Software development. Tech punditry. Retro gaming.
The Commodore 64 was the most popular home computer of the 1980s. Released in January 1982, the single computer went on to sell between 12.5 and 17 million units, making it the biggest-selling desktop computer model of all time.
The Commodore 64 (known by many as the C64) had a huge array of software and hardware over its lifetime. Over …
In January 1982 the Commodore 64 was born – an 8-bit powerhouse of home computing. It rapidly took over the decade, moving between 12.5 and 17 million units to crown itself the highest-selling desktop computer model of all time.
Lovingly referred to as the “C64”, the system became a cultural phenomenon, powered by a library of more than 10,000 software …
The PC Engine was a home video game console developed through a joint venture between Hudson Soft and NEC. Released in Japan in 1987, it was a commercial success, competing favourably with the well-known Nintendo Famicom/NES console of the era. Though technically an 8-bit console (having an 8-bit CPU), it included a 16-bit graphics processor, making it a remarkably …
The Taito Egret II was an arcade cabinet that first appeared in Japanese video game arcades in the 1990s. It’s a cabinet style affectionately known as a “candy cab”, most likely because of the bright, often neon, colours associated with the cabinets. What made the Egret II stand out was the fact the monitor inside could be easily rotated for …
The Taito Egret II was an arcade cabinet that first appeared in Japanese video game arcades in the 1990s. It’s a cabinet style affectionately known as a “candy cab”, most likely because of the bright, often neon, colours associated with the cabinets. What made the Egret II stand out was the fact the monitor inside could be easily rotated for …
In 1990, the Intelligent Controller Cyber Stick was introduced to the world – an analog/digital controller for the Sharp Corporation X68000 series of computers. Considered by many as the ultimate analog controller, it was compatible with a number of Japanese computers and consoles of the era: X68000, PC98 series, FM Towns, SEGA Mega Drive/Genesis and the PC Engine (using an …
Early arcade games used CRTs (Cathode Ray Tubes – think old TVs before flat screens). Colour CRTs were quite expensive, so early games used black-and-white screens. It was also expensive to manufacture chips and circuits that output colour, so this was another way to save money.
This use of black-and-white CRTs is why, if you ever saw the original …
Ed Riley, known as winkdot on the AtariAge forums, was a homebrew developer for the Atari 2600. Over the years he produced a wide range of fun games that he released for free to the Atari community.
Sadly, Ed Riley passed away in 2019. A great loss to the Atari community and the world.
Forum member Brian Matherne (Arenafoot…
The Atari 2600 (originally called the Atari VCS) is a video game system that launched in the US in 1977; one of the oldest home video game systems, and certainly one of the most well known and fondly remembered. In fact, the Atari 2600 was re-released by Atari in 2023 as the Atari 2600+, a system that can take …
The Game & Watch are handheld electronic video game units created by Nintendo in the 1980s, consisting of a video game on an LCD display, and a clock (the “watch” part in the name). The first game, Ball, was introduced in 1980, and the last original Game & Watch was Mario the Juggler in 1991. These handheld games were …
News of the day is that a new Atari 2600 prototype game has been found. It is being referred to as Fish (that was the filename) and little is known about its origins apart from the fact it was created in 1983 and never released. You can read all about the discovery at AtariProtos.com.
Here’s a video of the …
The Mega Drive Mini (Genesis Mini in the US) has been out now for some time. It’s a great little device with 42 built-in games, and has the advantage that it connect to modern televisions giving easier access to those without original hardware or old CRT televisions.
However, it is also fairly easy to add more games to the device …