Happy 40th Anniversary Atari

June 27, 2012 marks Atari's 40th Anniversary. When you think of the first home console the first thing you think of is Atari. It may not have been the first home console but it paved the way for the future. For me the most iconic thing from Atari was the Atari 2600. I remember my mom buying me on with a bunch of game at a thrift store. I don't remember what happened to it because I don't have it now (I do have the Atari Anthology and Activision Anthology on the PS2 so I still have the games). I do remember on of the games I had was pitfall and I loved playing that game I also believe I had Asteroids and I had some other games. Pitfall is still my favorite game for the Atari I love it so much. Atari was an is an awesome company and they still make games and people still loves to play the games and they are all very easy to access now thanks to the internet. Live on Atari.

The Atari Timeline

Happy 15th Anniversary Nintendo 64

In 1996 today the Nintendo 64 was released. The Nintendo 64 was the system that came out after the Super Nintendo. The Nintendo 64 was an awesome system. To be honest I didn’t have a Nintendo 64 growing up as a kid I choose to get a PlayStation. I would have liked to have both growing up but I couldn’t afford both the PS1 and the N64 along with all the games I would have wanted to buy. Never the less I had friends who owned the N64 and I was able to play it every time I went to their house. I own a N64 now and I was able to build a Library of games that I played at my friends’ houses. The N64 was Nintendo’s big leap into gaming in 3D environments. It was also the first system to include 4 controller ports making 4-player gaming much easier for gamers because there was no need to buy a multi-tap. So right off the bat the N64 encouraged multi-player gaming with more than just 2 players at a time. One of the launch titles was Super Mario 64 which showed how awesome Mario is in a 3D world. The N64 also introduced rumbling controllers with the Rumble Pak. The Rumble Pak was bundled with another great Nintendo game Star Fox 64 the first game to feature the Rumble Pak. The N64 also brought us some new games like Goldeneye 007 and Perfect Dark which are still highly competitive first person shooters. The N64 also created some new series that are on newer Nintendo systems which include: Paper Mario, Mario Tennis, Mario Party and probably the most popular series that started on the N64 Super Smash Bros. Other great classic they brought into true 3D world were The Legend of Zelda, Donkey Kong and Mario Kart 64. Those are just a few of the games there are many more. The N64 was a great system that came with a good amount of bells and whistles. They were the First to have 4 controller ports and the first to have rumbling controllers. They also released an expansion pak which increased the RAM on the N64. This was required for a few games but it enhanced graphics in a good amount of others. The N64 started a lot of great things but what would you expect from Nintendo. The N64 is still an awesome system to have when you are gaming with your friends.

Happy 20th Anniversary Super Nintendo

August 23, 1991 the Super Nintendo was released in the United States. It was the perfect system to continue to the next generation after the Nintendo Entertainment System. I love the Super Nintendo and it is one of my most favorite systems ever made. So the month of September is going to be dedicated to the Super Nintendo. All my posts will be about the Super Nintendo and its games. Let us celebrate the SNES for all its glory and greatness and I hope you enjoy everything I have to say about the SNES this month.

Check out some of our previous Super Nintendo posts:

Game of the Day: Final Fantasy VI (Final Fantasy III US SNES)
Modding your Super Nintendo to play Super Famicom games
Evolution of Video Games Epic Medley Made on Mario Paint Composer
My Top 10 SNES Games/Game Series

Modding your Super Nintendo to play Super Famicom games

Ever wanted to play a Super Famicom game but you didn’t have Super Famicom to play it on. Well there is an easy way to mod your Super Nintendo. First I want to compare an SNES cartridge with an SFC cartridge. In the image below you will see the two cartridges.

You will see the SNES cartridge is wider than the SFC cartridge. Now look at the pin connectors in the picture below.

You see that the pin connectors look the same. You show noticed there is something that sets these apart and it’s the slots on the on the SNES cartridge. If you look at the picture below you will see that the SFC cartridge doesn’t have the slots.

