More politics on a retro game hobby community. For those saying "this isn't about politics, this is about copyright".. clearly you have not read the article. This is a heavy handed politically written story. The writer of the story is even here in the comments further inflaming the issue and showing and pushing a political agenda.
I have made this clear many times. I am a liberal. So I may agree with statements in the story. But the fact that I have said that in the past and today, in a gaming community, as the result of the community head's push for politics, is just plain gross. This is the same thing as SideScrollers or AsmonGold. These rants have nothing to do with gaming. Please stop taking sides and just drop the info of what has happened. We don't need a slant or angle. We don't need hand pick random user's social media comments that support a side like this is CNN or Fox. That is underhanded. That instantly calls out to anyone reading "He's on my team" or "He is against me". Why would a retro gaming site intentionally sew division? Are the politics of the story more important than the community? Why do we need to know where the writer stands? Why do we need to be on teams? Political teams at that, not even Nintedo vs Sega... These political teams have nothing to do with gaming.
Everything said in the article has counter points that people on the other side of the aisle are just as passionate about and feel just as wronged by. The point is A. I don't want to hear their viewpoint any more than your political viewpoint. This site is about retro games. B. It is pointless, because the argument doesn't end, no one is winning the internet. All that is happening is propaganda is being written and shared in a bias fashion. I mean it could be called out if writer is more bias for Nintendo or Sony.. people would be justified to question the writer's integrity.. but at least it makes some sense as it is gaming.. it is on subject. It makes zero sense to write in personal politics on a gaming focused website. That makes just as much sense as you having a side hobby of fishing, then you find out a game dev thinks fishing should be banned, so you write a story about their new game, and in that story you go on a rant about how they are anti fishing. Now everyone is talking about fishing instead of the new game. What is the point? You get a pat on the back from the fishing community and you get to anger your enemies at PETA? What does that have to do with gaming?
Politics and gaming intersected. That is a fact. That is something that should be reported. What isn't a fact and what doesn't need to be reported, are political opinions. Is this story an opinion piece? A political opinion piece at that? Is that what this website is about, is that the theme now? Political opinion?
Of course yes anyone can do what they want with their own website, but at least have the courtesy of putting it in the title of the website or something, so people will know %30 of the stuff here is politics. That you are trying to build an echo chamber. Give us a tagline.. "Time Extension.. Retro Gaming, Politics, AI and the Fight for Our Future, as Well as Our Past!".
It is so disappointing to see every hobby injecting politics. I mean the MAGA guys are doing it as seen in the story.. and Time Extension is doing the same thing right back. The pot calling the kettle black.
This isn't about games and fun. This has become about teams and attacking.
@axelhander Early LCDs definitely looked way worse than CRTs. It wasn’t until OLED came out that CRTs were definitively defeated. If you put an HD video on a 2007 1920x1080p LCD TV it looks horrible. On a 1600x1200 CRT monitor it looks great. Early flat panel TVs just couldn’t do contrast and everything looked washed out, over lit, or under lit. LCDs of that era maxed out at 75Hz while older CRTs were doing 160Hz… and they supported variable refresh rates, something that is considered a newer premium feature of displays in 2026. Viewing an LCD from the side would cause the picture to fade away. The pixels were blurrier on LCDs than CRTs due to poor lighting tech and poor ability to put pixels in motion. Rear projection TVs sucked. After that DLP sucked. CRTs really lasted and were ahead of newer technologies for longer than they should have been. They were just huge and heavy and you couldn’t get a large display on them. People just thought flat panel TVs looked cool when they came out and they were more practical. Most consumer CRT TVs were also limited to 480p. Later there were some HD CRTs but they made them in wide screen which caused problems. So many people’s memories and experiences with CRT may be tainted. However CRT computer monitors were beautiful displays that punched way beyond their era.
To be honest the best way to do this is use a flexible mini LED display and put it behind a thick piece of curved glass. You will have glow, you will have deep blacks, and you will have that classic crt curved glass. You won’t get light gun games and you won’t have zero lag, but it really will look the part.
@mjparker77 I just tossed that game up as an example because it was in the collection mentioned. They do release some good games in collections though.
Am I the only one who would be more interested in dedicated single game cartridge releases, with a manual and maybe a sound track cd or strategy guide or making of dvd or something? Just having a ROM dump of a bunch of games on a single cart would just make me feel like I am switching out SD cards on an emulation handheld or PC. Nothing special about having it on my shelf or picking a special game of the shelf to play and dedicate proper time to enjoy.
I feel like I would jump into each game for a few minutes to see what it was like, then move onto the next game to see if it was better.
Where as if I spent $50 or whatever these things cost, on a single game like Canon - Legends of the New Gods, that thing would be in my system until I beat it. I would read through the manual on rest room breaks. I would put the CD on in my car on my way home as I wait to play it. After I finish it, it would be reinforced in my memories by watching the making of. It would be something worth spending time on as apposed to the Tik Tok equivalent of gaming.
I realize thats my personal approach and others can probably enjoy these collections. But anyone else in the same boat as me?
@Damo Come on be honest, this has nothing to do with informing us about our purchasing decision. As someone else already pointed out, you gave us no info at all about the stick. This is a personal crusade against AI.
Same thing happened with Mod Retro. You could let us know the background of their devices and why some people may want to avoid making the purchase as well as give us the details of the hardware. Instead you decided to not let us be informed at all.
If you want to inform us so we can make a decision to purchase or not, then inform us.. completely inform us. Stop playing politics with retro gaming, it is getting weird man.
It was so good I read it cover to cover as fast as I could and then went back to read it again. And it’s not like a lot of other Bitmap Books where it is mostly a picture book with some captions.. this is a text heavy book filled with information and history.
These same exact jokes have been done to death for over a decade. They are targeting the writing and animation at the wrong demographic. This is going to fail so hard and then Sega is going to end up thinking nobody wants a Golden Axe series. This is the same thing that happened to Trek and is causing that franchise to crash and burn. This is the same thing that is happening to many AAA western games. Studios are using IP’s but aren’t making media for the fans of those IPs. They are literally just burning money. When a bunch of people get laid off, everyone will cry… even though we all should have seen this from a mile away.
@JJtheTexan Late reply, but I gotta say dude that is a bad take. A funny thing happening does not make the whole game or the IP a comedy. Especially in that case where it wasn’t even part of the game. It was part of the credits sequence where game designers frequently go outside of what is actually part of the canon. Is Castlevania a comedy series because the credits are all famous horror movie spoofs? I don’t think anyone would say that.
Diablo is a comedy series? NBA Jam?
Funny stuff happens in movies and TV series all the time, but if you are watching Star Trek Deep Space 9 and someone comes up and says “what this?” Do you reply “Oh you never watched this sitcom?”. Nah
Some of yall really trying to stretch this. “There’s a dwarf riding a lizard and he kicked a little wizard”. Yeah it can be seen as goofy. Its a fantasy IP and it is a retro video game. Two things that are obviously silly to the real world, but having something goofy happen doesn’t make the genre “comedy”.
I don’t even care if they make Golden Axe a comedy cartoon (if it was at least good and not using recycled bits that have been done on repeat for a decade), just think it is stupid to mislabel the series as a comedy just to try to stretch something to fit a narrative.
@Slider2711 That term has been around since at least the 80s when I first heard it…
-Edit
According to Oxford it has been known to be used since the 1940s.
I definitely remember it being used a lot in the 80s and 90s for marketing in magazines and on infomercials. The term never went away, as I have heard it used from when I was a child up until til today, but I feel like it did slow down a bit in the 00s and 2010s.
@AlienX Is that a bad thing? I mean for you personally it could be, but for humanity, that leaves them more time to do things or use their academic time in other places since that base is already covered. And by covered, I mean that specific instance. I am sure AI is not advanced enough yet to cover your complete skill set with any meaningful accuracy. You still have plenty of use in this world. However it is also true that the world doesn’t owe you anything, and wanting to limit others just because you put the time in, isn’t cool. But I can understand the sentiment. Many people’s paid skills have turned into personal hobbies as technology moved the world. I think that is something a lot of people need to come to terms with. Love or hate AI, it will be here to stay. Best thing we can do is try to push it in the most moral direction. However there will never be a day where AI can no longer do the work it did for this translation project. Going forward anyone who enjoys similar work should continue doing that for themselves. Anyone who finds it as labor, should move onto something else.
This is why real art will never die. People who actually do it for passion will continue to do so. People solely in it for monetary reasons may some day leave. I have a feeling though that those who are in it for personal passion and would do it regardless, will still be making money ironically. People will always hunger for real art, stage art, musical art, written art, etc.
@Thad “ "You're fighting the future! You're fighting the inevitable!" in movies are invariably the bad guy and always turn out to be wrong.”
Movies? Really? And yeah I am sure Linus has no idea what he is talking about too. Its a complex subject but sure go for the simpleton Hollywood conclusion, that’ll get people to give you credibility in the conversation.
“ you're not gaining anything running the core on a MiSTer compared to running it on a Pi.”
Light gun games and more video options for old TVs.
