You are out on the streets - Saturn Video.

A nice compilation video. I can't say that I am a fan of Twisted Sister but this seems to work just fine.



Bonus points to anyone who can name all the games featured in this!

The End Of An Era...

I'm in a state of shock. Something great and worthy has died. I went up to Gamestation before, to see whether they had any 'new' Saturn games in and was devestated to find that the whole Saturn section had been cleared out...

Gamestation has some of it's own independent shops, but they were largely to be found at the back of Blockbuster video stores. Gamestation was a literal treasure trove of retro gaming goodies. They are where I bought the majority, of Saturn games, (the best ever purchase being the original arcade port of House Of The Dead- £24.99, the cheapest being Sega Rally for 20p, closely followed by Sega Worldwide Soccer for 27p.)

Its where I bought my four Saturn Light Guns (one boxed up Virtua Cop Edition) , my Saturn Steering Wheel, and also where I bought the majority of my Dreamcast games and peripherals, my Sega Game Gear, the majority of my Master System games collection and also a variety of PS1 and PS2 games, PSP and DS titles...

Certain standout memories include discovering my Dreamcast Keyboard and Mouse, Shenmue 2, My Namco Light Gun and RE:CV Survivor's Guide, the time I was given a Dreamcast 4MB VMU and a copy of Retro Gamer magazine for free... Plus all the "buy one get one free" (or BOGOF) deals which meant that you could walk in with £10 and come out with two Dreamcast games and four Saturn games.

Gamestation has been bought out by its 'landlord', Blockbuster. Having seen the DVD rental business dwindle, as people download movies or buy cheap pirate copies, Blockbuster have seen the capital potential of the gaming industry as a way it can recoup sales.

But the new ownership of the franchise has decided in its wisdom, that the retro market is not profitable enough, and therefore it will concentrate on PS2, PS3, Wii, DS and 360 sales.

One ray of hope is that it might send a little business the way of 'Chips', which despite being a chain, is certainly not a multi-national corporation, and retains the feeling of the "independent" game shops of yore...

So, I'm pouring a 40 oz to the kerb, in honour of my homie Gamestation, and the end of some great times... I won't be going there again.

Happy Birthday Racketboy!

It was recently brought to my attention by the saintly Gnome, that one of my favourite sites, "Retro Gaming With Racketboy" had reached its third anniversary. Three solid years, of providing the gaming community with excellent advice on the joys of those systems that had preceded the current gen.

This advice, either appeals to those who were unaware of the validity of Retro Gaming as a worthwhile past time, or to those like myself, who recognise the value of older games due to a longstanding experience of gaming over many consoles/years.

For me, gaming as a medium can be compared to film or music. Although producing film or music may have been benefited by the advances of technology, "ancient" examples of both genres still stand up against their contemporaries today.

If you dig the White Stripes, check out Led Zeppelin. Oasis? Try The Beatles! The artists that used eight track studios, still produced valid pieces that stand up to later material produced with digital recording. Therefore the basic message is that new does not necessarily equal better!

OK back to gaming. The rise of down loadable retro games, be that XBox Live for the 360, or Virtual Console for the Wii, is an economic recognition (by Microsoft and Nintendo) of the merit of retro games in the face of current gen titles.

What Racketboy has (and still continues to) facilitate for us, is that fact, from the start of his esteemed blog to the present. A down to earth guide for those in the know, and those of us wishing to find out more.

What Racketboy does with style in abundance, is map out those games that are relevent in today's climate; which stand up as quality games today. Thus he illuminates and expands the current gamers repertoire, whilst guiding the choices of retro lovers like myself, highlighting classics which all of us may have missed!



Therefore my classic Racketboy post has to be this... The Best Saturn Titles For Today!

And BTW! I've come at this from a Saturn lovers point of view... If I'm honest, I'd have to acknowledge his love for the Dreamcast as being my first inspiration! With this particular post...




I'm not in this particular venture to win a prize! I'm here to acknowledge the contribution that Racketboy has made to gaming. There is so much more to say, but I don't want to dilute this post by waffling! Therefore, its enough to say Racketboy we salute you! For more on my love for the man and his site, look here..

Is the PS3 the new Saturn?

I was reading this article over at defunct games when that question hit me...

http://www.defunctgames.com/shows.php?id=feuds-125

This is of course not the first time this has come up. Many people are actually making this connection.

http://valve.1up.com/flat/Themeweek/Valve/video5.html

So basically they are comparing the marketing and such. But as much as people have ragged on the Saturn, it still has a pretty wide retro fanbase. Will the PS3, with it's dwindling supple of exclusive games, have such a fanbase in a few years? Considering the fact that I can't play RE Outbreak online anymore I wonder how those cool little PS3 features and games will age? When it comes down to it I think that the Saturn is a much better retro gaming system than the PS3 will ever be.

I would have to say that if someone offered me a Saturn in box or a new PS3 in box right now (And I couldn't sell the PS3 right away for cash) I might actually pick the Saturn (If it were a Dreamcast there would be no question, Dreamcast). PS3 games and accessories are obscenely priced (as is all current generation stuff) it might acutally be cheaper to get NiGHTS, Panzer Dragoon and Shining Force games then to pay for new unproven PS3 ones. Plus the PS3 has a bunch of options I can't use since I can't get a decent ISP where I live currently.

In conclusion I would have to say that comparing the PS3 to the Saturn at this point is an insult to the Saturn. The PS3 might very well pick up and "win" the current console wars. It might have some cool games that could turn into classics. But, will it be as cool as the Saturn in it's retro years? I really don't think can be. Real lovers of retro video games have loved the Saturn because it spawned some the best classic video games ever made. To automatically assume that some PS3 games will become as coveted is stretching the lines of reality a bit.

Oh and don't think that I like any of the other current consoles just because I picked up on this thread. I don't have any of them and I won't consider buying any of them until the price goes under $100.

And don't compare the PS3 to the Dreamcast. The undead king of consoles kicks the PS3's ass... That's a proven FACT in my mind.

In case you missed this.

A bit of a late link but a worthwhile one...

Racketboy has listed an awesome list of "hidden gems" for the Saturn.

http://www.racketboy.com/retro/2007/03/best-undiscovered-sega-saturn-games.html

Any Saturn fan worth his or her salt would know about many of these titles but this is an excellent resource for those of you that think that the only two games released on the Saturn were "NiGHTS" and "Panzer Dragoon".

On a side note one of my recent additions to my collection, "Mr. Bones", was included in this list.

Read the blog before you go to your next bargin bin hunt!