If you try to put the SFC cartridge in the SNES it won’t fit because it doesn't have the slots.

Now it’s time to make the SFC cartridge fit into the SNES. To mod you SNES all need is just needle nose pliers just like the pliers below.

Open the slot of the SNES and you will see two tab. Take a look at the picture below and you will see where they are located.

Take the needle nose pliers and brake off the tabs. They should break right off and you will have two tabs like the ones below.

Your SNES should look like this now.

Now the SFC cartridge will fit in the SNES.

Congratulations you have modded your SNES to play Japanese SFC games. You will only be able to play Japanese games. You will not be able to play European SNES games because its PAL not NTSC. This is easy to do and it doesn’t require you to mess with the circuit board on you SNES.

Great Finds: Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis

The other day I was looking through Goodwill and I came across a Super Nintendo. The SNES came with 1 controller and 2 games in great shape. The games are Zombies ate my Neighbors and Fatal Fury 2.

The SNES didn’t have any hook up but lucky for me I picked up an extra set of SNES av cables for only $1. The SNES with the controller and 2 games only cost me $5 so even though I need an ac adapter everything cost me $6 for the system. Also the system works where I have a SNES I was able to use the hook ups from my 1st SNES and it worked just fine.

A week before finding the SNES I found another Model 1 Sega Genesis. It had the hook ups and the system works but no controllers.

The Genesis only cost $7 so again it was a great deal even without controllers. It’s easy to find controllers and AC adapters without breaking the bank. I have been getting lucky and my local Goodwill store I just hope I my luck continues and I find some more great systems, games and accessories.

Great Finds: Sega Genesis and Nintendo 64

The other day I was looking around at a Goodwill when I came across a box that had a complete Nintendo 64 with 2 controllers. I looked through the box and there was also a complete Model 1 Sega Genesis with 2 controllers in the box also.

I looked to see the if there was a price tag and to my surprise the price was $25 so I picked it up and took it to the cashier and she rang it up. All together everything was $27 with tax. The Genesis also had a game with it Sonic 2. This has probably been one of the best deals I have found in a while and I'm very happy I found 2 working game consoles for a great price.

Console Flops: Virtual Boy

With all the talk about the Nintendo 3D I thought it would be good to talk about an awful system known as the Virtual Boy. This system was the worst thing that ever came from Nintendo. Here is a commercial for the Virtual Boy.

I remember wanting this as a kid just because of what I heard, but when I saw a price tag of $179.99 I said to myself my parents will never buy me this. Before I knew it I had forgotten about the Virtual Boy because it came and went in less then year. I never played a Virtual Boy and I'm happy I never did seeing the games was enough. This system was suppose to be cutting edge so it should have been in full color. The only colors it had was red and black the main color was red. I heard that if you played it to long you wouldn't be able to see Red for a while. Another thing was that this system was marketed as a portable system and it was not a portable system. The Virtual Boy was created by Gunpei Yokoi the man who created the game and watch games and the Game Boy. Nintendo gave him the go ahead to make the Virtual Boy because of his success with the Game Boy. When the system flopped he was put in a cubical in the back of Nintendo and pretty much wasn't aloud to do much of anything. In 1997 he died in a fatal car accident. When the Game Boy advance was released he was honored and remembered for his accomplishments. The Nintendo DS was taken from his original design of the Game and Watch systems. He also was the mastermind behind the Metroid series. Super Metroid inspired the game designers over at Konami to give Castlevania: Symphony of the Night the same level layout and the fans of Castlevania: SOTN commonly referred to this game as "Metroidvania". Gunpei Yokoi had many great accomplishment and one major flop overall he was an amazing game and console designer. This also shows that even the greats can make mistakes. The Virtual Boy was a great concept but the execution was horrible. The Virtual Boy was able to sell just under 800,000 copies of the system in its short life time but it went through many price cuts before it made it to that number. The Angry Video Game Nerd reviewed this system and pretty much all the games and if you would like to see what he thinks please watch his review below. This video contains explicit content and language viewer discretion is advised.

