JayJ

@Bunkerneath Yeah, that's why I find it kind of funny how Sony is now complaining about someone else coming in and buying up developers, it's how they established their brand and dominance lol.

SNK is like Sega to me, a 90's company when you really get down to it. They were amazing back then, but it was the only time they really shined.

@RootsGenoa I figured maybe they would have some sort of integrated backup solution.

Cool guy, clearly a man of culture. He likes cars and video games, now that's someone I can relate to.

@RootsGenoa I think Xbox and PC would probably be better off than the rest, as Microsoft are masters of the OS thanks to their experience and knowledge with Windows. It seems like the Sony OS's are usually the most susceptible to issues, and as we are seeing Nintendo has their fair share of issues as well.

So as opposed to having him work on a new Virtual Fighter or Outrun video game, they are having him work on some online scam.

@Hikingguy Sounds like you got the revised history take from the guy who sank Sega of America. He's become notorious for that, even though I love what he did during the Genesis years, there is no doubt that he made some very bone-headed decisions as they were entering the mid-90's. For starters the 32X was pretty much entirely his idea and a Sega of America undertaking, so whoever told you it was all Sega of Japan was lying.

The story goes that since he was such a big Sega Genesis guy, and since the Sega Genesis was so big in America, he thought it would have been a good idea to come out with an upgrade for the Genesis as opposed to releasing a new console. Meanwhile Sega of Japan was busy working on the Saturn, and they had no interest in trying to extend the Mega Drive since it wasn't nearly as big of a hit in Japan, but the two had very poor communication. It's why the Saturn released shortly after the 32X, and also why the Saturn had such a bad launch in the US. It's also why the Saturn was such a success for Sega in Japan. Basically Sega of America was still trying to push the 32X in the west while the Saturn was trying to launch, so that sorta messed everything up. It wasn't an issue in Japan however, where the Saturn was properly supported from day one.

Now one area where you could probably lay blame on Sega of Japan is the death of Sonic Extreme, because Sega Team over there was pretty much opposed to the game and allegedly went out of their way to eventually sabotage it. It's kinda crazy just how dysfunctional the two branches of Sega were during that whole mid-90's era, and you can tell some of the big figures from back then still have issues with how everything went down.

I also have to question when the consoles were last updated, because it sounds like most of the people experiencing this problem had probably gone a very long time without one.

Cool, but I bet 96% of Steam users already own those games.

@Hikingguy Yeah I remember how the Saturn felt like a brief blip on the radar as far as the American gaming market went. In the mid-90's the Genesis and SNES was still going strong, and by the time everyone started getting PS1's and N64's the Saturn was already on it's way out and nobody really wanted one or even seemed to remember it existed. Then the Dreamcast came out, a distinctly millennium era console that got a lot more attention, but sadly not enough to keep Sega afloat.

The Saturn era was interesting, probably the worst of times for Sega's home console market, but probably the best of times for their arcade machines. Sadly we never saw enough cross-over, but some of it has been timeless. It's failure really goes down to all the drama between Sega of America and Sega of Japan during the time. That's probably why it sold so much better in Japan, and why the Dreamcast was pretty much an all-Japanese console. I think Sega of America really did an amazing job with the Genesis, but they really messed up after.

@UK_Kev I still don't see how that fits into any argument.

If this can play DC and PS2 well, that could be a must-buy retro handheld for me.

@UK_Kev A lot of people used RF cables for the SNES as well, that was a limitation with a lot of 80's and early 90's TV. The Genesis came with RCA cables, at least the gen 2 and 3, and I used that most of the time so I have no idea why you are going on about RF cables.

@MontyCircus Hmm, they might be onto something if they go for being an arcade.

Silent Scope! Now that's the kind of game I grew up playing in the arcades.

@UK_Kev Gotta disagree with you there, especially on the "SNES had a better library" comment, which is highly subjective. I always thought the Genesis had the better library, it's got far more games that I consider favorites and classics of mine. That and it had Sega Channel, a revolutionary concept for the time, and something really made it standout above competitors. To top it off, it always looked great on TV's of the era, no worse than the SNES at least, so I have no idea what you're going on about there.

@OwningYou Actually, it is the responsibility of these storefronts to have some control over the kind of products and sellers that are being offered, not the government. They supposedly have all sorts of TOS and policy control, and these are their websites after all, where they could easily remove any questionable content and sellers.

@Razieluigi Yeah well said, there really needs to be a lot more control over 3'rd party sellers on these sites. Right now they have allowed for a flood of scammers and knockoffs, and it's made it a risky endeavor to purchase anything off a 3'rd party seller. Reminds me of how easy it was to get scammed on Ebay.

So it's now just going to be some crappy pizza chain with a dance floor? Sounds like a lazy gimmick.

I selected Genesis/Mega Drive because that's the classic definitive Sega console. Then it's easily the Dreamcast at the #2 spot. After that probably the Sega CD.

Sega Saturn Mini seems like the obvious choice, then a Dreamcast Mini after. I have zero interest in a Master System mini, I would simply pass on that.

@Damo Yeah I'm pretty tired of all the focus on the 16-bit and 8-bit eras when it comes to mini consoles. The PS1 Classic is the only 32-bit era mini-console, and they didn't do a good job with that (iffy selection of games, no analog controller, and pal versions even for US consoles). A Saturn Mini and N64 Mini would be instant buys for me.