“ "Hey, this really sucks, stop doing that."”
Yep thats what gate keeping is. Its cringe af to go around telling other people that they should stop doing things they enjoy.
“ "just wanna play the games" bros aren't buying the MiSTer or the Pocket.”
You really think random retro gamers that just want to play games aren’t buying the SuperStation or the Pocket? Wow. These are in the same price range as emulation machines, and they get hyped up everywhere on social media. All kinds of people are buying them.
“ Sorry, I don't speak passive-aggressive. Was there something you wanted to say to me?”
Literally the most passive agreement statement a person could make.
“ Gamers sure like telling everyone that there are Teams and loudly proclaiming which Team they're on.”
Again with the self reporting, twice in the same comment section.
“ make it my identity, and constantly tell strangers my choice is better than theirs.”
Your comment history in a nutshell.
Honestly think you are just trolling at this point. Has to be a joke. No one is that unaware of themselves.
@Thad You should also think about that saying when you think about highly capable leaders of technology. People who make it possible for this very website to be hosted along with many other retro game projects and products we depend on.
“ Linux is not one of those anti-AI projects, and if somebody has issues with that, they can do the open-source thing and fork it.
Or just walk away.
AI is a tool, just like other tools we use. And it's clearly a useful one.
It may not have been that "clearly" even just a year ago, but it's no longer in question today.
There are other questions around AI (like what the economy of it will actually look like in the end), but "is it useful" is no longer one of those questions. Anybody who doubts that clearly hasn't actually used it.”
Having these new physical releases is awesome. Be even cooler if Evercade and Polymega collaborated on a system where you could use both formats. I'd also love to see some dedicated solo releases for some of the best games. Something where some of the more legendary games could get their own box art and manual, and maybe a second manual sized book about the game's history and interesting information. These collections are great for picking up a bunch of games at once legally, but picking out a single game off the shelf insures I will give it focus and attention and not get distracted bouncing from game to game. It makes it a more special experience.
@metaphysician Agreed. That is why I don't use AI, it just isn't good yet. You have to put in so many prompts and then you still have to touch it up by hand. I'd rather just start from scratch. For me it is easier, because I get everything exactly how I want it from the start, and the process of creating sometimes helps in giving me new ideas and methods as I build. I have always been someone who starts with a blank slate and a single idea. Once I start working on that idea, it grows on it's own.
I guess that process could work with AI if the first idea I prompted worked, but it is never 100% right no matter how good the prompt is, so the creative process gets lost, just trying iron out the first idea. You also start getting pulled by the tool you are working with (AI) as you are forced to work within its capabilities. Your exact ideas get removed and you are forced to compromise. It is a bit like working with a tool like RPG Maker vs. coding from scratch. If you use RPG Maker, in the end everybody knows you used it as all RPG maker games have the same feel and tells. It has the side effect of looking cheaper or having less value.
@Lanmanna Personally I am not a fan of AI, or a hater. Just tired of all the ragebait mixed in with all the cool stuff here. I’d rather they ask for donations at the end of every story, than this site become Facebook. Engagement may be good for profit, but it certainly isn’t good for image. Doesn’t make the site look any better than all the other evils going on in tech.
@firenze Honestly just think it is virtue signaling. If they cared about people, their websites and sponsored links wouldn’t be so filled with trackers. They talk about being ethical, then do the exact opposite. They constantly harp on and on about how other companies are greedy, but they sure are happy to fill their webcode to the brim with stuff that harms their readers, so long as it fills their purse.
Its also funny how data centers are suddenly a water problem for them… when they have been hosting their websites for years on data centers that have open loop water systems that actually consume massive amounts of water. Most modern data centers being built for AI use, use a closed loop system that hardly uses any water past the initial investment. It is a complex subject, most people pushing this narrative hope you don’t look into. They know enough people will just read the headlines and knee jerk on over to their torches and pitchforks.
Water and data centers were never a problem for them, but suddenly when it fits a political agenda they start talking about it. Whatever gets the clicks and the emotions that create engagement. That is the secret to media in the 2020s, exploit people psychology to gain profit. They copy and pasted this formula from social media, which has hugely eaten into their profits in modern times.
@JohnSummers1025 I would disagree. Castlevania has a very mixed fanbase that are looking for different kinds of games. Some like the 3D games, some the classic platformer, and some the metroidvanias. Some newer games having more emphasis on story doesn’t mean Castlevania isn’t for people who want pickup and play games, or that all future Castlevanias games need to be story heavy. If you look at the general reception Castlevania games get, the classic games have much higher ratings on Steam than stuff like Lords of Shadow. So personally I see it as a Sonic situation… the 2D games are beloved, but the IP holder puts out way more modern stuff that isn’t received as well.
From the trailer the writing seems a bit cringe anyway. But I’ll hold off judgement until I see more. I am in if the gameplay is fun and the story is really really good or I can just easily skip it.
@Damo I actually had no idea you weren’t a trained journalist. All I know is you have been in the gaming news business for years, so I just assumed you had formal training since you started before the internet age if I remember correctly.
I still think most patrons of this site treat this like a news platform. I have a huge collection of retro game magazines and I can’t really find anything as political as this site has been lately, but I am sure if I dig deep enough an exception example could be found, though that certainly wasn’t the tone and trend of gaming magazines.
Though I do admit some of the magazines had their own brand of click bait for the era, with bikini clad women, gore, and just general shock imagery.
Anyway thank you for clearing things up on how you view the site. And as always thank you for hearing me out. When it’s relevant to the article I will always voice my opinions if I think something is negative and divisive to the gaming community. If that is not acceptable I respect your decision to remove my comments. You have to run your show how you want it run. You built it all with years of experience. I do enjoy the regular stuff, the small news and updates to little projects that are shared here. There aren’t many other options out there atm anyway. Especially not any delivered in such a clean format.
I do appreciate and value your work, even if I don’t agree with all of it.
@Martin_H Yeah I don’t understand people cheering for a bubble pop. When that happened with the internet, the internet’s rollout just kept full speed ahead. We just lost a lot of mid sized players. Most of the big guys stayed around and consolidated power. Eventually it became so consolidated that now a handful of sources almost exclusively run the whole of the internet. Little guys were run out. Average people, even people who hadn’t adopted the internet, were harmed because of the financial collapse.
I see the same happening with AI. In the aftermath of a bubble pop the biggest wealthiest companies will endure, and all of their competitors will go under. Regular people that don’t even use AI, will feel the effects of a damaged global economy. AI will steam roll ahead, but now controlled by a few elite companies that don’t have anyone’s best interest in mind, and now have no competition to keep them in check.
Web 2.0 is the format AI 2.0 will follow.
I am for regulation. Helping creators. Etc. Hopefully all that stuff gets done asap. If that had been done before it was too late with Facebook, we as a world would be in a lot better place than we are now.
Contrary to what some people may be saying about me, I am not a “cats out of the bag” do anything you want, guy. I am a “cats out of the bag”, better make sure it is tame, guy. No matter how loudly people yell online, it is true, AI isn’t going away. People use it. Best we can do is make sure it doesn’t get out of control, and try to limit its harm. I do not look forward to a bubble bursting, that only harms regular people, startups, and the mid size guys actually keeping things in check.
@Quick_Man Calm down friend. I am simply pointing out discrepancies and asking for more community focus. I think that has plenty of constructive merit.
I have no issues with AI stories. I dislike the extreme lengths gone to, to push a narrative and fuel flames of hate and division in the gaming community. Again I think expressing that is criticism and it is helpful. I don't like to see the same tactics used here as is done on social media and bias news outlets like Fox.
It is clear many readers feel the same. Pointing that out is also constructive and a part of journalism, public accountability.
This site is owned by Damien and he has the right to do whatever he wants to do with it. He doesn't have to follow normal journalism ethics if he doesn't want to. He can chase the social media model mostly created by folks who by and large are not traditionally trained journalists. I am simply asking him as a member of the public, please don't go that route. Please in this modern online world of negativity, build something optimistic. There is no community without a center.
If it is bad for me to ask for center and balance and community.. well I don't know what to say. I am sorry you feel that way.
@Quick_Man A quick look through various social media posts proves that just isn't true at all. It is a pretty contested topic with a lot of people on both sides talking back and forth. You might be in a social media bubble if you think 99% of people reacted that way. The proof is plain as day for anyone to go check right now.
As for the journalism thing, I suggest you look up journalistic integrity. It is absolutely against the code, morals, and values of journalists as a whole. Their focus is supposed to be as unbiased as possible, impartial, fair, objective. In other words, both sides...
Also a part of journalistic integrity is accepting public accountability. Given what is happening here, it seems there is no accountability to the public, only to factions of agreement.
As my initial comment stated, extremism always leads to intolerance. There will always be censorship on critics. This isn't left. This is the opposite of liberal.
To the owner and writer:
Please Damien I ask you to turn back from the low road and take the high road, and get back to community building around retro gaming. Get back to journalism. Take criticism as a way to find your way back to what you were trained to do as a journalist. I assume TE had to have been a passion project. I know you love this stuff. Build up instead of tearing down. Please...