To see more of the Anger Video Game Nerd's reviews click here.

Console Flops: Atari 5200

We all know the name Atari and the first thing that comes to mind is the Atari 2600. The Atari 2600 was an awesome console the revolutionized home gaming. As the years went by Atari released other consoles. The next console was the Atari 5200 and it was a very bad console. This console came and went and was notorious for the controls not working. They released the Atari 7800 which was a better console because it was backwards compatible and played Atari 2600 games and you could also use the Atari 2600 controls with the Atari 7800. The Atari 5200 could have been a good console but it was not made well at all and they tried to do different hi-tech things with this console that weren't hi-tech at all it was nothing but a pain in the butt. The Angry Video Game Nerd did a review on the Atari 5200 and if you would like to see his experience with the Atari 5200 you can watch his video below. This video contains explicit content and language viewer discretion is advised.

Video Games | ScrewAttack | Angry Video Game Nerd: Atari 5200

XBox 360 | Playstation 3 | Nintendo Wii

To see more of the Anger Video Game Nerd's reviews click here.

2nd Red Ring of Death Resolved

February 22, 2010 I received my 2nd Red Ring of Death on my 2nd Xbox 360 and I shipped it for repair February 23, 2010. A few days after I shipped the console I received a notice that they received the console. Then a few days later I received another notice saying the repair was complete and they sent my console back to me. Today March 5, 2010 I received my replacement Xbox 360. They said it could take 2 -3 weeks to get your Xbox 360 back from the day you shipped it. It has been about a week and a half and I have received my Xbox 360. I also received a 1 month Xbox Live Gold card for free. It took half the time to get my console and I got a free month of Xbox Live. I have to say Microsoft is getting good at this making sure gamers that are without their Xbox 360 aren't without it for very long. Hopefully this will be the last time this happens to me and hopefully they resolve these issues once and for all.

2nd Red Ring of Death

In July 2007 I received the Red Ring of Death. The first thing I used was the towel trick and that worked great but it wasn't a permanent solution to the problem so in August 2007 I decided to call Xbox Support (1-800-4MY-XBOX). Xbox Support was very good with their customer service and a few days later they sent me a box, I put my Xbox 360 into the box, Dropped it off at the UPS store. 3 weeks later I received another Xbox 360 with a free 1 month subscription card to Xbox Live which I gave to my brother-in-law Stewart. I hooked up my Xbox 360 up and started playing my games and I was very happy. As time went by I had been reading magazines talking about the Red Ring of Death still being an issue. I always had it the back of my head that it could happen again, but I just kept playing hoping that I wouldn't see the dreaded Red Ring of Death. Unfortunately it happened again February 22, 2010 my 2nd Xbox 360 received the Red Ring of Death. I didn't waste time I called Xbox Support again good customer service as usual. They set up my repair and this time they emailed me a UPS shipping label so I didn't have to wait a few days for a box I was able to boxed up my Xbox 360 today and dropped it off at Staples. In 2 - 3 weeks I should receive my Xbox 360. It is kind of annoying that this has happened, but at least they are still giving extended warranties and fixing Xbox 360. Now some people just gave up on Xbox 360 the first time they got the Red Ring of Death. They either went with a PS3 or a Wii. Now I have a Wii as well along with many other older systems I don't have a PS3, but both of these systems have had issues as well Xbox 360 just has them with way more systems. I have heard the PS3 has the yellow light of death, and the Wii had the black screen of death which I have had. When I had the issues with the Wii I lost my save games, but I still had the licenses for WiiWare and Virtual Console games and could download them again. I love the fact that I can detach the Xbox 360 hard drive because I didn't lose my save files. Like I said I'm kind of annoyed with the Red Ring of Death, but I will not turn my back on my Xbox 360 like my friend said great software and bad hardware. Hopefully this will be the last time this happens, but if it does I will repeat the same steps for repair that I just did for this Xbox 360. Please don't give up faith in the Xbox 360.