Nintendo's '8-bit Summer' Starts Next Week

In a recent Nintendo Direct press conference, Nintendo announced a summer promotion for 3DS owners that should make retro fans very happy. Dubbed the "Summer of 8-bit," the promotion will see Nintendo releasing retro Virtual Console titles on the 3DS eShop for each week in July. Here is the list of games and dates they've put out so far:

• The Legend of Zelda (NES) - July 5
• Kirby's Pinball Land (Game Boy) - July 12
• The Sword of Hope II (Game Boy) - July 12
• Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters (Game Boy) - July 19
• Tumblepop (Game Boy) - July 19
• Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3 (Game Boy) - July 19
• Sonic Blast (GameGear) - date TBA
• Sonic Labyrinth (GameGear) - date TBA  

Not too shabby of a list, and it's great to see not only NES games, but GameBoy and SEGA GameGear games as well on the list. For me personally, I'll be picking up Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters, Wario Land and both Sonic GameGear games.

Nintendo also released a trailer for the promotion, which you can check out below.

Wreck-It Ralph

There's nothing more exciting for a retro gamer then seeing throw backs to their favorite characters. Wreck-It Ralph by Disney Animation seems to be dishing up what every hardcore old school gamer wants. 8-bit deliciousness, current FPS and what seems to be an interesting underlying current day commentary on gaming in general is drawing me to this movie like Mario to a mushroom! Check out the trailer, check out the cameos. This is going to be fantastic. I think I'm going to have to pick up a mic after this and have a nice chit chat with the world of Secret Identity. I am JAZZED!

1UP Has a Great Series of Retro-Themed Articles This Week (5/21-5/25)

In case you haven't checked in on the gaming news site 1UP recently, there have been changes afoot. Editor-in-Chief Jeremy Parish announced a couple of weeks ago that the site would be changing its focus. Instead of trying to keep up with the 24-hour gaming news cycle that the larger sites cover, 1UP is going to focus on writing more about the industry and the hobby itself, offering unique perspectives on gaming instead of just previews and reviews.

The shift in focus started this week, and there is some great stuff over on 1UP right now. This week's "cover story" for the site is a series of What If? articles, where they examine what might have happened if certain events in the history of gaming had turned out differently.  Here are links to a couple of my retro-themed favorites:

What If Third-Party Development Didn't Exist? takes a look at the Activision vs. Atari legal battle that led to the company being able to make games for the Atari 2600, as well as what might have happened had the decision went the other way;

What If Video Games Never Came Home? is a short video about what gaming might be like had home consoles never happened;

AND

Musings from the Public Domain paints a picture of a world where the "Mickey Mouse" copyright extension act never came into being.

Those are just a few of the great articles that have gone up over the past few days. You can head over to www.1up.com to read all of them, and I highly recommend you do.

New York Comic Convention

 I had a great time at the New York Comic Convention this past week. I was really happy to spend some actual real world time with co-host Brian Letendre. Sorry we've been so absent in the blog section here. I hope to rectify that issue as soon as possible. Expect some upcoming posts about games and game related items. If you get a chance to head to NYC next year don't hesitate. There were tons of retro characters represented as well as the largest upright arcade machine in the world. The last time I saw it at the show I saw a huge line of people waiting to play giant Galaga. FANTASTIC.

Mario Where Are You!?

Remember this commercial? I sure do. Brings back memories of the pre-Koopa days. Good times.

SEGAmaniacal Summer Challenge: Streets of Rage--Beaten!!

Well, I put Streets of Rage to bed this evening--what an awesome game. Great but simple control scheme, fun levels, and brutal bosses.  After playing through this whole game, I think I enjoy it more than Double Dragon.

Anyway, the SEGAmaniacal Summer Challenge continues--on to Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master!

Dad Was an Arcade Hero Last Night

Every year our family goes to Maine, and one of the best parts about the trip is that there are a few great arcades in the area. Last night we went to the Boardwalk Arcade at Wells Beach, and I had a great moment with my five-year old son. As we were winding down our arcade trip, my son pointed over to a machine in the corner--one of those "claw" games that are designed to rip you off (you know the ones).  He pointed to the machine, and more specifically at a penguin plus toy inside and said "Dad, will you win me a penguin?"

I strolled over to the machine, only to find out this was a claw game with a twist. You have to play a Tetris-like minigame just to get a chance at using the claw. Lose the game, and you don't even get a try with the claw. So I popped my two quarters in, and beat the minigame on the first try. I then deftly maneuvered the claw over the penguin in question, and snagged it on the first shot.

As my son watched with glee, the claw dropped his brand new toy down the chute, and I walked away a hero for the day.