PixelatedArcade News


2021-10-24

Authentic, or Fake?

Identifying Big Box Computer Game Shrink-Wrap

Are you into collecting vintage computer games? If you're here, there's a good chance you are! As prices continue to rise for games that are still in their original shrink-wrap, being able to reasonably spot games that are, in fact, not in the original manufacturer's shrink-wrap and were done by the seller or someone else along the line can save you a lot of money and frustration. So, how can you tell? Fortunately, there are often signs to look for! Classic PC game guru Trixter has put together an incredible video explaining how. I highly recommend checking out his YouTube video Authentic, or fake? Identifying Big Box Computer Game Shrink-wrap to learn more. The information has been thoroughly researched and not only explains how to identify legitimate shrink-wrap but includes plenty of background and historical information as well; check out the video description which includes chapter stop details if you don't have time for the full video and want to jump around. This is yet another invaluable classic gaming resource following his IBM PCjr Print Media Archival Project.
2021-09-11

Dragon Con 2021 Photoset

Cosplay Photos from This Year's Dragon Con and Interesting Stuff

It's been a busy summer here, and now heading into the fall we're keeping equally occupied. Not really a gaming related update this month, however for those interested this past week we returned from Dragon Con in Atlanta, GA and my photoset from the event is now up at PixelatedImages. Dragon Con is always a wonderful time, and after last year being cancelled due the pandemic it was truly great to be out and photographing again. In the meantime, a stack of games has been piling up here that needs to be scanned and uploaded...

2021-07-14

Welcome to Xenon

The Sounds of an Early Solid State Pinball Game

Released in 1980, Bally's Xenon broke new ground for pinball. Electro Mechanical machines were on the way out with the last EM game having been released just a year prior; Solid State became the new normal for pinball with hardware that allowed for more complex games, synthesized and/or digitized sounds, and an array of other features. Xenon was not the first solid state machine or the first with digitized voices, however it was the first to feature female voices. All of the music, sounds, and voices in the game were developed and recorded by synth pioneer Suzanne Ciani, and now you can hear her original recordings! A mini-album was recently released on Suzanne Ciani's Bandcamp page featuring all of the vocals, music, and sound effects she recorded during development of the game in their isolated form. This is a rare and fascinating look behind the scenes of a classic pinball game and is worth checking out...

2021-05-31

Introducing PixelatedArcade.gay

Fun Styles and Support for the LGBTQ Community

Greetings classic gamers! Just a quick update here; to celebrate pride month this year, PixelatedArcade would like to welcome you to check out pixelatedarcade.gay! The information is the same, but to show support for the LGBTQ community and just for some fun a few minor color and style changes are visible throughout the site; I had originally intended to add a little more, but time ran out. Also, 20% of all new registration revenue is donated to benefit LGBTQ nonprofit groups. Find out more at what is .gay?.
2021-04-26

The IBM PCjr Print Media Archival Project

An Impressive Collection of Vintage IBM PCjr Resources

Code named "Peanut", The IBM PCjr was an odd creation; it's new 16 colors graphics and 3-voice sounds could have made it a spectacular PC for games but, unfortunately, it was a market failure. There were a number of reasons for this; some quirks made it not quite 100% IBM PC compatible, an odd expansion system utilized sidecars and not IBM PC style ISA cards, at launch time the included keyboard was a hideous chiclet style one, the price was considered high for a home computer, and more all made for a machine that never took the market by storm...
2021-02-19

February 2021 Updates

New Code Updates and Ice Storms

This past week has been a cold one in many parts of North America. Luckily, losing power hasn't been an issue for us however some planned travel had to be cancelled due to iced over roads described by one of the locals as “nearly undrivable”. Lacking the proper equipment for such conditions, it was instead time to take advantage of the time off from work and complete some code updates and fixes! The latest changes to the PixelatedArcade codebase have just been pushed live...
2021-02-06

Zeliard

Game Review

Welcome to 2021 everyone! Here's hoping this year turns out better than the last. It's also been a while since I've posted any updates, especially a game review, so a new review seems like a great way to kick off the new year. For previous reviews I picked out a few awful to average games, so this time around I thought I would switch gears to the opposite end of the spectrum. As the 1980's were coming to a close, Sierra On-Line licensed several games from Japanese developer Game Arts for release in North America. Thexder is likely the best known, and at the time was one of Sierra's best selling games (and deservedly so, it's a fun game I also recommend checking out). This time around, however, I'm going to point your attention to what seems to be one of Game Arts more obscure titles, Zeliard.

2020-12-17

Happy Holidays 2020!

The PixelatedArcade 2020 End of Year Roundup

What a year it's been! I think it's safe to say no one quite expected the events that transpired with Covid-19 creating quite the havoc. However, as we come to the holiday season, it's time for the now traditional end of year roundup. Here at PixelatedArcade we had our own challenges as well this year which included a move to a new house. Despite everything going on, plenty of new content was still added and some fun new games were acquired for our collection...
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