I got a lot of those, but the Taito Egret II Mini and Capcom Home Arcade are the only ones I passed on that I was interested in for different reasons. In the case of the Taito system, by the time I would get the console with the trackball/rotary controller (which I considered essential) it would have cost me about as much as a PS5 is selling for, and I decided to go with a PS5 instead as I felt like I would get a lot more use out of it. Never regretted that decision. If it was cheaper I would have probably bought one.

As for the Capcom stick deal, it was simply too massive for me. I really don't need the dual arcade setup as I doubt I would ever get good use out of it, and that just makes it this massive arcade stick that I don't know what I would do with. I guess it's meant to be displayed or something, but I don't think I am that big of a Capcom fan.

@-wc- Yeah same, I think it's because I grew up in a time when they still had the more traditional shoot-em-ups in arcades, so that's what I enjoy the most in the genre.

@imgrowinglegs Sounds about right for obscure cultish Saturn games, especially when they're Japan-only. I'm glad I built a Saturn Collection a long time ago when the collecting was relatively inexpensive. I actually missed this one, but I got some pretty obscure games that apparently sell for a lot these days like Super Tempo. I don't think I could justify collecting the games today.

I always felt like Cave shoot-em-ups were overrated by the hardcore crowd, but that said I could still appreciate the quality.

Those features went out of style a long time ago for a good reason. Not sure what I would do with this, but it seems like it could maybe make for neat little pocket PC.

@AJB83 I don't think Unbound was a Ridge Racer in any capacity beyond the name. It essentially has nothing in common with the rest of the series, more like a Burnout game than anything.

Ridge Racer for the Vita is a suprisingly good game that is often overlooked due to how bad it was when it launched. If you get it now with the DLC after all the updates it's actually a fantastic game. It's just a shame how they broke the game up with DLC like that.

@jorel262 I think it's just a ridiculous outdated concept created by boomers over their fear of the video game industry as it was always new and strange to them because they didn't grow up with it. That's why they couldn't care less about things like streaming/cable television where people essentially just sit and stare at a television for hours on end watching mind numbing garbage. At least video games make you use your brain as you have to interact with something.

It's like video game addiction is a real thing but so is television show addiction, shopping addiction, and other mental addictions related to basic things that people tend to do day to day. The reality is that the kind of video game addiction that should be concerning is the type where someone is spending 15 hours a day playing video games and literally not able to do anything besides play video games all day. I think a lot of people get overly dramatic about someone being engaged in a gaming session, and try to relate it to being addicted to video games like that. Reality is, it's no different from being engaged in a show or movie and wanting to watch it to the end before you disengage from the viewing activity.

When it comes to video games I often find myself setting goals, because there's a lot of information you need to take note of and keep in mind when you are playing some video games, and you will want to complete tasks before you stop playing the game and move on to other things. This is similar to the way some people will keep watching a show because they have been absorbing a lot of things going on and don't want to be lost if they just suddenly stop watching it and start it again. It's things like this that I think we should be taking note of, like what motivates us to be doing something.

This man's story is quite interesting, really shows what the business side was like during these early days of the gaming industry. Gotta say, he had a good run and apparently had a good effect where he went. Also shows how some people can just fall into positions at the business side of things.

This is actually pretty neat when I realized what it's specifically for. I still got a Gamecube I could use that with.

I can see game cartridge refurbishment becoming a real thing.

@RetroGames I just find it amazing how some people are willing to pay a fortune for it, but then again that's apparently a scam as well.

I had to choose the Japanese Saturn controller from Sega, it's always been my favorite 2D gaming controller, and as this is a retro gaming site, I think that's what I should focus on.

Favorite modern controller is easily the Xbox Series controller, it's just perfectly comfortable and usable, with all the right features and no gimmicks.

Never understood valuing games by how unopened they are.

The sad state of the gaming community these days.

This looks like a device that I would have thought of as really cool and high-tech back in the early 00's.

Looks like one of the best accessories without much to do with it. I mean After Burner was a good game back in the day, but we have really moved past it, and 16-bit games don't really demand a fight stick unless you're someone who really misses the old arcade feel.

I really love the design of this, but that said it doesn't seem to do much that my older Anbernic handheld like this can't do. I mean if you're getting a handheld without an analog, the PS1 is about as far as you're going to go, and they had good performance for that back when I bought mine. I'd probably buy one if I didn't already have one like it though.

Wonderswan, now there's an odd old handheld platform.

Great article! The Neo Geo is pretty much prime 90's greatness.

Best name for some unreleased handheld

@RetroGames Same. The game we got in the end wasn't the game I was always looking forward to.

One of the few I got is a picture my sister took of me when I was playing StarCraft on my old Windows ME PC, the first PC I ever had, back when I was gaming on an old basic Compaq with a 15" CRT monitor.

Cool if they could get a simple plug-in accessory for it to work.

Great, now if only someone didn't steal mine.

@Hikingguy Yeah, I'm pretty bummed out about it myself. Sad state of affairs.

@Hikingguy Sadly this sort of thing is nothing new, I remember hearing about how they had to be careful and ship consoles to retailers at some odd hours in the middle of the night back in the day in Japan to avoid having things stolen by criminals who prey upon the usual shippers.

That said, seeing how distinctive and limited these are, it would probably be hard for the thieves to unload them without getting caught. I mean it's not like this is some mass produced popular platform.

As someone who pre-ordered this, I am pretty sure I've been effected. This really sucks, but so long as I get one before long I should be fine. I'm just glad I didn't need it as a gift.