@Gauchorino Agreed. I personally share his politics on most stuff including the AI stuff. But the constant hammering on political topics and always taking a side is so disheartening. I am here for video games, not politics, not agendas. The thing that brought this most out in the open was when TimeExtension without any shame at all came out and said they will be directly, politically, and intentionally shafting all news about ModRetro Chromatic. Now of course they weren't going to stop reporting all the CCP arms funding retro handhelds. That isn't part of the agenda. That is just gross, and turned me off so hard. It makes you doubt everything else you read here, because you know in the back of their head, they care most about controlling a narrative, not about just presenting us facts and updates. I don't get why outlets want to completely throw their credibility in the trash. People want CSPAN, not Fox and Friends. Fox and Friends isn't news, it is propaganda. You can't build a community or enjoy a hobby, when the curator of the community is peddling rage bait and bias while debating people in the comments about politics. Why are we even talking about politics? This is a retro gaming site. Yet every other story is filled with people debating, not about graphics or top games, but about world politics. This is intentional. I'd love for it to stop. Please @Damo , this isn't the first time I have reached out to you. You are hurting your site, your reputation, and the community. Please build up instead of tear down. You can do better than this.
@Damo I'd appreciate a little more on the story. Maybe some investigation. $240-$300 price increase is not as cut and dry as "Because AI". Something else is going on here. May be as simple as wanting more profits or as complex as... Valve is really bad at negotiating with and finding suppliers.
Look at it like this... Here in the states you can get a much newer, more powerful handheld for $599. This handheld is sold at major retailers for that price, meaning the manufacturer has to split earnings with the retailer.
Now look at the actual price of RAM and storage. Right now in the states you can walk into a major retailer and as an individual consumer, you can buy 16GB RAM and a 512GB SSD for $200. Valve, who does not have to share a cut with a retailer is charging $240 more than they were before, for 16GB RAM and 512GB storage.. meaning if you add in whatever was the bundled cost of the RAM and storage before, we are likely paying $300 or more for these chips. How is it possible that Valve who makes bulk orders and gets to negotiate their price with producers, is paying substantially more than an average joe off the street who is buying one unit? Something is off there.
Is it Valve price gouging with the excuse of "You know market trends and AI"? Is it horrendous supply chain management from Valve? Is it something else? I don't know, but if someone could look into this, it would be a lot more helpful than just repeating the same headline we already saw on every mainstream outlet. No offense but it does seem like the site is rage farming more and more everyday.
Also, something I don't see discussed much is what happened with refurbished pricing. If the new units had massive price increases and the only reason was AI... then why do the refurbished units that are old stock returns and have been sitting in a warehouse for half a year, have a huge price increase too? That seems like just slapping on a higher price because they can. Is there a legit reason these old units now cost what new units used to cost?
To clarify, yes AI is wreaking havoc across our technological hobbies, and causing massive price increases... but not that massive. Nintendo units went up $50. Asus units have better tech and are newer builds and are hundreds cheaper than Steam Deck. The Deck is using the same mold it had printed millions of units with. Valve is it's own store front, they share no profits with retailers. Valve makes money off of the games sold for its handheld, Asus and other sub $1000 handheld vendors make zero dollars on games sold.... what is going on here? Does anyone have any real answers?
@Dr_Fresh there is actually a bit of a mystery. AI isn't the whole story.
@metaphysician They were going to lose the PS1 generation either way. The Saturn and the 32X were both a mess to program for. The thing is, the Saturn was going to be DOA with or without the 32X, so it was a pointless step that cost Sega too much in the end. 32X at least had a chance because it could rely on the Genesis vast software library and it was ultimately cheaper so folks looking for a CD player might pick them up just for that, especially if they already owned Genesis games. There were many people who bought PS1s because they are good CD players at a decent price. The Saturn didn't have the audio market to rely on because it was priced higher. There is a chance Sega could have been in a nice second place spot, instead of in last place behind Nintendo which itself was pretty far behind Sony.
A competently programmed 32X game isn't that far off from a PS1 game. Developers weren't really giving any time or effort when they produced 32X games because they knew about the upcoming Saturn. Sega themselves were barely putting dev time in for 32X games, so we basically got Genesis "plus" games, as many of the releases were basically just Genesis games with a few extra bells and whistles throw in as devs avoided making full ground up 32X games.
I think if Sega had just stuck with the 32X, it would have gone a long way with the fans. The Saturn launch was a disaster having fans and retailers turn on Sega.
The Super Nintendo went on to sell games and systems in the early PS1 era. Sega could have done the same with having the 32X supporting the Genesis library. Devs could have kept pumping out games for the large install base of Genesis owners who hadn't moved up to the next generation yet, while Sega could slowly build up 32X sales. This would have left them a lot of development time for the Dreamcast, instead of all the money and man hours put into developing the Saturn that was doomed.
@Martin_H IMHO The right play would have been the 32x being released as it was for those who wanted to upgrade affordably to the next generation. As well as releasing a 32x console with a CDROM drive and cart slot. Forget the Saturn launching later and try to get the Dreamcast out a year earlier. If Dreamcast had a little more time on shelves before PS2 and they hadn't lost so much money on Saturn, I think Sega might still be around. From what I heard Dreamcast was actually profitable and doing well, but it wasn't enough to unbury them from all their previous losses.
@Damo This site was so great when I first came here. Now it just feels like Facebook. Constantly seeing stories that are political and the writing is obviously leaning to one side. Then there is the outright activism of banning coverage of devices because of their developer. The owner of the site constantly coming into the comments to argue their politics with people.. uhhg. I agree with most of your political views, but I feel like you are just harming your brands and hurting the community for no reason.
I don’t know, I might be unique, but I come here for updates on retro gaming and to enjoy my hobby with community members. Not a fan of the Fox and Friends style echo chamber stuff.
It seems lately the journalism has gone off the rails and you are posting a lot of outrage culture stuff, the same stuff that we see on the worst of social media. The comments section is proof of that.
Hope this doesn’t come off the wrong way, and you can take the criticism positively. A lot of normal people that are exhausted from political wars will just walk away from the site without saying anything. So even if TE is growing, it could certainly be doing better and people coming here would probably be walking away with a more positive experience.
I get that everything in the world isn’t pretty. But things don’t have to be painted in positive or negative lights. When they are political in nature, you can just drop the details of what is news. Readers can fill in the blanks. Does anyone really want their news site to build a narrative? I don’t think most people do.
Of course it is your site and you can do whatever you want, but it is just a bummer seeing this happen. I was crushed when “Sidescrollers” from ScrewAttack’s Craig Skistimas appeared on YouTube again, but it just ended up being some right wing political retro game show.
This stuff does nothing for the community, it just divides people. At the same time it hurts trust in the writing. Politics are hugely complex, and being right or wrong is impossible. So when you paint political things as obvious truths and then go so far as to debate people that have a different takes, it makes it looks like you have a hard time being non bias. So people start to question if your non political writing is fair or accurate too.
I think you have a good heart and you probably don’t want people walking away from your site with a sour taste in their mouth. So maybe you can think of some of these things I have brought up and consider them. Maybe less of the “got em” stories. Less of the public shame stories. There is so much positive stuff going on to report. And when big news happens that you can’t ignore, you can just avoid the spin and the justice seeking and let people make up their own minds. Regardless people will fight in the comments, but at least it isn’t being stoked by the site itself… much like the evil social media algorithms.
@-wc- Actually some studios have admitted they feel their data points to them losing sales due them trying to follow current social trends, that seems like they are popular because they are popular online… but not in the real world, and even more so the real world of people who buy games. Eastern developed and designed games have been seeing new successes because they haven’t followed the western online social trends.
“TheBackgroundNPC” (I am not really familiar with her other than the video I watched the other day… was on some kind of panel for Lord of the Fallen II, where they were looking for input from players on what they actually wanted in video games, and she basically wanted them to bring back sexy female video game characters, because in her eyes part of the reason so many modern games are failing is boring female characters that are trying to walk on eggshells to fulfill certain social requirements.
Gross all the way around. Deceptive people on social media deceiving people for engagement. Then the political gaming news sites making articles about it for outrage engagement.
It works. Both parties are getting their clicks and having the community fight in the comments.
I’d like to thank all the activists for their hard work in dividing people. Ya’ll keep going. Short term gains, until eventually everyone is so stressed put they just leave. Then maybe we can finally get back to playing games.
@Thad You are sarcastic, but off the mark by miles. All you did was prove my point with that perfect example. Average video game journalists and regular people talking about Guerrilla War when it was on the market were not striking up political conversations about it. They talked about the game and if it was fun or not. Even with an extreme example like that, the easiest possible thing to get political about... and no one did. We all just saw a game, and talked about playing it. Just shows how ridiculous things have gotten and how easy people are to play and divide. Even asking people to lay off the politics and have fun, instantly triggers people... "No we can't live in a world where we don't ruin everything by debating politics... oh the horror!"
