Gaming History You Should Know: The Sega Channel November 18, 2016
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Nowadays we take our digital broadcasts for granted when it comes to entertainment content. Those coaxial cables currently running throughout our houses can provide us all sorts of entertainment content ranging from HD Cable, High-Speed Internet or Satelite TV, provided we use the proper decoder or modem to make use of it. However, it didn’t always used to be that way.
As recently as two decades ago, those same coaxial lines could only carry analog video signals. While they typically didn’t need decoder boxes to function, there wasn’t a lot you could actually do with them. The original cable services were limited in a lot of ways. It couldn’t provide internet access just yet, so users who wanted internet would have to get it through their phone line at exceptionally slow speeds or have to pay for an expensive fiber service. Finally, analog picture quality could easily become distorted with interference and there were a lot of factors that could cause it.
In the early to mid 90s, Nintendo and Sega were fighting the 16-bit gaming war to a near standstill. However, both companies provided great products with quality exclusive games, making both companies successful. Then, riding the enormous success of the Genesis console, Sega announced the Sega Channel, a games-on-demand service offered through your cable provider! I’m not kidding, here’s the actual infomercial cable providers would broadcast to promote the service. I remember seeing it twenty years ago while I was cycling through TV channels and it blew my mind!
So that was just a tease for was offered to gamers through the Sega Channel in the mid-90s. Meanwhile, we’ve only had digital games-on-demand rental services for modern games within the past five years. I never used the Sega Channel service back in the day but I had a good friend at the time who did and I can attest that the service worked exactly as advertised. How was Sega able to do it?
If you’re like me, you’re probably wondering how the hell analog cable companies with so many technical limitations could offer such a robust service two decades ago! Heck, my local cable provider couldn’t even offer me high-speed internet until nearly half a decade after everyone else did, and yet my area had the Sega Channel in the 1990s! How was that possible?
I have been waiting quite a while for someone to produce an in-depth video about this service and the great guys over at Retro Game On finally answered that question. I hope you all enjoy this video as much as I did!
Pokemon Sun and Pokemon Moon Released, Two Pokemon Day Events This Weekend November 18, 2016
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Pokémon Trainers worldwide will be happy to know that the two newest games from the seventh generation of Pokémon have been released. Take a look at some of the game’s new Pokémon and its exclusive new features.
That’s not even the best news, because I have even better news to share! Two stores will be celebrating Pokémon Days this weekend. On Saturday, Target store across the US will be offering an exclusive Pikachu TCG Card and Poster from 11AM to 2PM. Toys R Us will be hosting their Pokémon Day on Sunday, and they’ll be giving out an exclusive Electabuzz TCG card, a Pikachu poster and Volume 2 of the Evolutions collector’s album.
Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon are out now exclusively on the Nintendo 3DS systems.
Halo’s Fifteenth Anniversary Live Stream November 15, 2016
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As I said earlier today, today marks fifteen years since the release of the original Xbox, but that means that today is also the anniversary of the release of the first MUST-have launch title for the Xbox, Halo.
To celebrate the release of Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo‘s new developers at 343 Industries hosted a two hour Halo 5: Guardians live stream. If you happened to miss it, we’ve got the archived version of it below. Please enjoy!
Happy Fifteenth Birthday, Xbox November 15, 2016
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Today marks the fifteenth anniversary of the release of the original Xbox!
So much has changed in the past fifteen years but Microsoft’s devotion to offering great exclusive games has not been changed a bit. In the past fifteen years, three succesful consoles have been released and it has been a perminant home to the legendary Halo franchise.
I think my favorite memories from the console can be directly tied into several Halo game releases. The first major game release night I ever attended was for Halo 2, and it was nice to finally see I wasn’t the only gamer where I lived. Since then I’ve made sure to pick up every single Halo game at launch, because not only have they been consistently great but because I feel such a close personal connection to that property because of all my experiences playing it.
So how are you planning to spend today? The team at 343 Industries is planning to play games of Halo 5: Guardians throughout the day! For me, I think I’m going to get back into playing Halo: The Master Chief Collection. Post a comment with your thoughts on the Xbox’s birthday and celebrate fifteen years of Xbox!
