Gaming History You Should Know – Video Game VHS Tapes March 26, 2017

I wasn’t planing to make the Gaming History You Should Know series a Sunday staple on this website but I’ve been so impressed by a lot of great video content that has been coming out recently, I may end up making this a weekly feature.

For as long as video games have existed, there has always been a supplemental market for game videos. These game videos can function either to promote upcoming games or to assist players in completing a game that’s already out. Producing a video back in the 90s was no small feat, and so gaming-centric videos required some production value and a unique style which should be further explored.  Let’s face it, showing live game play on video is a great idea.

Nowadays, when video game publishers want to drum up interest in an upcoming game, they’ll simply release a video of it online, but that hasn’t always been an option. You have to remember this was before the wide adoption of the internet and even people who had internet access at the time suffered with unbearably slow download speeds (trust me I know).  What to do?

Well, while not everyone had decent quality internet access in the 90s, practically everyone had a VCR.  After winning the format war against Beta, VHS was the dominant media format for home video, and because of that the format had a very high home install base.  VHS tapes were cheap enough to mass produce at this time, and the prices of new VCRs were quite cheap throughout the decade.  It was the perfect time to release video game content on VHS.

My Life in Gaming did a really in-depth look at video game VHS tapes that were released in the 90s. These guys really did their homework, as they got their hands on nearly every VHS promo tape I had heard of, and even talked about some videos I was completely unaware of.

If you have any interest in 90s nostalgia, you should give this video a look.

If you want to see more of this VHS content, My Life in Gaming has archived all of it on a backup YouTube Channel.

Gaming History You Should Know – Halo…Years Later March 19, 2017

I absolutely love watching independently created video game retrospectives, and recently I have been addicted to watching the …Years After video series produced by Raycevick.  The series was originally released on the COGconnected YouTube Channel, but it has now become a staple of Raycevick’s personal YouTube Channel, and new episodes are being released on a regular basis.

In this unique series, Raycevick looks at every single part of a game, and talks about what worked and what doesn’t work. Whenever he can, he will shed some light on the history behind the game’s development to try to figure out why a game has turned out the way it has, and if it still holds up so many years later.

So without further ado, here is his analysis of the first Halo game, Halo: Combat Evolved.

Here’s his analysis of its sequel and my personal favorite game in the franchise, Halo 2.

Here’s his video about Halo 3.

After he concluded his look at the original Halo trilogy, he talked about the other two Halo games produced by Bungie, and the first was Halo 3: ODST.

The final game produced by Bungie Studios, Halo Reach.

Now we are going to get into the work done by 343 Industries, here’s his look at Halo 4.

And most recently, here’s his in-depth analysis of Halo 5: Guardians.

If you’re a fan of Raycevick’s videos, I recommend checking out his official YouTube Channel to watch his new analysis on the Mass Effect Trilogy!  With the imminent release of the new Mass Effect game, Mass Effect Andromeda, this is the best time to give those videos a watch.

Gaming History You Should Know – Ura Zelda February 23, 2017

YouTube Channel Yesterworld Entertainment has recently been wowing me with an incredible series of analysis into the past of video games, movies and even theme park rides!  Earlier today, they released their most recent video, a look at a game Nintendo announced but sadly never released in its original form. Gamers today would know it by its working title, Ura Zelda for the Nintendo 64DD.

I’m sure many of you knew that the Nintendo 64 was originally planned to offer an expansion accessory in the form of the 64DD, but I bet most people don’t know that the game that went on to get released as The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time was originally going to require the 64DD to play.  While Ocarina of Time was eventually released without requiring the 64DD, many believed that the failure of the 64DD resulted in Zelda game content and features that never saw the light of day.

Is that true?  Was Ura Zelda something we missed out on?  Let’s let Yesterworld Entertainment fill in the rest.

Like the video?  Check out more content from Yesterworld Entertainment!

Gaming History You Should Know – What Happened to DOOM 4? December 14, 2016

Excluding expansion packs, ports and mods, a lot of people recognize the newest game to bear the title DOOM as the fourth game in the Doom franchise.  They would be correct, but did you know that the newest DOOM game that has been considered a phenominal critical hit was not the game it was originally designed to be?

Doom 3 on PC and Xbox was considered a remake of the original Doom. It has cutting-edge graphics for its time and a deep engaging story.  Its sequel was original planned to be a remake of Doom 2, showing how the people of planet Earth would react to an invasion from Hell itself. That’s not the game we ended up getting earlier this year.

So how did Doom 4 become the new DOOM, the critical and commercial multi-platform hit we just weren’t expecting?  Danny O’Dwyer of Noclip recently released this incredible three-part documentary about the making of DOOM. If you’re like me and you’re a long-time fan of id Software, you have to give this series a watch!

DOOM is out now on the PC, Xbox One and PS4.

Gaming History You Should Know: The Sega Channel November 18, 2016

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!

Gaming History You Should Know – Wing Commander 3 September 19, 2016

I know I recently spent an entire recent editorial talking about the PC flight simulator Starfleet Academy but I don’t think I mentioned the fact that it was not my first PC flight sim game. No, that honor goes to Origin’s PC-DOS flight sim game Privateer 2: The Darkening.