Notice I never said anything about there being games with or without politics? My comment was strictly about how people behaved in the community. And sure enough someone has to come commenting days later, without actually reading or understanding what I wrote. Again I thank you for proving everything I said was 100% true.
Can't help but notice, as the writing here on Time Extension and NintendoLife gets more political, so too does the bickering here in the comments. Can we all just play some games and take our political arguments and stories to political sites? And please don't hit me back with "but you can't talk about games without talking about politics". Yes you can, and most of us did for decades.
@-wc- I was actually scrolling, looking for this take. It always pops up eventually. I have sympathy for your sentiment, but your expectations don’t align with how language and words actually work. Languages are in a constant state of change, and the meaning of words are dictated by the masses, not by their original source. As you can see by the masses of comments and your solo dissent, the word “retro” as it relates to video game culture and discourse, does not actually fit the definition you are trying to pin to it. The word “retro” in this culture, is appropriately defined to simply mean “old” or of distant generations. That can be a new game that has the look and feel of older games (as in the traditional definition of the word), and it can also just mean a game that came out a long time ago.
In the past there were usually a few more voices that shared your belief, but as time moves on, those voices are becoming fewer and fewer. There is no doubt in current times, your definition is obsolete and the word now has new meaning. As someone who never stopped playing and buying NES games from when they were new, up until today, someone who has been deep in this culture long before the revival and popularity of replaying old games, frankly your version of the definition has been in the minority for decades now. It was common place more than 20 years ago to call games that actually released in the 80s, retro. In 2026 that is factually what the word means now.
-edit
After posting this I saw a comment here by an actual video game historian (I think he writes stories here sometimes too), who posted about working at Retro Gamer Magazine pre PS3 launch. Retro Gamer is a magazine about old video games. While I was reminiscing about the magazine I ended up on their Wikipedia page, and there happened to be a linked page to the term “retro gaming”. On the page Wikipedia page for “retro gaming”, they define the term as “ Retro gaming, also known as classic gaming and old school gaming, is the playing and collection of personal computers, consoles, and video games from earlier decades.”
I think that pretty much puts the final nail in the coffin on the definition of “retro” when it comes to video games.
Only hitch is, the murkyness of selling translations. I would be more open to it, if it came blank and you could load a translation on it. Just like a book, you can’t translate another author’s text and then make money off of it, unless you have a deal in place with that author or whoever owns the rights to the original text. Hope they don’t find themselves in legal troubles. It’s one thing to work on a project that you are passionate about and share it freely as a fan work with other people who are passionate… but when you start selling it on products that have your name printed on it, that’s when it becomes a business and a not so legal one.
It’s nice to have, but it is things like this that cause problems for the whole community, when the lawyers start jumping in or new laws start getting written up with stuff like this being used as proof of why corporations should get to take away our rights. Please don’t give these billion dollar companies the ammunition they need. Keep fan stuff, fan stuff.
@Sn0w It’s an ad. All ads are slop. The whole ad business has been slimy long before AI. Technology replaces jobs. It always has. This is just the latest internet bandwagon hate train. It’s getting so tiring seeing people on the internet constantly seek out things to rage over. This is coming from someone who doesn’t use AI or have any ties to it, just tired of the real slop.. human generated internet slop rage. It is consuming everything faster than AI and is seriously causing psychological harm to those who carry on with it.
@JayJ That is what has me scratching my head the most. How is a discord mod stomping their feet and walking out, in any way, newsworthy? I don’t care what the topic is. It’s like a food blog posting “McDonald’s manager quits job after 17 years because the new McWraps taste different.”. 🤷
@city952 technically the SNES can display more sprites than Genesis, but practically its about the same. SNES is handicapped by the fact that it can only display 256 sprite pixels per scanline. So unless you have a really unique specific use case for your sprites that keeps them spread out, you aren’t going to be able to utilize the 128 theoretical limit anyway. Most SNES games seem to have way more slow down than their Genesis counterparts (Street Fighter II for example), so it seems this pixel per scanline issue causes the SNES to have a real world lower spite limit.
Of course there are exceptions, like static screen puzzle games where certain sprites stay in a fixed position. This why SNES really leaned into RPGs and the Genesis strength was action and sports games. SNES with its colors could give you beautiful images, Genesis could move less beautiful images around more. Also a reason many games with a lot of large moving sprites (beat em ups were a genre heavily affected by this) had to have less simultaneous players or less enemies on screen.
As far as audio, I would rate them as equals in that category as well. Sure there were some bad eggs from western developers, but most Japanese developed games had amazing sound tracks on Genesis. Where they trade blows in quality vs range. SNES had a huge range of audio it could produce thanks to its use of sampling to produce sound. The draw back with audio sampling on the SNES is that the sounds had to be heavily compressed, resulting in technically low quality audio. Genesis on the other hand did not compress its audio at all because it was produced directly digitally from the synth chips. So it was able to get away with pure audiophile grade sound, but was heavily limited to the kinds of sounds it could produce.
Hope it gets a 4:3 option. Be a shame to put in all that work with sprite limita, palette limit, and a CRT filter, just to have it squarer than a Game Boy screen.
@Carck I think the main issue is you reacted without knowing the most damning information that Sega was allowed to have their own private hires join the police raid, and you also reacted without knowing that the source for that information was the police themselves, not any party on the other side.
So it is odd that you jump to all these reactions and then accuse others of “fishing for reactions”. No one has to fish them out, you are all over the place reacting with reckless abandon jumping to conclusions without having the publicly available information. Coming up with your own theories of what happened and then accusing others of just following hearsay.
Definitely a bizarre take where you seem to be contradicting your own rules at every step. One could say your comments on this matter are a… “nothing burger”.
Comments 197
Re: "The Work Of The Machine Will Never Match That Done By Humans" - Sunlit Cuts Ties With KandoWontu Over AI Use
@damo It’s clear we want change. Please. Thank you.
Re: "A Pathetic And Shameful Moment In American History" - Trump Turns Human Suffering Into Retro Games To The Tune Of Sonic The Hedgehog
More politics on a retro game hobby community. For those saying "this isn't about politics, this is about copyright".. clearly you have not read the article. This is a heavy handed politically written story. The writer of the story is even here in the comments further inflaming the issue and showing and pushing a political agenda.
I have made this clear many times. I am a liberal. So I may agree with statements in the story. But the fact that I have said that in the past and today, in a gaming community, as the result of the community head's push for politics, is just plain gross. This is the same thing as SideScrollers or AsmonGold. These rants have nothing to do with gaming. Please stop taking sides and just drop the info of what has happened. We don't need a slant or angle. We don't need hand pick random user's social media comments that support a side like this is CNN or Fox. That is underhanded. That instantly calls out to anyone reading "He's on my team" or "He is against me". Why would a retro gaming site intentionally sew division? Are the politics of the story more important than the community? Why do we need to know where the writer stands? Why do we need to be on teams? Political teams at that, not even Nintedo vs Sega... These political teams have nothing to do with gaming.
Everything said in the article has counter points that people on the other side of the aisle are just as passionate about and feel just as wronged by. The point is A. I don't want to hear their viewpoint any more than your political viewpoint. This site is about retro games. B. It is pointless, because the argument doesn't end, no one is winning the internet. All that is happening is propaganda is being written and shared in a bias fashion. I mean it could be called out if writer is more bias for Nintendo or Sony.. people would be justified to question the writer's integrity.. but at least it makes some sense as it is gaming.. it is on subject. It makes zero sense to write in personal politics on a gaming focused website. That makes just as much sense as you having a side hobby of fishing, then you find out a game dev thinks fishing should be banned, so you write a story about their new game, and in that story you go on a rant about how they are anti fishing. Now everyone is talking about fishing instead of the new game. What is the point? You get a pat on the back from the fishing community and you get to anger your enemies at PETA? What does that have to do with gaming?
Politics and gaming intersected. That is a fact. That is something that should be reported. What isn't a fact and what doesn't need to be reported, are political opinions. Is this story an opinion piece? A political opinion piece at that? Is that what this website is about, is that the theme now? Political opinion?
Of course yes anyone can do what they want with their own website, but at least have the courtesy of putting it in the title of the website or something, so people will know %30 of the stuff here is politics. That you are trying to build an echo chamber. Give us a tagline.. "Time Extension.. Retro Gaming, Politics, AI and the Fight for Our Future, as Well as Our Past!".
It is so disappointing to see every hobby injecting politics. I mean the MAGA guys are doing it as seen in the story.. and Time Extension is doing the same thing right back. The pot calling the kettle black.
This isn't about games and fun. This has become about teams and attacking.
