Updated Wednesday & Friday Evenings
Weekly Update:
2600 - writer/artist - posted on Thursday, 07/23/09 10:41:06 EDT
Just some new news stuff. First off NAVA is this Saturday the 25th down at Digital Press in Clifton NJ. We will be there to partake in the gaming festivities. Come down, hang out, BS with some gamers, play some retro games, rock out with Rockband, and buy/trade some games at this awesome store.
Now, despite the lack of content, we have been really busy and we have A LOT of stuff. We have been busy recording new stuff for Arcade Hunters and working on new stuff for Arcade Hunters. The reason none of these were uploaded is due to equipment failure and family/friend stuff going on. I got the computer fixed and a huge wave of video content will be hitting next week. Our plan was to hold out and upload a video a week to carry us over the past month, but since we were delayed you can expect a whole bunch of stuff uploaded sporadically next week.
The Press Start video game is still alive and kicking and production is taking a bit longer then I expected. The Cap'n and I have grabbed this bull by the horns and have begun with the development process. The Cap'n had some great interface ideas while my architectural planning and layout of the house it all takes place in is godly. We also got the basic plot set up and have begun writing the events and jokes within the game.
Well that's it for this week. Be sure to check back next week for some new video's. We also will have a huge announcement coming up within the next month so stay tuned for that and see ya at NAVA!
Update For The Week
Nick - writer - posted on Wednesday, 07/15/09 23:16:25 EDT
Hey everybody, sorry for the lack of updates as of late. Right after the Fourth of July we got word that our friend John's father passed away, so we had to deal with everything there. It came totally unexpected so it took all of us off guard and that's pretty much what we did last week.
2600 went through yet another faulty computer hard drive so he lost everything he had on the computer, again. So trying to get together with Brian to record another episode of Pixel Pill is out of the question till 2600 is done with family issues and then we can start recording, hopefully in August. Same goes with editing together the older videos of Arcade Hunters, thankfully 2600 doesn't tape over anything we do so he still has everything we've done, including this year's FunSpot tournament and we revisited 8 on The Break in Jersey to check out their new games and got a bite to eat.
Money has been really tight so we've had to cut back on our grand plans for more Arcade Hunters subjects. We wanted to go up to the one Arcade Museum and then head over to Canada, but we really don't have the money and time to wait for passports just to go over to Niagara Falls for a day or two. We are hopefully going to revisit China Town Fair to see what they've gotten in since we haven't been there in over a year, plus it'll lessen the amount of comments on the one video we have of "Yo! Dis place got Street Fighter 4! How come you didn't get it on there!?"
Also as you might have guessed we won't be going to Otakon this weekend. Even though our friend Ray was able to get rooms across the street at the Days Inn, we've got no money to go to Baltimore and then to Pittsburgh next month for PAPA. I can't really stand how Otakon works. It's too crowded and you have to decide months in advance if you want to go or even put in plans to be a part of any of the panels. Plus, they didn't really announce any guests that made me say..."I gotta be there this year!". I've been feeling worse and worse with Otakon. While it's great getting to meet people there, I'm just not that into it as I was in previous years. Maybe it's because everybody is just into the latest and greatest shows and I'm still stuck 10-20 years in the past, but I don't know. It's like even the crowd feels different. The last two years, even though we helped out and did our own panel and helped out or friends on a couple of panels, I wasn't really into it. Maybe it's because I'm getting older, but it's just not the same.
We are in the process of trying to figure out where to stay for PAPA. We pretty much were able to get the time off, now it becomes which day do we get down there and where do we stay. I'm thinking of staying at one of the hotels that has a shuttle service to help save on gas, so hopefully they won't fill up. My biggest problem with PAPA of course is the money. I was only there for two days last year and I went through more money then I ever did at any arcade, including our first visit to Funspot. So if were going to be there for the entire duration of the tournament, I'm going to have to learn to pace myself so I'm not holding out a tin cup begging for money home.
So that's pretty much what's been going on. We keep saying we want to do things and add more content to the site but something else just rolls around and changes everything. Hopefully we will be able to get somethings on tape to share for you guys but don't worry. We have episodes of Arcade Hunters and more pinball and arcade game videos, but they'll take time. Till then, have a good one and I'll check back in next week.
Air Raid: Multi-Player Zone
Nick - writer - posted on Wednesday, 07/01/09 23:59:26 EDT
Hey folks, going to keep this short n' sweet, because I came down with bit of a cold so I don't really feel like going into a huge update.
2600 and I went to the Islandia Dave and Busters on Monday afternoon and in the corner where the shooting gallery used to be we saw this. It's a Galaxian3 machine, but with a new game based off the Air Raid series just called "Air Raid: Multi-Player Zone". This was the first time I have seen the game so it's very odd to see a conversion of an old laser disk machine. Just like other versions of Air Raid, the game isn't that good and just boils down to shooting wave after wave of enemies.
