RetroDefense

A teaser trailer for Episode Blue (Mega Man 5) was posted recently. Looking good!

If anyone has a copy they're willing to part with, please let me know.

Thanks!

If this doesn't exist, it should.  But I'd like to see something all inclusive, covering the 70s/80s 'till now.

I'm halfway thru Dr. Wily's castle in MM4 and - wow - I'm impressed. Give this homebrew a try if you enjoy old-school Mega Man games - I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Lots of replayability added to MM4. Works on actual hardware too. Developer Woodfrog has knocked it outta the park. Find it here.

I'm looking forward to MM5, 6, and hopefully some kind of Wily Tower style extras.

Official US Playstation Magazine Issue 65 (February 2003) - "Some of the pages appear to be missing between 92 and 98. The Getaway article ends with "continued on Page 96" but after a one-page ad, the next page is 98."

Thanks for the heads up, @ZachFett!

Thanks to @hardcorehubz, lots of info has been clarified and confirmed.  OP has been updated!

Nice!  Thanks, @Arganoid!

Hello everyone,

So I've been hammering away at the Play Meter section of the magazine database and have created this thread to try and wrap up some loose ends.  If you're familiar with Play Meter magazine and can help clarify or confirm any details, answer questions, etc, please do so.  Thank you!

If you're unfamiliar with the magazine, Play Meter (aka Coin Industry Play Meter, aka Play Meter Magazine) was a trade publication covering the coin operated industry, including pinball and arcade video games.  It was made available to coin-op industry distributors, manufacturers, wholesalers, arcades, and related businesses and wasn't available via usual retail consumer channels.  The magazine ran continuously from December 1974 until June 2018, making it one of the rare few video game related mags to continue publication throughout the gaming crash of the 1980s, having published over 660 issues before ending with the publisher's retirement.

Play Meter was typically published monthly or twice-monthly during its lifetime.  This usually involved one or two magazine issues per month, but sometimes one magazine and one newsletter per month.  The newsletter - Play Meter Update (aka Coin Industry Play Meter Update, aka Play Meter Update Edition, aka Play Meter) - was volumized and numbered in chronological sequence with standard magazine issues, so when browsing our database, you'll find stints of alternating print formats (magazine, then newsletter, then magazine, etc).

Play Meter would regularly publish an annual Directory issue.  These Directories were essentially phone books of industry contact information - addresses, phone numbers, etc.  Throughout Play Meter's lifetime, these would be released as either a standard issue, as a supplement bundled with a standard issue, or as an extra issue per year.

From RetroMags' point of view, Play Meter essentially chronicled the rise and fall (and rise and fall again) of the arcade video game industry from a unique insider perspective.  When you factor in the low print numbers inherent of trade publications, its unique content, combined with the loss of Play Meter's own official archives during 2005's Hurricane Katrina, the magazine definitely has its place in our preservation efforts.

While working on the Play Meter dbase here at RetroMags, I've relied on various sources.  Full scans, of course (shoutout to @MigJmz, @hardcorehubz, and @E-Day), preserved here and elsewhere.  Official 2010-2018 digital releases from the (now defunct) Play Meter website.  Photographs of Play Meter issues from various websites - namely, online marketplaces and marketplace research tools.  And lastly, the Play Meter holdings of two museum libraries - The International Arcade Museum Library and the Brian Sutton-Smith Library and Archives of Play (part of The Strong Museum of Play).

Despite these sources, I haven't yet been able to confirm the existence of several Play Meter issues.  So based on issue numbering and Play Meter's publication schedule, the following have been added to the database as they are presumed to exist:

• Vol.2 No.13 (Nov 1976 Update) (confirmed!)
• Vol.3 No.2 (Jan 1977 Update) (confirmed!)
• Vol.3 No.10 (May 1977) - this one is something of an oddball, breaking the alternating mag/newsletter schedule (confirmed! (mislabeled as v3n9))
• Vol.4 No.16 (Sep 1978 Update) (confirmed!)
• Vol.5 No.2 (Feb 1979 Update) (confirmed!)
• Vol.5 No.4 (Mar 1979 Update) (confirmed!)
• Vol.5 No.6 (Apr 1979 Update) (confirmed!)
• Vol.6 No.2 (Jan 1980 Update) (confirmed!)
• Vol.6 No.8 (May 1980 Update) (confirmed!)
• Vol.6 No.10 (Jun 1980 Update) (confirmed!)
• Vol.28 No.9 (Aug 2002) (confirmed!)

The following Directory presumptions have been made:

• Vol.14 No.12 - 1989 Directory; presumed to be numbered Vol.14 No.12.
• Vol.25 No.2 - Presumed to be 1999 Directory.
• Vol.28 No.2 - Presumed to be 2002 Directory.
• Vol.33 No.2 - 2007 Directory; presumed to be numbered Vol.33 No.2.
• Vol.34 No.2 - Presumed to be 2008 Directory.
• Vol.35 No.2 - Presumed to be 2009 Directory.