Re: "Relive The Glory Days Of Console Gaming" - New 4:3 Monitor Takes Aim At Retro Players
@axelhander Early LCDs definitely looked way worse than CRTs. It wasn’t until OLED came out that CRTs were definitively defeated. If you put an HD video on a 2007 1920x1080p LCD TV it looks horrible. On a 1600x1200 CRT monitor it looks great. Early flat panel TVs just couldn’t do contrast and everything looked washed out, over lit, or under lit. LCDs of that era maxed out at 75Hz while older CRTs were doing 160Hz… and they supported variable refresh rates, something that is considered a newer premium feature of displays in 2026. Viewing an LCD from the side would cause the picture to fade away. The pixels were blurrier on LCDs than CRTs due to poor lighting tech and poor ability to put pixels in motion. Rear projection TVs sucked. After that DLP sucked. CRTs really lasted and were ahead of newer technologies for longer than they should have been. They were just huge and heavy and you couldn’t get a large display on them. People just thought flat panel TVs looked cool when they came out and they were more practical. Most consumer CRT TVs were also limited to 480p. Later there were some HD CRTs but they made them in wide screen which caused problems. So many people’s memories and experiences with CRT may be tainted. However CRT computer monitors were beautiful displays that punched way beyond their era.
Re: "Relive The Glory Days Of Console Gaming" - New 4:3 Monitor Takes Aim At Retro Players
To be honest the best way to do this is use a flexible mini LED display and put it behind a thick piece of curved glass. You will have glow, you will have deep blacks, and you will have that classic crt curved glass. You won’t get light gun games and you won’t have zero lag, but it really will look the part.
Re: Is 2026 The Year Of Zool? This Recently-Announced Atari Jaguar Collection Certainly Adds To The Argument
Where is @slider1983 ?
Re: It's Official! The Piko Interactive Collection 1 For Evercade Has Been Reissued
@mjparker77 I just tossed that game up as an example because it was in the collection mentioned. They do release some good games in collections though.
Re: It's Official! The Piko Interactive Collection 1 For Evercade Has Been Reissued
Am I the only one who would be more interested in dedicated single game cartridge releases, with a manual and maybe a sound track cd or strategy guide or making of dvd or something? Just having a ROM dump of a bunch of games on a single cart would just make me feel like I am switching out SD cards on an emulation handheld or PC. Nothing special about having it on my shelf or picking a special game of the shelf to play and dedicate proper time to enjoy.
I feel like I would jump into each game for a few minutes to see what it was like, then move onto the next game to see if it was better.
Where as if I spent $50 or whatever these things cost, on a single game like Canon - Legends of the New Gods, that thing would be in my system until I beat it. I would read through the manual on rest room breaks. I would put the CD on in my car on my way home as I wait to play it. After I finish it, it would be reinforced in my memories by watching the making of. It would be something worth spending time on as apposed to the Tik Tok equivalent of gaming.
I realize thats my personal approach and others can probably enjoy these collections. But anyone else in the same boat as me?
Re: Earthion Is Getting Its Own Hand-Made Sega Genesis Arcade Stick, But What's Going On With That Trailer?
@Damo Come on be honest, this has nothing to do with informing us about our purchasing decision. As someone else already pointed out, you gave us no info at all about the stick. This is a personal crusade against AI.
Same thing happened with Mod Retro. You could let us know the background of their devices and why some people may want to avoid making the purchase as well as give us the details of the hardware. Instead you decided to not let us be informed at all.
If you want to inform us so we can make a decision to purchase or not, then inform us.. completely inform us. Stop playing politics with retro gaming, it is getting weird man.
Re: The RetroTINK-6X CE Is A Powerful 1440p Scaler That Costs Just $230
I do all my gaming on a 1440p Monitor so this is awesome.
Re: Dev Behind Zelda: BotW 3DS 'Demake' Says It "Wasn't Meant To Be Seen By Anyone"
All these witch hunts are evil. Eventually someone innocent is gonna get hurt. Internet never learns.
Re: "Please Do Not Let This Vanish Into The Night" - Konami Is Terminating Castlevania: Grimoire of Souls
I played the game when it came out and it was pretty awful. That said, it still needs to be preserved.
Re: Two Classic Macintosh Platforming Games Just Got A Surprise Steam Release, With An All-New Sequel Being Teased
Anybody who cares about old Mac games, you need to read this:
https://www.bitmapbooks.com/collections/all-books/products/the-secret-history-of-mac-gaming-expanded-edition
It was so good I read it cover to cover as fast as I could and then went back to read it again. And it’s not like a lot of other Bitmap Books where it is mostly a picture book with some captions.. this is a text heavy book filled with information and history.
Re: Here's The First Trailer For Golden Axe's Animated TV Series, From The Creator Of Star Trek: The Lower Decks
These same exact jokes have been done to death for over a decade. They are targeting the writing and animation at the wrong demographic. This is going to fail so hard and then Sega is going to end up thinking nobody wants a Golden Axe series. This is the same thing that happened to Trek and is causing that franchise to crash and burn. This is the same thing that is happening to many AAA western games. Studios are using IP’s but aren’t making media for the fans of those IPs. They are literally just burning money. When a bunch of people get laid off, everyone will cry… even though we all should have seen this from a mile away.
@JJtheTexan Late reply, but I gotta say dude that is a bad take. A funny thing happening does not make the whole game or the IP a comedy. Especially in that case where it wasn’t even part of the game. It was part of the credits sequence where game designers frequently go outside of what is actually part of the canon. Is Castlevania a comedy series because the credits are all famous horror movie spoofs? I don’t think anyone would say that.
Diablo is a comedy series? NBA Jam?
Funny stuff happens in movies and TV series all the time, but if you are watching Star Trek Deep Space 9 and someone comes up and says “what this?” Do you reply “Oh you never watched this sitcom?”. Nah
Some of yall really trying to stretch this. “There’s a dwarf riding a lizard and he kicked a little wizard”. Yeah it can be seen as goofy. Its a fantasy IP and it is a retro video game. Two things that are obviously silly to the real world, but having something goofy happen doesn’t make the genre “comedy”.
I don’t even care if they make Golden Axe a comedy cartoon (if it was at least good and not using recycled bits that have been done on repeat for a decade), just think it is stupid to mislabel the series as a comedy just to try to stretch something to fit a narrative.
Re: Wake Up, It Looks Like Terranigma Might Finally Be Getting A Re-Release
@axelhander Was there a continuity? I thought they all just had similar themes but no continuity and not even a shared universe.
Re: The Upgraded Polymega Features A New Disc Tray Design In Addition To "Improved Game Performance"
I would love it if they released some FPGA add ons as they had originally planned.
Re: "Nobody Is Obligated To Download Or Play It" - Mario Kart 64 And Minish Cap Get Native Dual-Screen 3DS Ports
@Thad All I get from this is that you are now pro AI lol. I think you lost the plot and are just arguing for the sake of arguing.
Re: "Scummy As Hell" - AYANEO Reveals Another Colourway Of The GBA-Like Pocket Advance, Annoying Some Fans
@Slider2711 That term has been around since at least the 80s when I first heard it…
-Edit
According to Oxford it has been known to be used since the 1940s.
I definitely remember it being used a lot in the 80s and 90s for marketing in magazines and on infomercials. The term never went away, as I have heard it used from when I was a child up until til today, but I feel like it did slow down a bit in the 00s and 2010s.
Re: Magic: The Gathering On Dreamcast Gets A (Slightly) AI-Assisted English Translation
@AlienX Is that a bad thing? I mean for you personally it could be, but for humanity, that leaves them more time to do things or use their academic time in other places since that base is already covered. And by covered, I mean that specific instance. I am sure AI is not advanced enough yet to cover your complete skill set with any meaningful accuracy. You still have plenty of use in this world. However it is also true that the world doesn’t owe you anything, and wanting to limit others just because you put the time in, isn’t cool. But I can understand the sentiment. Many people’s paid skills have turned into personal hobbies as technology moved the world. I think that is something a lot of people need to come to terms with. Love or hate AI, it will be here to stay. Best thing we can do is try to push it in the most moral direction. However there will never be a day where AI can no longer do the work it did for this translation project. Going forward anyone who enjoys similar work should continue doing that for themselves. Anyone who finds it as labor, should move onto something else.
This is why real art will never die. People who actually do it for passion will continue to do so. People solely in it for monetary reasons may some day leave. I have a feeling though that those who are in it for personal passion and would do it regardless, will still be making money ironically. People will always hunger for real art, stage art, musical art, written art, etc.
Re: "You Might As Well Play On A Raspberry Pi" - The World Of MiSTer FPGA Remains Divided Over "AI Slop" Cores
@Thad “ "You're fighting the future! You're fighting the inevitable!" in movies are invariably the bad guy and always turn out to be wrong.”
Movies? Really?
And yeah I am sure Linus has no idea what he is talking about too. Its a complex subject but sure go for the simpleton Hollywood conclusion, that’ll get people to give you credibility in the conversation.
“ you're not gaining anything running the core on a MiSTer compared to running it on a Pi.”
Light gun games and more video options for old TVs.
“ "Hey, this really sucks, stop doing that."”
Yep thats what gate keeping is. Its cringe af to go around telling other people that they should stop doing things they enjoy.
“ "just wanna play the games" bros aren't buying the MiSTer or the Pocket.”
You really think random retro gamers that just want to play games aren’t buying the SuperStation or the Pocket? Wow. These are in the same price range as emulation machines, and they get hyped up everywhere on social media. All kinds of people are buying them.
“ Sorry, I don't speak passive-aggressive. Was there something you wanted to say to me?”
