hardware side, the Retro Media plans to eschew the use of Secure Digital (SD) cards or USB flash memory drives in the Retro VGS. Instead, the company has opted for an archival type of EEPROM cartridge that is rated to retain data for 100 years. This attempt to create a timeless console even bleeds into the system’s firmware, which will be locked and update free.
Developers will have the ability to take a Retro VGS cartridges and add additional functionality to them, similar to Nintendo’s use of the Super FX chip, to produce games not possible by the base system. This process will also allow developers to rewrite the console’s hardware configuration to more closely resemble a series of classic consoles:
The Retro VGS will have its own cool configurations (ways to make a game), and it can also be hardware-configured to be other old-school architectures that a lot of developers are used to developing for. Specifically, and at this current time, it’s an FPGA and ARM system. If a developer wants to make a Neo Geo game, they would include an HDL (Hardware Description Language) file that configures the FPGA to operate like a Neo Geo. The developer would code their game to run against the Neo Geo platform. This HDL code along with the actual Neo Geo game will be on the cartridge. Once that cartridge is placed in the Retro VGS, it will become a Neo Geo and play that game. So in this case, the language is: 68000 and Z80 code.
If you wanted to do a new Atari 2600 styled game, you’d include a 2600 HDL file that configures the FPGA to replicate the logic of the original 2600 hardware and then you’d include your new 2600 game on that cartridge too. These two files are then paired up on the cartridge and when plugged into the RETRO VGS, will turn the console into a 2600.
Finally, Retro Media confirmed that the system will come bundled with a pack-in game. Adventures of Tiny Knight, developed by CollectorVision, will be a RPG platformer that’s heavily inspired by Westone’s Wonder Boy series.
A retail price for the Retro VGS has yet to be determined, but the Kickstarter campaign to help fund the creation of the console will begin on September 14.
English adaptation of 1998’s Metal Gear Solid Audio Drama released
Hey everyone, I made a thing. In addition to being a multi-talented writer here at Warp Zoned, I’m also a connoisseur of the arts. Does that sound good, or is it too pretentious? Either way, I think I’ve outdone myself.
Introducing the first English adaptation of the Metal Gear Audio Drama, which I produced.
In 1998, longtime Metal Gear military adviser Motosada Mori wrote an audio drama for Japanese radio simply called Metal Gear Solid. Konami, together with Nippon Cultural Broadcasting, eventually released the 12 episodes of the show across two CDs. However, the series never left Japan, presumably because we Americans haven’t listened to a radio play after everyone thought War of the Worlds was a real alien invasion.
Actually, there’s some debate as to whether or not that happened, but you get the point.
Despite its name, the Metal Gear Solid audio drama wasn’t an adaptation of the original PSone game, but instead a series of totally original stories. You see, Mori was interested in becoming a writer, so he wrote the radio play to break into the business, and he used the Metal Gear franchise because that’s what he’d been working on and it was popular. He came up with his own plot, three loosely connected adventures actually, and all featuring new Metal Gear stories. As far as I can ascertain, Kojima himself had nothing to do with this series. In fact I can’t even find any evidence of him ever mentioning it.
A lot of care was put into translating the Metal Gear Audio Drama into English. Editing a translation provided by MetalGearSolid.net and mixing the episodes together took several weeks. And my voice actors, many of whom are Metal Gear fans, worked just as long to make sure they got every line right.
The series features the sterling voices of Kristyn Mass (Meryl Silverburgh), Stig Syntangen (Captain), Yui Hisiashi, Jimmy Cooper (Colonel Campbell), Terrance Nicholson, and Cliff Thompson (Solid Snake), as well as many more. Popular YouTuber and Metal Gear fanatic YongYea is also among the ranks of the performers. I even brought on composer Yui Hisaishi to create a brand new music track, which you can hear throughout the series, and briefly in the Animated Showcase Trailer.
You can listen to the series on YouTube for the subtitled version, or you can download individual episodes from Soundcloud. A new episode will be available every Friday for the next few months.