Finally, some other notes and clarifications:

The Jan 1st 1983 and Jan 15th 1983 issues are reportedly both numbered Vol.9 No.1, so are listed in the dbase as 1a and 1b.

The Feb 15 1984 and Mar 1 1984 issues are reportedly both numbered Vol.10 No.4, so are listed in the dbase as 4a and 4b. (clarified! Feb 15 issue mislabeled as v10n4, actually v10n3)

Both the Jan 1979 issues are numbered Vol.5 No.1, but the Directory issue (1b) is likely a supplement of 1a.  Not confirmed however. (clarified! Directory is a supplement)

Vol.10 No.1 - not added to the dbase as its existence is doubtful (Vol.10 No.2 is very likely Vol.10 No.1) (clarified! v10n1 is mislabeled as v10n2)

Vol.7 No.3 - Did this issue include a supplement?

Vol.7 No.4 - presumed to be an Update issue. (confirmed!)

Vol.6 No.18 - this issue may be dated September.

Again, any help is appreciated - thanks, all!

Wow - you need to talk to Phillyman about a website API team-up or something.  This is fantastic!

On 4/12/2022 at 2:26 PM, hardcorehubz said:

We don't exactly officially collectively work with each other but we do know of each others efforts and communicate and help out each other when we can. Like MigJmz sometimes takes my scans from the archive and adjusts them and publishes them here which I am thrilled by honestly. Same with Kiwi he uses a lot of my scans, which I am absolutely fine with. The more these are spread about the safer I feel like they are and less likely to disappear so my efforts won't have gone to waste.

Not to derail this discussion but yes - this, exactly!

Atari is releasing a new retro Atari 2600 system, designated 2600+. I thought it was going to be another plug-and-play mini, loaded with digital games. But no - they're going physical.  Here's the trailer in case you missed it:

And the official Atari shop link:

https://atari.com/products/atari-2600-plus

The fanboy in me loves (loves, LOVES) the idea of physical carts making a comeback, but I'm curious as to other opinions.

Personally, the system is overpriced imo ($130 US) - especially considering it includes only one joystick and no paddles.  New games are $30 each.  Ouch.

I'm not sure the 2600 has all that great of a game library without 3rd parties like Activision, Imagic, Parker Brothers, etc. I hope they can license original games from developers but I imagine several great games may be lost in IP hell.  Compatibility with original carts helps offset this, though.

Speaking of, the original cart "backwards" compatibility is awesome - both 2600 and 7800 - but the system isn't 100% compatible with all original carts, sadly. It's essentially an emulation box so this is to be expected, I suppose, but considering the "simplicity" of the hardware, you'd think 2600/7800 emulation would be 100% by now.

Paddles aren't included but will be available for $40 with a multicart included.  Not bad.  Glad to see paddles haven't been left out of the mix - they almost always draw the short straw.

The joysticks and paddles for this 2600+ are also compatible with original systems - even better.

So I'm stoked for the idea but a bit soured by the pricing and definitely suspect of Atari's commitment - especially if the majority of gamers feel it's overpriced.  Anyone else curious about this thing?

Wow - really looking forward to this!  You're not the only one who likes making those graph paper maps - I Lewis & Clarked the heck out of Phantasy Star back in the day.    Very impressive - congrats!

Thanks SegNin - I've updated each database entry to "Scanning" and they'll be available via RetroMags again soon after some editing and clean-up.

Atari 50 is really, really good, you guys.

Related: the Switch is in desperate need of a quality paddle controller.

So many games I need to play, but besides some retro stuff, I've been looking forward to starting Bayonetta 3 and getting back to Pac-Man World Re-Pac (which - sure - is arguably neo-retro).

5 hours ago, namzep said:

The Atari 50 collection on my Switch.  Retro games but not hardware.

I'm still waiting for my copy to arrive in the mail - I didn't have any luck finding the game locally.  Looking forward to it!

Via the Sega Genesis Mini 2, my significant other and I have been playing Crusader of Centy.  I've spent a little time with some Switch eShop downloads as well - Ultracore, Clockwork Aquario, Namco Musuem Archives Volumes 1 & 2, and I just purchased Xeno Crisis.

Sega Genesis Mini 2. 

Thanks for the fantastic donation, @CIVICMINDED - and congratulations, @Ethereal Dragonz!

And thanks @Phillyman and @E-Day, for another great contest and the scan work.  You guys are committed! 

Taking a break from my regular retro backlog to enjoy some games fit for the spooky season.  Currently working on Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge for the Game Boy (via the Castlevania Collection) and - since I'm a glutton for punishment - Ghosts 'n Goblins: Resurrection on Switch.

Which reminds me - I should really give PS2 Maximo: Ghosts to Glory another go sometime.  An issue of Tips & Tricks has a really nice strategy guide for the game - I can't recall the issue number off hand but Maximo is on the cover - with some tips on manipulating the continue system so the game is actually finish-able. 

15 hours ago, Areala said:

Holy cow, now THIS is a treat! Not just a first issue, but a first issue of a magazine from 1982!