Literally the most passive agreement statement a person could make.
“ Gamers sure like telling everyone that there are Teams and loudly proclaiming which Team they're on.”
Again with the self reporting, twice in the same comment section.
“ make it my identity, and constantly tell strangers my choice is better than theirs.”
Your comment history in a nutshell.
Honestly think you are just trolling at this point. Has to be a joke. No one is that unaware of themselves.
Re: "Truly An Injustice" - Looks Like This Mischief Makers Recomp Is Another Vibe-Coded Disappointment
@Thad You should also think about that saying when you think about highly capable leaders of technology. People who make it possible for this very website to be hosted along with many other retro game projects and products we depend on.
“ Linux is not one of those anti-AI projects, and if somebody has issues with that, they can do the open-source thing and fork it.
Or just walk away.
AI is a tool, just like other tools we use. And it's clearly a useful one.
It may not have been that "clearly" even just a year ago, but it's no longer in question today.
There are other questions around AI (like what the economy of it will actually look like in the end), but "is it useful" is no longer one of those questions. Anybody who doubts that clearly hasn't actually used it.”
-Linus Torvalds
Re: More Toaplan Physical Collections Are Coming To Polymega, Based On Truxton, FixEight, & Snow Bros.
Having these new physical releases is awesome. Be even cooler if Evercade and Polymega collaborated on a system where you could use both formats. I'd also love to see some dedicated solo releases for some of the best games. Something where some of the more legendary games could get their own box art and manual, and maybe a second manual sized book about the game's history and interesting information. These collections are great for picking up a bunch of games at once legally, but picking out a single game off the shelf insures I will give it focus and attention and not get distracted bouncing from game to game. It makes it a more special experience.
Re: "This Project Is Not Vibe-Coded" - Developer Behind PS1 Recompilation Tool Takes Aim At AI
@metaphysician Agreed. That is why I don't use AI, it just isn't good yet. You have to put in so many prompts and then you still have to touch it up by hand. I'd rather just start from scratch. For me it is easier, because I get everything exactly how I want it from the start, and the process of creating sometimes helps in giving me new ideas and methods as I build. I have always been someone who starts with a blank slate and a single idea. Once I start working on that idea, it grows on it's own.
I guess that process could work with AI if the first idea I prompted worked, but it is never 100% right no matter how good the prompt is, so the creative process gets lost, just trying iron out the first idea. You also start getting pulled by the tool you are working with (AI) as you are forced to work within its capabilities. Your exact ideas get removed and you are forced to compromise. It is a bit like working with a tool like RPG Maker vs. coding from scratch. If you use RPG Maker, in the end everybody knows you used it as all RPG maker games have the same feel and tells. It has the side effect of looking cheaper or having less value.
Re: Sega's Crazy Taxi Spins Its Wheels Thanks To Another GenAI Kerfuffle
@Lanmanna Personally I am not a fan of AI, or a hater. Just tired of all the ragebait mixed in with all the cool stuff here. I’d rather they ask for donations at the end of every story, than this site become Facebook. Engagement may be good for profit, but it certainly isn’t good for image. Doesn’t make the site look any better than all the other evils going on in tech.
Re: "Extremely Disappointing" - Are AI-Generated FPGA Cores The Future, Or The Death Of Accuracy?
@firenze Honestly just think it is virtue signaling. If they cared about people, their websites and sponsored links wouldn’t be so filled with trackers. They talk about being ethical, then do the exact opposite. They constantly harp on and on about how other companies are greedy, but they sure are happy to fill their webcode to the brim with stuff that harms their readers, so long as it fills their purse.
Its also funny how data centers are suddenly a water problem for them… when they have been hosting their websites for years on data centers that have open loop water systems that actually consume massive amounts of water. Most modern data centers being built for AI use, use a closed loop system that hardly uses any water past the initial investment. It is a complex subject, most people pushing this narrative hope you don’t look into. They know enough people will just read the headlines and knee jerk on over to their torches and pitchforks.
Water and data centers were never a problem for them, but suddenly when it fits a political agenda they start talking about it. Whatever gets the clicks and the emotions that create engagement. That is the secret to media in the 2020s, exploit people psychology to gain profit. They copy and pasted this formula from social media, which has hugely eaten into their profits in modern times.
Re: "First Major Release" Of SuperStation One's 'Console Mode' Is Coming This Week
@profkross I assume they are referring to your original comment where you come off as saying 2D PS1 games are an issue.
Re: Konami Confirms New Female Lead For Castlevania: Belmont's Curse Alongside Stunning Katsuya Terada Artwork
@JohnSummers1025 I would disagree. Castlevania has a very mixed fanbase that are looking for different kinds of games. Some like the 3D games, some the classic platformer, and some the metroidvanias. Some newer games having more emphasis on story doesn’t mean Castlevania isn’t for people who want pickup and play games, or that all future Castlevanias games need to be story heavy. If you look at the general reception Castlevania games get, the classic games have much higher ratings on Steam than stuff like Lords of Shadow. So personally I see it as a Sonic situation… the 2D games are beloved, but the IP holder puts out way more modern stuff that isn’t received as well.
From the trailer the writing seems a bit cringe anyway. But I’ll hold off judgement until I see more. I am in if the gameplay is fun and the story is really really good or I can just easily skip it.
Re: "Everything In The Final Product Is Going To Be Original" - Sega Addresses GenAI Use In Crazy Taxi: World Tour
@Damo I actually had no idea you weren’t a trained journalist. All I know is you have been in the gaming news business for years, so I just assumed you had formal training since you started before the internet age if I remember correctly.
I still think most patrons of this site treat this like a news platform. I have a huge collection of retro game magazines and I can’t really find anything as political as this site has been lately, but I am sure if I dig deep enough an exception example could be found, though that certainly wasn’t the tone and trend of gaming magazines.
Though I do admit some of the magazines had their own brand of click bait for the era, with bikini clad women, gore, and just general shock imagery.
Anyway thank you for clearing things up on how you view the site. And as always thank you for hearing me out. When it’s relevant to the article I will always voice my opinions if I think something is negative and divisive to the gaming community. If that is not acceptable I respect your decision to remove my comments. You have to run your show how you want it run. You built it all with years of experience. I do enjoy the regular stuff, the small news and updates to little projects that are shared here. There aren’t many other options out there atm anyway. Especially not any delivered in such a clean format.
I do appreciate and value your work, even if I don’t agree with all of it.
Re: "How Embarrassing" - Sega's Getting Some Serious Blowback For Using GenAI In Crazy Taxi: World Tour
@Martin_H Yeah I don’t understand people cheering for a bubble pop. When that happened with the internet, the internet’s rollout just kept full speed ahead. We just lost a lot of mid sized players. Most of the big guys stayed around and consolidated power. Eventually it became so consolidated that now a handful of sources almost exclusively run the whole of the internet. Little guys were run out. Average people, even people who hadn’t adopted the internet, were harmed because of the financial collapse.
I see the same happening with AI. In the aftermath of a bubble pop the biggest wealthiest companies will endure, and all of their competitors will go under. Regular people that don’t even use AI, will feel the effects of a damaged global economy. AI will steam roll ahead, but now controlled by a few elite companies that don’t have anyone’s best interest in mind, and now have no competition to keep them in check.
Web 2.0 is the format AI 2.0 will follow.
I am for regulation. Helping creators. Etc. Hopefully all that stuff gets done asap. If that had been done before it was too late with Facebook, we as a world would be in a lot better place than we are now.
Contrary to what some people may be saying about me, I am not a “cats out of the bag” do anything you want, guy. I am a “cats out of the bag”, better make sure it is tame, guy. No matter how loudly people yell online, it is true, AI isn’t going away. People use it. Best we can do is make sure it doesn’t get out of control, and try to limit its harm. I do not look forward to a bubble bursting, that only harms regular people, startups, and the mid size guys actually keeping things in check.
Re: "How Embarrassing" - Sega's Getting Some Serious Blowback For Using GenAI In Crazy Taxi: World Tour
@Quick_Man Calm down friend. I am simply pointing out discrepancies and asking for more community focus. I think that has plenty of constructive merit.
I have no issues with AI stories. I dislike the extreme lengths gone to, to push a narrative and fuel flames of hate and division in the gaming community. Again I think expressing that is criticism and it is helpful. I don't like to see the same tactics used here as is done on social media and bias news outlets like Fox.
It is clear many readers feel the same. Pointing that out is also constructive and a part of journalism, public accountability.
This site is owned by Damien and he has the right to do whatever he wants to do with it. He doesn't have to follow normal journalism ethics if he doesn't want to. He can chase the social media model mostly created by folks who by and large are not traditionally trained journalists. I am simply asking him as a member of the public, please don't go that route. Please in this modern online world of negativity, build something optimistic. There is no community without a center.
If it is bad for me to ask for center and balance and community.. well I don't know what to say. I am sorry you feel that way.