The year was 1996, I had just got my first real PC and was loving every second I was using it. A coworker of my father’s had picked up a new game for his PC called Privateer 2, but he found himself unable to play it on his computer. Since he knew my PC was top of the line he gave the game to me and the rest is history.

While most people, including The Spoony One, hated Privateer 2 due to its extreme departure from the Wing Commander games that came before it, I thought it had a great story with amazing direction, and a fantastic cast of actors. But Privateer 2 wasn’t the first PC game by Origin to present a PC flight sim in this way, that honor actually goes to the PC game Wing Commander 3.

Veteran online critic Charles Sonnenburg, better known to the Internet by his online name SF Debris, took some time off between delivering his legendary weekly reviews of old Star Trek episodes to give a review of Wing Commander 3. Not only is the review thorough and hilarious, Chuck (can I call you Chuck?) did a great job researching the history behind the game’s development, making this a great review to watch for both veteran pilots and cadets fresh out of the academy. You can watch it here.

If you liked the review and want to give Wing Commander 3 a try for yourselves the game was available to purchase on EA’s (aptly named) Origin digital online service.  Give it a look if you’re interested in checking it out, just make sure to get a good joystick first.

Gaming History You Should Know: Driv3rGate July 10, 2016

There is no doubt that the Grand Theft Auto 3 games were some of the highest rated and best selling titles of the mid-2000s. A decade ago, the Driver series was the closest competitor to Grand Theft Auto and its publisher, Atari, wanted to take advantage of that fact. They pumped millions of dollars into developing Driver 3 (Driv3r) with the intention to release it on the PS2, PC and original Xbox before the release of Grand Theft Auto San Andreas. The problem was Driv3r was just not ready.

Atari had a plan. Knowing the popularity of the Driver franchise and the heavy anticipation for Driv3r in particular, Atari shopped around early review access to magazines in exchange for guaranteed 9.0 scores. Then the game was released and the rest was history.

Game journalist Larry Bundy Jr, better known to the Internet as Guru Larry, was able to go back and find the story behind Driv3rgate.  So take a look and watch the story of gaming’s first true media scandal.

Sadly, Atari and Future saw fit to delete most of the complaints on their forums and references to the scandal aren’t even included on the game’s Wikipedia page.  Thankfully gamers have a long memory.  Good job Larry!

Gaming History You Should Know: How to Change Nintendo Save Batteries April 20, 2016

I know we offer our own series of How-To Videos on this website, but they tend to focus on helping you get the most out of the newer consoles.  However, even I have my limitations. Give me a detailed manual and a set of tools and I can assemble or upgrade anything from a PC to a PS4, but when it comes to actually modifying hardware with heat, I’m at a loss.

Nintendo owners have had to grapple for years with the knowledge that their older game cartridges rely on internal batteries to store save data. However, like all batteries, their charge can eventually die. Once dead, they have to be replaced or the cart is functionally crippled. The worst part of all this is the fact that replacing these batteries can be quite a process which run a risk of destroying your game.  So, what do you do?

I make no secret that one of my favorite YouTube producers is Lance Rumowicz, who you may know better as MistareFusion. While he is mostly known for his popular Dragon Ball Dissection (DBD) videos, I’ve been a huge fan of a lot of his content, including his ongoing Final Fantasy Memories videos, his review of the movie 1776, and his ongoing review of the original Batman movie serial.

Today, MistareFusion is going to show you something I can’t, and that is how to replace a Nintendo 64 game cart’s dead battery.  If you own one of these games you really should give this video a watch, because it is one of the clearest and most detailed videos I’ve ever seen about how to do this process.

Gaming History You Should Know: Dance Dance Revolution Arcade Retrospective April 12, 2016

Regardless of which continent you live on, if you’ve ever walked into an arcade at any point since the year 2000 you’ve probably seen a Dance Dance Revolution arcade machine in it. Dance Dance Revolution, or DDR for short, is a game franchise created by Konami that is considered by many to be the premiere rhythm video game of all time.  They are comprised of a large stage with foot pads and a metal bar (to prevent players from falling over) connected to a big screen tv and a large set of speakers. The machines are very recognizable and its speakers are capable of blasting out some of the world’s most iconic songs alongside many of Konami’s original tracks.

For a franchise that has been around for over fifteen years, it has sure gone through a lot of revisions.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen the same DDR machine in the same place twice.  But just how many different machines has Konami produced for this franchise, and which countries got them?  Kaylyn Saucedo, who you may know better as the Internet reviewer MarzGurl, decided to document every single DDR machine that came out in arcades.  If you’ve ever been interested in DDR, you should give this video a watch to see what you’ve been missing out.

Gaming History You Should Know – The NES Expansion Port December 11, 2015

As I was only a child in the early 90s I fondly remember owning an original model Nintendo Entertainment System. While the machine was based on inexpensive technology, it was quite ahead of its time.  Not only did the console come equipped with RCA Video and Audio outputs as standard, something that only extremely expensive TVs of the time could make use of, anyone who took a good look at the console could find an interesting custom expansion port on the bottom of the console. This port was never used by any official NES peripheral and did not get included when the NES was redesigned as a top loader, so what was it meant for?

Rinry, over at the YouTube Channel RinryGameGame, broke the silence about what the plans were for this mysterious port.