I shot this over to Bruno (AKA Darth Nuno) over at Dragon's Lair Fans because he owns a Galaxian3 theater and he's expanding his home in Belgium to accommodate it. If you haven't seen his site yet, I suggest you do. I think he should get hired by a home decorating TV show to do a Pimp My Home Arcade type of show, I'd watch that!
So that's going to be it for me, everybody have a great 4th of July! And for our friends north of the boarder, Happy Canada Day! We're planning on hitting up Canada again this summer for an international edition of Arcade Hunters! We'll let you know more when we find out what our plans our...then I need to go update my passport.
Michael Jackson 1958-2009
Nick - writer - posted on Friday, 06/26/09 1:33:54 EDT
Well, I guess I'd put my two cents in on the whole news of the day. I was mowing the lawn when I first saw that Farrah Fawcett passed away. Since I was born in 81' I don't really have fond memories of Charlie's Angles and TJ Hooker, but it's still sad to see her pass from cancer.
Now Michael Jackson on the other hand, I was a huge fan since I was a little kid. I even wrote a fan letter to him with my mom helping me in hopes of getting an autograph, but never did. My parents still have old home movies of my brother and I dancing at a family BBQ to some Michael Jackson tunes. I even try to bust out the Moonwalk, but it always looks like I'm trying not to trip over my own two feet walking backwards.
Of course there was the video games. I didn't have a Sega Genesis when it came out so I never owned a copy of Moonwalker but I used to play it over my neighbors house. Now of course there trying to price gouge the game on eBay now, so even if I still wanted a copy of the game, I won't bother paying more then 20 bucks for it. I do own a marquee of the arcade game, so I'm going to hold onto that.
Then we'll always talk about the music in Sonic 3. Was he really involved in the game or not? One of the very first videos I watched on Youtube was the Michael Jackson and Sonic The Hedgehog 3 link video and was shocked to see how well the music went with it. I had a feeling as a kid that Carnival Night Zone was Jam off of Dangerous. I loved how somebody went into the ROM of the game and even found an unused sound file that is pretty much the yelling of the word "JAM!" so it had to be from MJ. Then there was his appearance in one of my favorite games, Space Channel 5. Now that this happened I think I'm going to bust out my Space Channel 5 Special Edition on PS2 and get my Moonwalk on.
Somebody on a message board I visit talked about how they went to Best Buy when they re-released Thriller. He said when he walked into the store they just started to play the music video and almost everybody in the store stopped to watch it. All colors, ages and genders just stopped to watch. That was the power of Michael Jackson. He made you stop and take notice. If there was one performer that I would have loved to have seen live, it would have been him. I used to watch his old concert videos and was mesmerized by the huge crowds and all the work he put into the show.
Now that he's passed there's been a ton of people on the internet throwing around there well wishes and others who aren't so nice. I know how much stuff he went through in the 90's and how odd he acted and we'll never truly know if anything really happened. But seeing some of the things people are saying about him really make me sick. I don't care if you didn't like the guy for what he did in his personal life, but three kids are without their farther now and we all lost a great entertainer and he'll really be missed.
So long Michael, thank you for all the music and great memories.
Pixel Pill 3 and NAVA is this weekend!
Nick - writer - posted on Wednesday, 06/24/09 21:05:16 EDT
It took a while, but Pixel Pill 3 is now finally up for your enjoyment. In this episode we talked all about arcades, not much about games (well, a lot of Ninja Turtles) but about where we used to go and how they were when you'd hang out with real people shooting the breeze about the newest games.
Download it now on Substance TV!
Episode 4 is in the works and we should be working on number five next week. We were going to do it this weekend, but 2600 and I will be attending NAVA again in New Jersey. We haven't been there in a couple of months so it will be good to come back and meet up with Joe and everybody else at the Digital Press store. It's Saturday from Noon to Midnight so come on down and fun will be had by all.
Last week was pretty much Ghostbusters week for me. EB/GameStop had a special for one day shipping so I snagged it up, but they wouldn't let me cancel my previous pre-order so I have two copies of the game. I'll have to go visit my friend Mike who's a manager at a GS by me, so hopefully it won't be too bad taking it back. If they give me store credit I might put it towards Beatles Rock Band because I loves me some Beatles.
I really enjoyed Ghostbusters. It totally made up for the second movie with the evil painting and the river of slime, but 2 had some good moments. I was kinda pissed off that they don't have a real Co-Op Story Mode even though the guy at New York Comic Con said it would. 2600 and I are thinking about picking up the Wii version and playing though the co-op in that one, I just hope it's not as bad with the framerate as others have said.
Well that's it for tonight, enjoy Pixel Pill 3!