Re: "How Embarrassing" - Sega's Getting Some Serious Blowback For Using GenAI In Crazy Taxi: World Tour
@Quick_Man A quick look through various social media posts proves that just isn't true at all. It is a pretty contested topic with a lot of people on both sides talking back and forth. You might be in a social media bubble if you think 99% of people reacted that way. The proof is plain as day for anyone to go check right now.
As for the journalism thing, I suggest you look up journalistic integrity. It is absolutely against the code, morals, and values of journalists as a whole. Their focus is supposed to be as unbiased as possible, impartial, fair, objective. In other words, both sides...
Also a part of journalistic integrity is accepting public accountability. Given what is happening here, it seems there is no accountability to the public, only to factions of agreement.
As my initial comment stated, extremism always leads to intolerance. There will always be censorship on critics. This isn't left. This is the opposite of liberal.
To the owner and writer:
Please Damien I ask you to turn back from the low road and take the high road, and get back to community building around retro gaming. Get back to journalism. Take criticism as a way to find your way back to what you were trained to do as a journalist. I assume TE had to have been a passion project. I know you love this stuff. Build up instead of tearing down. Please...
Re: "How Embarrassing" - Sega's Getting Some Serious Blowback For Using GenAI In Crazy Taxi: World Tour
Removed
Re: Thanks To AI, The Steam Deck Now Costs As Much As $300 More
@Gauchorino Agreed. I personally share his politics on most stuff including the AI stuff. But the constant hammering on political topics and always taking a side is so disheartening. I am here for video games, not politics, not agendas. The thing that brought this most out in the open was when TimeExtension without any shame at all came out and said they will be directly, politically, and intentionally shafting all news about ModRetro Chromatic. Now of course they weren't going to stop reporting all the CCP arms funding retro handhelds. That isn't part of the agenda. That is just gross, and turned me off so hard. It makes you doubt everything else you read here, because you know in the back of their head, they care most about controlling a narrative, not about just presenting us facts and updates. I don't get why outlets want to completely throw their credibility in the trash. People want CSPAN, not Fox and Friends. Fox and Friends isn't news, it is propaganda. You can't build a community or enjoy a hobby, when the curator of the community is peddling rage bait and bias while debating people in the comments about politics. Why are we even talking about politics? This is a retro gaming site. Yet every other story is filled with people debating, not about graphics or top games, but about world politics. This is intentional. I'd love for it to stop. Please @Damo , this isn't the first time I have reached out to you. You are hurting your site, your reputation, and the community. Please build up instead of tear down. You can do better than this.
Re: Thanks To AI, The Steam Deck Now Costs As Much As $300 More
@Damo I'd appreciate a little more on the story. Maybe some investigation. $240-$300 price increase is not as cut and dry as "Because AI". Something else is going on here. May be as simple as wanting more profits or as complex as... Valve is really bad at negotiating with and finding suppliers.
Look at it like this... Here in the states you can get a much newer, more powerful handheld for $599. This handheld is sold at major retailers for that price, meaning the manufacturer has to split earnings with the retailer.
Now look at the actual price of RAM and storage. Right now in the states you can walk into a major retailer and as an individual consumer, you can buy 16GB RAM and a 512GB SSD for $200. Valve, who does not have to share a cut with a retailer is charging $240 more than they were before, for 16GB RAM and 512GB storage.. meaning if you add in whatever was the bundled cost of the RAM and storage before, we are likely paying $300 or more for these chips. How is it possible that Valve who makes bulk orders and gets to negotiate their price with producers, is paying substantially more than an average joe off the street who is buying one unit? Something is off there.
Is it Valve price gouging with the excuse of "You know market trends and AI"? Is it horrendous supply chain management from Valve? Is it something else? I don't know, but if someone could look into this, it would be a lot more helpful than just repeating the same headline we already saw on every mainstream outlet. No offense but it does seem like the site is rage farming more and more everyday.
Also, something I don't see discussed much is what happened with refurbished pricing. If the new units had massive price increases and the only reason was AI... then why do the refurbished units that are old stock returns and have been sitting in a warehouse for half a year, have a huge price increase too? That seems like just slapping on a higher price because they can. Is there a legit reason these old units now cost what new units used to cost?
To clarify, yes AI is wreaking havoc across our technological hobbies, and causing massive price increases... but not that massive. Nintendo units went up $50. Asus units have better tech and are newer builds and are hundreds cheaper than Steam Deck. The Deck is using the same mold it had printed millions of units with. Valve is it's own store front, they share no profits with retailers. Valve makes money off of the games sold for its handheld, Asus and other sub $1000 handheld vendors make zero dollars on games sold.... what is going on here? Does anyone have any real answers?
@Dr_Fresh there is actually a bit of a mystery. AI isn't the whole story.
Re: "Greetings Straight From The 32-bit Era" - FPGA GF1 Neptune Console Shown Running Sega 32X Core
@metaphysician They were going to lose the PS1 generation either way. The Saturn and the 32X were both a mess to program for. The thing is, the Saturn was going to be DOA with or without the 32X, so it was a pointless step that cost Sega too much in the end. 32X at least had a chance because it could rely on the Genesis vast software library and it was ultimately cheaper so folks looking for a CD player might pick them up just for that, especially if they already owned Genesis games. There were many people who bought PS1s because they are good CD players at a decent price. The Saturn didn't have the audio market to rely on because it was priced higher. There is a chance Sega could have been in a nice second place spot, instead of in last place behind Nintendo which itself was pretty far behind Sony.
A competently programmed 32X game isn't that far off from a PS1 game. Developers weren't really giving any time or effort when they produced 32X games because they knew about the upcoming Saturn. Sega themselves were barely putting dev time in for 32X games, so we basically got Genesis "plus" games, as many of the releases were basically just Genesis games with a few extra bells and whistles throw in as devs avoided making full ground up 32X games.
I think if Sega had just stuck with the 32X, it would have gone a long way with the fans. The Saturn launch was a disaster having fans and retailers turn on Sega.
The Super Nintendo went on to sell games and systems in the early PS1 era. Sega could have done the same with having the 32X supporting the Genesis library. Devs could have kept pumping out games for the large install base of Genesis owners who hadn't moved up to the next generation yet, while Sega could slowly build up 32X sales. This would have left them a lot of development time for the Dreamcast, instead of all the money and man hours put into developing the Saturn that was doomed.
Re: "Greetings Straight From The 32-bit Era" - FPGA GF1 Neptune Console Shown Running Sega 32X Core
@Martin_H IMHO The right play would have been the 32x being released as it was for those who wanted to upgrade affordably to the next generation. As well as releasing a 32x console with a CDROM drive and cart slot. Forget the Saturn launching later and try to get the Dreamcast out a year earlier. If Dreamcast had a little more time on shelves before PS2 and they hadn't lost so much money on Saturn, I think Sega might still be around. From what I heard Dreamcast was actually profitable and doing well, but it wasn't enough to unbury them from all their previous losses.
Re: "You Cannot Claim Ignorance" - Myst Co-Creator Under Fire For Using GenAI Art In Riven Soundtrack Release
@Damo This site was so great when I first came here. Now it just feels like Facebook. Constantly seeing stories that are political and the writing is obviously leaning to one side. Then there is the outright activism of banning coverage of devices because of their developer. The owner of the site constantly coming into the comments to argue their politics with people.. uhhg. I agree with most of your political views, but I feel like you are just harming your brands and hurting the community for no reason.
I don’t know, I might be unique, but I come here for updates on retro gaming and to enjoy my hobby with community members. Not a fan of the Fox and Friends style echo chamber stuff.
It seems lately the journalism has gone off the rails and you are posting a lot of outrage culture stuff, the same stuff that we see on the worst of social media. The comments section is proof of that.
Hope this doesn’t come off the wrong way, and you can take the criticism positively. A lot of normal people that are exhausted from political wars will just walk away from the site without saying anything. So even if TE is growing, it could certainly be doing better and people coming here would probably be walking away with a more positive experience.
I get that everything in the world isn’t pretty. But things don’t have to be painted in positive or negative lights. When they are political in nature, you can just drop the details of what is news. Readers can fill in the blanks. Does anyone really want their news site to build a narrative? I don’t think most people do.
Of course it is your site and you can do whatever you want, but it is just a bummer seeing this happen. I was crushed when “Sidescrollers” from ScrewAttack’s Craig Skistimas appeared on YouTube again, but it just ended up being some right wing political retro game show.
This stuff does nothing for the community, it just divides people. At the same time it hurts trust in the writing. Politics are hugely complex, and being right or wrong is impossible. So when you paint political things as obvious truths and then go so far as to debate people that have a different takes, it makes it looks like you have a hard time being non bias. So people start to question if your non political writing is fair or accurate too.
I think you have a good heart and you probably don’t want people walking away from your site with a sour taste in their mouth. So maybe you can think of some of these things I have brought up and consider them. Maybe less of the “got em” stories. Less of the public shame stories. There is so much positive stuff going on to report. And when big news happens that you can’t ignore, you can just avoid the spin and the justice seeking and let people make up their own minds. Regardless people will fight in the comments, but at least it isn’t being stoked by the site itself… much like the evil social media algorithms.