*huggles*
Areala

Agreed - it's been great seeing so much 80s era stuff lately.    Lots of gaming history in these old time capsules! 

On 9/18/2022 at 9:28 PM, E-Day said:

I am curious as to how much extra space is on the Mini 2; if there's enough Lunar and Popful Mail could be added by you after the fact

I've heard it's 8 gig this time around but I don't believe this has been confirmed.

It also looks like M2 has added some features to some of the games included on this mini.  Not only the usual quality-of-life features at a system level - like save states, rewind, etc - but unique features per game.  Supposedly, Phantasy Star II, Outrun, Hellfire, and Rainbow Islands all have some enhancements.  Perhaps others as well.

So far, I've kept all of my minis stock out-of-the-box - the exception being the Playstation Classic.  You really have no choice but to hack that thing to bring it up to par with the others.

I'm hoping - once the chip shortage is under control - Sega decides to revisit this mini and make a traditional push at retail.  Maybe by next Christmas or whenever.  I've had several casual gaming friends and family members who've shown interest in these mini consoles, purchased the first Genesis mini, and would probably pick this one up as well.  If they see it sitting on a retail shelf somewhere.

I also hope Sega makes this a trend.    I'd love to see a Genesis Mini 3 with another round of Genesis and Sega CD games.  Hopefully Lunar/Popful Mail licensing with Victor Ireland/Working Designs will be resolved the next time around.  And maybe throw in some Game Gear and Sega Master System classics as well.

In case you missed the announcement, Sega will be releasing a Sega Genesis Mini 2 in October 2022.  This one is modeled after the Genesis 2 form factor but includes some Sega CD games.  A six button controller is included this time.  The plug-and-play system includes 60 games and software emulation is reportedly again being handled by M2.  (I'd bet this is once again software emulation instead of a FPGA.)

Mega Drive versions will be released in Japan and European regions with some different games, but here's the Genesis roster.  You'll notice several "imports" in the mix.

Sega CD:

Ecco the Dolphin
Ecco the Dolphin: The Tides of Time
Final Fight CD
Mansion of Hidden Souls
Night Striker
Night Trap
Robo Aleste
Sewer Shark
Shining Force CD
Silpheed
Sonic CD
The Ninja Warriors

Genesis:

After Burner II
Alien Soldier
Atomic Runner
Bonanza Brothers
Clay Fighter
Crusader of Centy
Desert Strike
Earthworm Jim 2
Elemental Master
Fatal Fury 2
Gain Ground
Golden Axe II
Granada X
Hellfire
Herzog Zwei
Lightening Force (Thunderforce IV)
Midnight Resistance
Outrun
Outrunners
Phantasy Star II
Populous
Rainbow Islands Extra
Ranger X
Ristar
Rolling Thunder 2
Shadow Dancer
Shining Force II
Shining in the Darkness
Sonic 3D Blast
Splatterhouse 2
Streets of Rage 3
Super Hang On
Super Street Fighter II
The Ooze
The Revenge of Shinobi
Toejam & Earl: Panic on Funkotron
Truxton
Vectorman 2
Viewpoint
Virtua Racing
Warsong

Bonus Genesis games:

Fantasy Zone
Star Mobile
Spatter
Super Locomotive
Devi & Pii
Vs. Puyo Puyo Sun
Space Harrier II

The bonus games are interesting.  Fantasy Zone is a new port.  Star Mobile is a puzzle game that had been completed back in the day, but never released.  It did make it to the PC Engine though.  The Space Harrier II bonus is reportedly both Space Harriers I and II and running at 60 fps (!?!).  I'm not familiar with the other bonus titles.

As for the game roster, I'm happy with it.  It could have been better - especially the Sega CD line-up - but this is a matter of opinion.  Knowing the Japan release is getting Popful Mail and both Lunar titles does sting a bit.

More than a bit, actually.

I could have done without some of the re-re-re-released stuff too.  Alien Soldier, Gain Ground, Bonanza Brothers, etc.  'Course, I have a habit of picking up Sega compilations without question so I've already seen these titles several times.     If this will be your first time playing 'em, I doubt you'll be disappointed.  Most of the titles included in this mini reviewed well in their day.

I'm really looking forward to Night Striker.  One of my fave arcade games during my college years.  If you're not familiar, think Space Harrier but with branching paths like Outrun.  Good stuff.  The Sega CD / Mega CD version is very pixelated compared to the arcade original but I'm hoping it plays well.

And if you haven't already, give Ristar a try.  "Hidden gem" is cliche anymore but Ristar definitely qualifies.

For physical game collectors who count mini systems as physical game collections, this system is a boon.  Price Crusader of Centy on Ebay sometime.  It's a fun Zelda-esque title that'll cost you bank nowadays.

The Sega Genesis Mini 2 is an Amazon exclusive, though orders will ship from Amazon Japan (weird - perhaps related to chip shortages or whatever?)  Pre-orders are open - get it while the gettin's good.