Buffalo Wild Wings Titanfall 2 Promotion Review November 11, 2016
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As we reported earlier, EA is holding a Titanfall 2 promotion at Buffalo Wild Wings locations all across the country throughout the month of November. They’re giving away exclusive Titanfall 2 multiplayer content to anyone who dines at or orders take-out from Buffalo Wild Wings.
How’s the promotion doing? Watch and find out!
Oh and as a special bonus we will be giving away a Titanfall 2 BWW code to the first person who comments on this article with a link to their Twitter channel!
Titanfall 2 is out now on PC, Xbox One and PS4.
Minor Halo 5: Guardians Software Update Released Today November 10, 2016
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A very minor software update has been released for Halo 5: Guardians earlier today. The new update adds no new features, and was released to investigate and address multiplayer latency issues that have recently been reported on.
If you’ve previously installed the game’s most recent software update, the new update should only weigh in at around 250MB. I know that doesn’t sound like much, but that’s just going to be one more annoying download you’ll have to get on top of the major dashboard update that was also released today.
Halo 5: Guardians is out now exclusively on the Xbox One.
Xbox One Holiday Update Released November 10, 2016
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A major software update for the Xbox One Dashboard has been released earlier today through Xbox Live and Xbox players are going to find a lot they’re going to like with it.
The 2016 Holiday Update has been released on the Xbox One and it brings in serveral important new features including Clubs, Looking For Groups, Rare Achievement Rewards, and a whole lot more. Take a look at this video for a preview of some of the new features.
You may need to wait a while before your next Halo 5 match if your Xbox One is not kept in standby mode. The new dashboard update could clock in as high as a 4GB download.
PS4 Pro Game Patches Releasing (Updated List) November 10, 2016
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We are only days away from the release of the 4K PlayStation 4 Pro console and the game developers devoted to providing a decently sized list of 4K and HDR native games have started patching their back catalog of games with Pro updates.
Right now I can confirm the following titles have been patched for PS4 Pro and will be able to take advantage of Pro features at launch.
- Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End (Version 1.15)
- inFAMOUS: First Light (Version 1.02)
- inFAMOUS: Second Son (Version 1.05)
- The Last of Us: Remastered (Version 1.07)
UPDATE:
- SHAREfactory (Version 2.00)
- KNACK (Version 1.10)
More games and patches will be added to the list as they become available.
Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon Free on PC This Month November 9, 2016
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Ubisoft has revealed the penultimate PC game they will be offering for free on Uplay through their Club Ubi promotion, and it is Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon.
To get the game, just visit the official Club Ubi website, log into your Ubi.com or Uplay account, and tell the site you want the game!
You will need to have a Ubisoft account and the Uplay client installed on your PC to get the game, but both are free. As with all games offered through Club Ubi, once you have redeemed the game for free, it will remain on your Uplay account forever. So turn up that Dragon Sound album and give the game a download.
If you prefer to play the game on another platform, Microsoft has announced they will be making the game free on the Xbox 360 to all Xbox Live Gold Members starting on the 16th.
Get the game now because it will only be free for a month. Ubisoft has confirmed that they will offer one more game for free through the Club Ubi promotion next month but have not announced what it will be just yet.
Major Mass Effect News Revealed on N7 Day November 8, 2016
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Yesterday, EA celebrated N7 day in honor of the incredible Mass Effect franchise and we’ve got a lot of news to report on from that event!
The original Mass Effect on the Xbox 360 has been Backwards Compatible with the Xbox One since the feature launched, but the later two Mass Effect games have not been playable on the Xbox One until now. I’m happy to announce that your Xbox 360 copy of Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect 3 is now playable on the Xbox One console through backwards compatibility. If you want to give those games a replay, now is the best time.
So that’s news about the original games, but what about the next title, Mass Effect: Andromeda? Don’t worry we got you covered. Here’s the new trailer!
Not enough news for you? What if I told you that EA was planning a multiplayer beta test for Mass Effect: Andromeda on consoles? Well they are, and we will keep you posted as news develops further!
Mass Effect: Andromeda is coming Early 2017 to PC, Xbox One and PS4.
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