Fake Xbox 360 and PS3

Why the heck would you drop $200 to $400 on a brand new console when you could get the same thing for a fraction of the price? Oh yeah, I neglected to mention that these alternate universe clones of the Xbox 360 and PS3 are crappy knock-offs from China - and that they only play 8-bit games.

These cheap-o fakes come courtesy of the shady sounding Rodisson Technologies Company, who only ask that you place a minimum wholesale order of 10,000 pieces if you want to get your hands on one of these 8-bit versions of popular modern-day gaming systems. Note that the Xbox 360 fake dons the “Happy 360″ moniker, presumably to help them avoid Microsoft’s lawyers - but I not sure that’s subtle enough. The PS3 clone goes by the name “Play Power 3,” which really isn’t much better.

Each 8-bit fake comes complete with old-school 9-pin joysticks and a light gun, which lead me to believe that the built-in games (all 512 of ‘em) are old Famicom or NES bootlegs. Caveat Emptor and all that.

Maybe you can finally play that game of Duck Hunt you’ve been dying to play on your 360 or PS3.

source: technabob

And while we're on fake Xbox 360's and the festive season - this poor kid's family are evil!

Xmas - Been and Gone

I hope everyone received some tasty gaming goodies in this time of commercial holiness.

While the boxing day sales are still well underway, I figured there would be no point listing all the great deals that are going on at the moment.

However, I will name a few off the top of my head at the moment which I think are worth mentioning.

Kmart has 20% off all games and accessories.
The Warehouse has 25% off Wii software titles.
Harvey Norman were advertising an Xbox 360 Arcade bundle with 3 games for $268.

The Stuff Dreams Are Made Of

Shamelessly ripped from Shoryuken is the unboxing of the upcoming 'official' SF4 joystick.



Imagine playing SSF2T HD with that beauty!

Casebook - Support local game developers

Casebook, a local Dunedin-based game from developers 'Clocktower Games' was released a few weeks ago.
It's a episodic detective game which revolves around you solving puzzles, and gathering clues.
This is intertwined with full-motion video clips that progress the story.
Your can order the game from the following link.
Let's support local talent. And for $15, there's no excuse not to!

Street Fighter IV Screenshots

Still just over a month away, but some screenshots to whet your appetite over at Atomic Gamer.

Gamestop Reveals Contents of SF4 Collectors Edition

GameStop recently revealed what we can expect when purchasing the Collector’s Edition box for Street Fighter 4, and its left a few of us with more questions than answers. Eager CE buyers can expect a copy of the 65 minute Street Fighter 4 Anime movie (on BluRay for ps3 owners!), and a comic-book styled game hint-book. You will also get a limited edition figure with your purchase; Ryu for the ps3 and Viper for the 360. A soundtrack CD is also listed. Lastly, you will recieve 5 downloadable costumes for the characters as a bonus.

Source: Shoryuken

Gears of War Competition Update

Okay - so the recent GoW competition wrapped up about a week ago.
I'm currently in the process of collaborating all of the entries and picking a winner, so if you will bear with me a few more days, I'll have the results posted here shortly.

In the mean time - take a read at this rather interesting article.
Explains the whole deal with the upcoming Ghostbuster game, and the hoops they had to jump through during development of the title.

Angry Video Game Nerd and the CD-i

A rather amusing look by the Angry Video Game Nerd at the Philips CD-i console and the Nintendo franchise games that appeared on it.
Comes in three parts

Street Fighter IV Collectors Edition Pack

Capcom has detailed the release of a European and Australian Street Fighter IV Collectors Edition pack, to launch alongside the standalone game on February 20 next year.

The pack will be available for PS3 and 360, and will include the following contents, along with the game itself, all snugly housed in a classic Street Fighter scene outer case:
- Limited edition figurines of all time favourite character Ryu and the all new character Crimson Viper, positioned within the familiar settings of the 'crowded Chinese downtown'.
- A bonus disc containing a feature length HD quality anime movie, created specially for the launch of Street Fighter IV and a selection of the best game trailers to date.
- A mini strategy guide created in the style of a comic art book detailing the moves and biographies of four of the new characters to the series; Viper, Abel, El Fuerte and Rufus
- Exclusive downloadable game content

source: cvg

Warehouse Friends & Family Discount

No gaming deals on this one, and I only included it here because there is 20% off Transformers toys. Transformers are awesome!
This time however it looks as though they don't mind if you make it available for download.
Runs for the 3rd and 4th of December.

Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo HD Initial Impressions

Okay, so SSF2THD (what a friggin' mouthful!) is out.

Well, kinda.