The Frames Per Second Fight is Just the Return of the Bit Wars… We All Need to Move On
Unlike many in the video game community, I don’t have fond memories of gaming as a child. It wasn’t until I was 13 or 14 when I got a PS2 for Christmas that I got serious about my gaming. Before that, video games were an entirely foreign concept to me, though I did play my sister’s Super Nintendo from time to time. We’d play Super Mario Bros., Donkey Kong Country, and Paperboy 2; it was the only time when we weren’t trying to kill each other. My dad was into games back then too, playing old adventure games like Riven and Myst.
As my interest in gaming grew, so too did my interest in gaming’s history. Time and time again in my halfhearted and aimless research I became aware of the fanboy subculture. In those days, I was a Sony fanboy, but the art of emotionally investing in a multi-million dollar company that didn’t care about its individual customers was more refined in the height of the Sega and Nintendo wars. (more…)
Long-lost animated cutscenes from Crash Bandicoot emerge
One of many former mascots for Sony’s PlayStation, Crash Bandicoot, was originally going to feature animated cutscenes between levels. Footage released yesterday via YouTube, thanks to a user named “9Matt2,” gave gamers their first look at the animation, which had been lost for more than 20 years.
David Siller, a Producer on Crash Bandicoot, spoke to Crash Mania about the cartoon:
“It was based on ideas for where we were going with this IP at that time. It was probably too ambitious in nature and was also trying to be humorous. It was never used or even embedded in the game as a hidden ‘easter egg’ treat.
Once UIS licensed the game to Sony for publication, Sony did not want it utilized since they were heavily pushing the ‘3D’ agenda.”
The first segment of the video was supposed to be the game’s intro, while the second part was going to be used for the outro of the game. Crash Bandicoot hasn’t been heard from in a long time, but it’s always fun to get a taste of gaming history.
Posted in News, Retro
Tagged Crash Bandicoot
Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata dies at age 55
It’s a sad day today, as Nintendo has announced the death of President and CEO Satoru Iwata due to a bile duct growth. He was 55 years old.
“Nintendo Co. Ltd. deeply regrets to announce that President Satoru Iwata passed away on July 11, 2015 due to a bile duct growth,” was the company’s only statement to the public. In the hours since the news was released, Nintendo of America posted the following message to Twitter and Facebook: “In remembrance of Mr. Satoru Iwata, Nintendo will not be posting on our social media channels today.”
Iwata had been with Nintendo since the 1980s, starting out as a programmer at HAL Laboratory (where he worked on Balloon Fight and EarthBound, among others), before reaching the level of CEO in 2002. The executive also had a close relationship with Nintendo’s devoted fans. He regularly made appearances at industry events, hosted Nintendo’s monthly Nintendo Direct videos, and conducted Iwata Asks, a regular interview series in which he would talk to the developers of Nintendo’s games. Iwata had been battling this illness for several years, missing last year’s E3 Expo due to a surgery. But he made his final public appearance as part of this year’s Nintendo Digital Event @ E3 just last month.
Above all, Iwata was a principled man in an industry that’s dead set on nothing but making money and treating customers like cattle. When Nintendo failed to reach its financial projections in 2013, Iwata voluntarily cut his salary in half for the next five months.
There is no word yet who will be named Nintendo’s next President and CEO, though it will be extraordinarily difficult to replace a man like Iwata.
GameStop opens Retro Classics store on their website
GameStop executives first began discussing the retailer’s “vintage sales” initiative back in 2012. After three long years, GameStop has finally opened a Retro Classics storefront on their website, offering games that originally appeared on the NES, Super NES, Nintendo 64, Genesis, PlayStation, and Dreamcast.
But you better bust open your piggy bank, because most of these games will set you back a fair bit of coin.
Some of the “Featured” titles include games available through the Nintendo eShop for under $10, such as Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!! for $34.99, Super Castlevania IV for $44.99, and Contra III: The Alien Wars for $49.99. But there are also some relatively rare titles for sale including PaRappa the Rapper for $34.99, Mega Man Legends for $34.99, and Intelligent Qube for $49.99. None of these titles are available as legal downloads, but that could change at any time.
So remember kinds, retro gaming is great, but don’t forget to shop around.