Re: Random: Don't Play Zelda? Sally Field Wants To Know "What The Hell Is The Matter With You?"
I don't know why I thought that was Gail Tilden at first.
Re: Random: "This Isn't Real, Is It?" - These Annoying Gen AI Adverts For Retro Consoles Are Fooling A Lot Of People
@-wc- Actually some studios have admitted they feel their data points to them losing sales due them trying to follow current social trends, that seems like they are popular because they are popular online… but not in the real world, and even more so the real world of people who buy games. Eastern developed and designed games have been seeing new successes because they haven’t followed the western online social trends.
“TheBackgroundNPC” (I am not really familiar with her other than the video I watched the other day… was on some kind of panel for Lord of the Fallen II, where they were looking for input from players on what they actually wanted in video games, and she basically wanted them to bring back sexy female video game characters, because in her eyes part of the reason so many modern games are failing is boring female characters that are trying to walk on eggshells to fulfill certain social requirements.
Re: Random: "This Isn't Real, Is It?" - These Annoying Gen AI Adverts For Retro Consoles Are Fooling A Lot Of People
Gross all the way around. Deceptive people on social media deceiving people for engagement. Then the political gaming news sites making articles about it for outrage engagement.
It works. Both parties are getting their clicks and having the community fight in the comments.
I’d like to thank all the activists for their hard work in dividing people. Ya’ll keep going. Short term gains, until eventually everyone is so stressed put they just leave. Then maybe we can finally get back to playing games.
Re: "A Hollow Victory" - '100% AI-Generated' Smash Bros. PC Port Comes Under Fire
@Thad You are sarcastic, but off the mark by miles. All you did was prove my point with that perfect example. Average video game journalists and regular people talking about Guerrilla War when it was on the market were not striking up political conversations about it. They talked about the game and if it was fun or not. Even with an extreme example like that, the easiest possible thing to get political about... and no one did. We all just saw a game, and talked about playing it. Just shows how ridiculous things have gotten and how easy people are to play and divide. Even asking people to lay off the politics and have fun, instantly triggers people... "No we can't live in a world where we don't ruin everything by debating politics... oh the horror!"
Notice I never said anything about there being games with or without politics? My comment was strictly about how people behaved in the community. And sure enough someone has to come commenting days later, without actually reading or understanding what I wrote. Again I thank you for proving everything I said was 100% true.
Re: "A Hollow Victory" - '100% AI-Generated' Smash Bros. PC Port Comes Under Fire
Can't help but notice, as the writing here on Time Extension and NintendoLife gets more political, so too does the bickering here in the comments. Can we all just play some games and take our political arguments and stories to political sites? And please don't hit me back with "but you can't talk about games without talking about politics". Yes you can, and most of us did for decades.
Re: One Of The Sega Genesis's Worst-Reviewed RPGs Is Making A Comeback On Modern Consoles
@craigb79 It did have a lot of RPGs. Not as many as SNES, but definitely many many to choose from.
Re: Xbox 360, PS3 And Nintendo Wii U Are "Officially Retro", Says GameStop
@-wc- I was actually scrolling, looking for this take. It always pops up eventually. I have sympathy for your sentiment, but your expectations don’t align with how language and words actually work. Languages are in a constant state of change, and the meaning of words are dictated by the masses, not by their original source. As you can see by the masses of comments and your solo dissent, the word “retro” as it relates to video game culture and discourse, does not actually fit the definition you are trying to pin to it. The word “retro” in this culture, is appropriately defined to simply mean “old” or of distant generations. That can be a new game that has the look and feel of older games (as in the traditional definition of the word), and it can also just mean a game that came out a long time ago.
In the past there were usually a few more voices that shared your belief, but as time moves on, those voices are becoming fewer and fewer. There is no doubt in current times, your definition is obsolete and the word now has new meaning. As someone who never stopped playing and buying NES games from when they were new, up until today, someone who has been deep in this culture long before the revival and popularity of replaying old games, frankly your version of the definition has been in the minority for decades now. It was common place more than 20 years ago to call games that actually released in the 80s, retro. In 2026 that is factually what the word means now.
-edit
After posting this I saw a comment here by an actual video game historian (I think he writes stories here sometimes too), who posted about working at Retro Gamer Magazine pre PS3 launch. Retro Gamer is a magazine about old video games. While I was reminiscing about the magazine I ended up on their Wikipedia page, and there happened to be a linked page to the term “retro gaming”. On the page Wikipedia page for “retro gaming”, they define the term as “ Retro gaming, also known as classic gaming and old school gaming, is the playing and collection of personal computers, consoles, and video games from earlier decades.”
I think that pretty much puts the final nail in the coffin on the definition of “retro” when it comes to video games.
Re: This Is The Best Way To Play Fan Translations On Original Hardware We've Seen So Far
Only hitch is, the murkyness of selling translations. I would be more open to it, if it came blank and you could load a translation on it. Just like a book, you can’t translate another author’s text and then make money off of it, unless you have a deal in place with that author or whoever owns the rights to the original text. Hope they don’t find themselves in legal troubles. It’s one thing to work on a project that you are passionate about and share it freely as a fan work with other people who are passionate… but when you start selling it on products that have your name printed on it, that’s when it becomes a business and a not so legal one.
It’s nice to have, but it is things like this that cause problems for the whole community, when the lawyers start jumping in or new laws start getting written up with stuff like this being used as proof of why corporations should get to take away our rights. Please don’t give these billion dollar companies the ammunition they need. Keep fan stuff, fan stuff.
Re: "I Can't Promote A Product That I Don't Support" - SNK Mod Steps Down Over Fatal Fury "AI Slop" Trailer
@Sn0w It’s an ad. All ads are slop. The whole ad business has been slimy long before AI. Technology replaces jobs. It always has. This is just the latest internet bandwagon hate train. It’s getting so tiring seeing people on the internet constantly seek out things to rage over. This is coming from someone who doesn’t use AI or have any ties to it, just tired of the real slop.. human generated internet slop rage. It is consuming everything faster than AI and is seriously causing psychological harm to those who carry on with it.
@JayJ That is what has me scratching my head the most. How is a discord mod stomping their feet and walking out, in any way, newsworthy? I don’t care what the topic is. It’s like a food blog posting “McDonald’s manager quits job after 17 years because the new McWraps taste different.”. 🤷
Re: Donkey Kong Country On The Sega Genesis? Not Quite, But Feel Free To Dream Regardless
@city952 technically the SNES can display more sprites than Genesis, but practically its about the same. SNES is handicapped by the fact that it can only display 256 sprite pixels per scanline. So unless you have a really unique specific use case for your sprites that keeps them spread out, you aren’t going to be able to utilize the 128 theoretical limit anyway. Most SNES games seem to have way more slow down than their Genesis counterparts (Street Fighter II for example), so it seems this pixel per scanline issue causes the SNES to have a real world lower spite limit.
Of course there are exceptions, like static screen puzzle games where certain sprites stay in a fixed position. This why SNES really leaned into RPGs and the Genesis strength was action and sports games. SNES with its colors could give you beautiful images, Genesis could move less beautiful images around more. Also a reason many games with a lot of large moving sprites (beat em ups were a genre heavily affected by this) had to have less simultaneous players or less enemies on screen.
As far as audio, I would rate them as equals in that category as well. Sure there were some bad eggs from western developers, but most Japanese developed games had amazing sound tracks on Genesis. Where they trade blows in quality vs range. SNES had a huge range of audio it could produce thanks to its use of sampling to produce sound. The draw back with audio sampling on the SNES is that the sounds had to be heavily compressed, resulting in technically low quality audio. Genesis on the other hand did not compress its audio at all because it was produced directly digitally from the synth chips. So it was able to get away with pure audiophile grade sound, but was heavily limited to the kinds of sounds it could produce.
Re: Review: EverDrive GB X7 - The Best Game Boy Flash Cart, Now With Save State Support
@Damo not sure if you saw the comments yet, but this device is a couple years old.
Re: "They Said It Couldn't Be Done" - Indie Dev Brings "Impossible" AI-Generated RPG Concept To Life
Somewhere between Minecraft and a regular 3D game.
Re: Castlevania-Inspired 'Lady Dracula' Promises A Transformative Take On The Classicvania Formula
Hope it gets a 4:3 option. Be a shame to put in all that work with sprite limita, palette limit, and a CRT filter, just to have it squarer than a Game Boy screen.
Re: Company That Cleared Sega's Offices Of "Stolen" Nintendo Dev Kits Is A Charity, New Evidence Reveals
@Carck I think the main issue is you reacted without knowing the most damning information that Sega was allowed to have their own private hires join the police raid, and you also reacted without knowing that the source for that information was the police themselves, not any party on the other side.
So it is odd that you jump to all these reactions and then accuse others of “fishing for reactions”. No one has to fish them out, you are all over the place reacting with reckless abandon jumping to conclusions without having the publicly available information. Coming up with your own theories of what happened and then accusing others of just following hearsay.
Definitely a bizarre take where you seem to be contradicting your own rules at every step. One could say your comments on this matter are a… “nothing burger”.