Category Archives: Arcade Games

Video games, pinball, bowling and other things.

1972: Pong makes its debut

It may not have been the first arcade cabinet game, I think would go to its predecessor Computer Space, but it’s the one which really got the industry, namely Atari rolling! What I didn’t know is that Magnavox already sold a … Continue reading

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RIP Kevin Conroy

Sad to hear the person who was the voice of Batman for several decades passed away. Adam West put his mark on the character but Kevin really made Batman synonymous with him since he landed the role for the 1992 afternoon … Continue reading

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RIP Ray Liotta

Given his substance issues, it’s amazing he lived this long honestly. Somebody already had a mean joke too, I guess the drug Channix does work, he did stop smoking. Ouch! Ray burst on the scene for most of us via Goodfellas, the most … Continue reading

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1977: First Chuck E Cheese opens!

Flush with all his Atari fortune from Warner Communications buying his successful startup, Nolan Bushnell opened what would become a mainstay of the early Eighties…Chuck E Cheese Pizza Time Theatre. I guess he saw the near future better than others. … Continue reading

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Blades of Steel flashback!

All the time we wasted in 1988-89 playing this instead of studying! This passed for a hockey videogame then too. Well, Blades of Steel by Konami was superior to Nintendo’s offering, which was cartoony. The version above had permission to use … Continue reading

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1991: Simpsons Videogame debuts

Konami caught up to all The Simpsons madness with a side-scrolling cabinet for the arcades. By the time this came out, the show was still going pretty strong for Fox but I think the wave of knock-off T shirts had ended. … Continue reading

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One element of videogame-based D&D I hate

For those who don’t get it, the comic is mocking (to me) how crappy the AI is in games, especially console-based ones. This is why I prefer to play in person, get the interaction and figure out the real haggling. … Continue reading

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RIP John Madden

I thought a little levity was necessary over John’s passing. Above is a glitch from EA’s Madden ’92 whenever an injured player needed to be carried off the field. Now as for my knowledge and fandom of football, well it’s not … Continue reading

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RIP Masayuki Uemura

Masayuki was an unlikely figure to be key in contributing to the legacy of video games! Originally educated as an engineer, he sold solar-cell battery systems for Sharp. One client was Nintendo as they used the technology for the duck … Continue reading

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The real, abandoned Westworld

This picture made the rounds days ago but it made me think about the scenes from Futureworld when Blythe Dinner and Peter Fonda were allowed to see the ruins of Westworld. So in many ways, Chuck E Cheese and Showbiz Pizza … Continue reading

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What used to be a common sighting in the Eighties

Not the machine necessarily but vehicles with at least a cabinet or two getting transported from one location to another, often arcades. This Missile Command cabinet was in pretty good shape from what I could tell. I didn’t have any … Continue reading

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Happy Birthday Pac Man!

A day or two after The Empire Strikes Back, Namco rolled out Pac Man which went on to be the next big video game after Pong and Space Invaders took the world by storm. Well, it took a while really because there weren’t … Continue reading

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EA NHL 20 – Entry 1, helping out my Stars

The Pandemic has had one mixed result for me passing the time, I got re-acquainted with the PS4 I earned via points at Pinballz two years ago. Somara found out how to hook it up then I think I played … Continue reading

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Another game with a tired, old band for musically stunted fans

In their defense, Iron Maiden has had a visual trademark via Eddie, but could Stern find a non-dinosaur act (*cough* Rolling Stones, *cough* Aerosmith) that hasn’t been flogging a dead horse over the last 30 years to immortalize? And no, … Continue reading

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Apple’s new stuff, namely services are pretty cool

Tim and Company came out to show off what everybody expected. A new iPhone, a new Watch and a new iPad alongside what some of the OS features would be. The cooler stuff which impressed even a grizzled support veteran … Continue reading

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