World Video Game Hall of Fame’s Class of 2015 is Tetris, Super Mario Bros, Pong, Doom, WoW, Pac-Man
The World Video Game Hall of Fame, which is administered by the International Center for the History of Electronic Games and The Strong in Rochester, New York, has announced its inaugural list of inductees. Drum roll, please.
The 2015 Class of the World Video Game Hall of Fame includes…
- Doom, id Software’s pioneering first person shooter.
- Pac-Man, the dot-eating, ghost-chasing hero of every 80s arcade.
- Pong, one of video gaming’s earliest arcade hits.
- Super Mario Bros., the side-scroller that put the NES on the map and made Mario a household name.
- Tetris, the falling block puzzler that’s surely invaded your dreams at least once.
- World of Warcraft, Blizzard’s MMO made the genre what it is today and is still going strong after a decade.
While all of the games are at least ten years old, it’s amazing how important they still are to video gaming’s current climate. Bethesda will pull the curtain back on the next game in the Doom series at this year’s E3 Expo. Pac-Man recently celebrated his 35th anniversary and will star in a new mobile game this Summer. Super Mario Bros. is also celebrating a big anniversary this year and will influence this September’s Mario Maker. The Tetris Company, and Alexey Pajitnov, continues to license new version of Tetris and the latest, Tetris Ultimate, was released last year. Finally, Blizzard released World of Warcraft’s fifth expansion, Warlords of Draenor, in November and a sixth is already in the works.
These six games represent gaming at its greatest and are excellent choices for the Hall of Fame’s inaugural class. As part of their selection, the inductees will be on permanent view (and in playable form) at The Strong’s “eGameRevolution” exhibit.
Nine other finalists were considered for inclusion by the international committee including Angry Birds, FIFA International Soccer, The Legend of Zelda, Minecraft, The Oregon Trail, Pokemon Red/Blue, The Sims, Sonic the Hedgehog, and Space Invaders. I’m sure it’s only a matter of time until all of them are enshrined in the Hall of Fame. But if you want to campaign for your favorite game, nominees for the Class of 2016 are currently being accept at the World Video Game Hall of Fame’s website.
Posted in News, PC, PS3, Retro, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360
Tagged Doom (1993), Pac-Man, Super Mario Bros., Tetris, World of Warcraft, World Video Game Hall of Fame
The cartridge-based console is coming back with Shovel Knight and Retro City Rampage
The cartridge-based console shuffled off this mortal coil more than a decade ago when Nintendo discontinued the Nintendo 64. The format had a great run, but the lower cost and higher storage capacity of compact discs killed it for good. Or did it? Retro Magazine‘s Mike Kennedy recently sat down with VentureBeat to talk about the Retro Video Game System, a new cartridge-based console that he plans to release next year.
Repurposing the case mold from the Atari Jaguar, Kennedy’s Retro VGS will bring classic game design to a new generation using the time-tested delivery method of cartridges. However, the innards of the console will be brand new and the cartridges will use flash memory similar to that seen in USB sticks. The Retro VGS team has also partnered with Interworks to produce a branded controller for the system that evokes the fusion of classic and modern controller design found in the Wii U Pro Controller.
With the huge resurgence of retro-style gaming in recent years, Kennedy and his team have reached out to these developers in the hopes of bringing their games to the Retro VGS. The consolemaker cited Shovel Knight and Retro City Rampage as two games that he’s reasonably confident will be released for the Retro VGS when it’s available. At this year’s PAX East expo, Yacht Club’s Nick Wozniak told me they “very much want to” release a retail version of Shovel Knight. I imagine a retail cartridge version of the game would be a dream come true.
Kennedy considers 2D titles like Shovel Knight and Retro City Rampage “the sweet spot” for the Retro VGS. The system’s main focus will be sprite-based games from the 16-bit era, but he’s open to the idea of including enough power for developers to create polygonal PSX/N64-type games (or maybe even PS2-like games) as well.
A Kickstarter campaign to fund the creation of the Retro Video Game System will launch sometime this Summer with plans to release the cartridge-based console next year if all goes according to plan.
Posted in News, Retro
Tagged Retro City Rampage, Shovel Knight