Modern Games

My organized collection of Xbox, PS2 and GameCube games. Yes, I do the new stuff too...

Game Design Foundations Book (PhillyClassic 5)

Roger Pedersen, the author, was kind of enough to sign and personalize the book for me. Even though the PhillyClassic 5 seemed lighter on vendors than previous years, they certainly had some good industry guests, including Howard Scott Warshaw, the creator of E.T., Yar's Revenge and other games for the Atari 2600.

Stelladaptor (PhillyClassic 5)

AtariAge had a strong presence at the PhillyClassic. One item that I HAD to purchase from them was this nifty USB device for the PC that allows you to use Atari-style controllers in either MAME or Atari emulators. This can mean joysticks, paddles, racing controllers, etc. Good stuff.

Manci Games Magazine (PhillyClassic 5)

This is a promising classic gaming magazine headed up by some nice guys who were at the PhillyClassic. I'm not sure a print magazine is necessarily better than an online publication, such as Armchair Arcade, but perhaps I'm just a little biased... Still, I wish these guys the best of luck and they're off to a great start!

Timex Sinclair 1000 (PhillyClassic 5)

I got this boxed (a badly beaten box mind you), complete, with 16K memory expansion for only $10! Last year's great find was an Odyssey2, this year's was the Timex. I hope I'm just as lucky next year!

Feet of Fury and Marko (PhillyClassic 5)

Home brews and releases of games that never were released when the target systems were still active in the marketplace... Yep, I finally started to take the plunge at the PhillyClassic 5. I bought both of these from Good Deal Games. Feet of Fury is a dancing game for the Dreamcast. I don't have dance pads for the Dreamcast (only PS), but I DO have the keyboard, which I'll be using for the typing portion of the game. Marko, otherwise known as Soccer Kid, is for the Sega CD. The quality of the packaging is not the best, but I'm looking forward to the game itself (and it was MUCH cheaper than the Jaguar version of Soccer Kid)...

Thrust+ Platinum and Foot Pedal (PhillyClassic 5)

Another combo from AtariAge. Thrust+ is a 16K (!) Atari 2600 homebrew based on a classic C-64 game. Thrust+ works with the driving controller (in fact, several different types of control schemes are possible) and foot pedal. As far as I know, the foot pedal was never released in the US, and I suspect it will come in quite handy for potentially adding multiple buttons (it's a programmable controller) to the classicly single button Atari-style consoles and computers.

Free Stuff (PhillyClassic 5)

A shirt and frisbee from EB Games, who were NOT selling anything at the show. Go figure...

Cartridges (PhillyClassic 5)

Yep, lots of different cartridges for the TI-994/A, NES, Atari 5200, Atari Lynx and Nuon. Nuon? Well, it's not a cartridge for that DVD-based system but it was a free sampler and demo disc for the ill-fated platform. Now I have to track down a Nuon player...

Bill in AA Shirt (PhillyClass 5)

Yep, it's me in my Armchair Arcade shirt, exhausted after the PhillyClassic 5. The shirt is from Cafe Press and was so thin I had to wear a t-shirt under it. Oh well. Cafe Press is a great service, it's just tough getting the product mix right.

Christina in AA Shirt (PhillyClass 5)

Yep, it's Christina in her Armchair Arcade shirt, also exhausted after the PhillyClassic 5. The shirt is from Cafe Press and was so thin she had to wear something under it. Also, this is the Junior raglan, which we didn't realize was a KIDS-sized shirt! It doesn't help that Christina is pregnant either, but somehow she was able to squeeze into it...

Boxed Amiga Software

I recently received a BIG boost to my boxed Amiga software collection. This is in addition to all kinds of other original discs without boxes...

Retro Gamer and Amiga Disks

Retro Gamer is a presently monthly British classic gaming publication. This is the first issue. It's a bit crude, but I think they're on the right track. Too bad the import costs are a bit too high for my tastes. Also pictured are a large collection of loose Amiga disks to add to what I already had...

Mattel Intellivision Cartridges

I got a great eBay deal on these boxed Intellivision cartridges to add to what I already have. There's even a rare-ish Sears version of Golf with that company's branding. When the Atari 2600 and Intellivision were new, Sears rebranded both consoles as their own along with a selection of games.

Splinter Cell Package

I received this Splinter Cell package from a friend at Ubi Soft who worked on the games. The GameCube version is the PAL version, so I'll need a translator disc for my NTSC GameCube. Even though the GameBoy Advance cartridge is the European version (no English instructions, but English is an option in the game (weak translation, though I don't know if the US version has the same dialogue)), it works perfectly on any GameBoy Advance from any territory. It's a really great game for what it is by the way... Also, note the Splinter Cell mechanical pencil.

Milton Bradley Microvision

After much heartache, this eBay special for a Milton Bradley Microvision - the first handheld game system featuring one of the first licensed games - arrived. Everything is in really good shape, though it seems some of the games don't work quite right. I'll be doing a detailed feature on this for Armchair Arcade for Issue 5, so check out more details there...