While Xbox 360 owners are plonking down their 1200 MS Points to download the 300-odd MB game, poor ol' PSN users have to wait a couple of weeks for the 'localised' version. This is only for those in the UK and Australasia mind you.
Retarded? Very.
Anyway, I downloaded this puppy during the weekend, ready for some old skool 'ha-do-ken' action!
SSF2THD has been in the making now for quite some time. And rightly so. The whole game has been re-done from the ground up, using artwork drawn by the guys at Udon Entertainment.
Udon are quite well known as the guys who do the popular Street Fighter comics (amongst other things).
However, if this new-age HD artwork isn't your cup of tea, the game offers players the choice to have the original game with the original sprites.
But that's not why we bought the game right?

Some of the joystick combinations have also been re-jiggered to allow more easy access to particular moves. For example, you can now actually perform Guile's super move. Somewhat.

Now, it may seem odd, but these new sprites can also hinder the experience somewhat.
Hear me out. While these new graphics are very, very well presented. And seeing your favorite character PROPERLY represented on screen, rather than a pixelated mass of sprites, is a sight to behold! The problem herein lies with the animation of those characters. Because the game mechanics are (essentially) the same, and only the graphics are re-done, the frames of animation are exactly the same as the original. Which in some cases are only 2-4 frames of animation. This can make for some odd-looking, highly detailed sprites. It's like watching a flipbook (albeit with fantastic artwork).

Players can compete with each other over Xbox Live (and the PSN...eventually).
If you're like me, and have no-one to play with, this is by far the best way to play.
Provided you can find someone with a decent ping. Which here in NZ can be quite difficult thanks to the pants way XBL finds players (some of us live OUTSIDE America Microsoft!).
But, man, once you get a good game going, it can bring some competitive emotions that you didn't have since playing SF2 in the arcades. Only you're slightly less sweaty by the end of it. But I put that down to the fact you can't see the person you're playing against. You don't need to worry about someone seeing your school boy ego get smashed.

The XBox controller is a pain-in-the-ass to use however (and I'd imagine the same could be said for the Dual Shock 3 for PS3). Serious players however will already have their 6-button joystick ready in the wings. And I wouldn't be surprised if we saw more of these on our regular gaming shelves very soon thanks to the upcoming release of Street Fighter IV.
However, some people can get VERY serious about their joystick choice!

Ignoring my pet peeve with the animation (or lack thereof), this game is definitely worth the small price to pay (which I think is about $20NZ-odd) for any SF2 fan!

• 1-UP Reviews SSF2T HD
• Street Fighter 2 Turbo Udon Comic FULL on IGN
  

Something you don't see every day

A Sega Dreamcast PC with Blu-ray!

Arcade Fighter News Round-up

• Games Radar reviews Street Fighter IV arcade version
• IGN reviews SSF2T HD for 360 and PS3
  
• No SSF2T HD for UK PSN users this week. No word on whether or not this affects our territory.
• Games Radar have both the DC and MK stories available to view from Mortal Kombat vs. DC Superheroes. Spoiler Territory however!
• Every Mortal Kombat Fatality Ever! Thus far at least...
  

SSF2 Turbo HD Priced - At Least for Overseas Markets

26th of November seems to be the big date!
That's only what? 5 days? (taking into consideration we're a day ahead of everyone in the world).
Now, if only we had a cool 6-button joystick?...

Super Street Fighter II HD

If it's one game that I'm waiting in hot anticipation this year it's this game.
Completely re-done GFX's to utilise 1080p goodness.
And only available on the Xbox Live Network or Playstation Store.

Arcade DIY Project

For a while now I've been slowly working on an MAME arcade project.
It's been something I've wanted to do for many years now.
I started with finding an old arcade machine on Trade Me in a location not too far from home (have to get it to my place somehow without paying high shipping costs).
Had no idea what game it was, but I didn't care. I just needed the out shell.

Found out the game was "Bad Dudes vs. Dragon Ninjas".

However, I ripped the game PCB out (if anyone wants it, I'm willing to sell the JAMMA board).

The monitor was slowing dying, so I replaced it with a 21" CRT television.
While not ideal (would have preferred a standard 21" CRT computer monitor with VGA inputs), it worked due to the S-Video and Component inputs.
Had to repair some of the wooden casing due to moisture weakening some points.
Sanded and repainted the insides (which were black with accumulated dirt and grime - yuck!)
Added in a spare PC I had lying about (nothing fancy, Athlon 2000+ XP, Geforce 6600, and 1gb DDR Ram).
Also picked up a relatively cheap, yet bloody sturdy, arcade joystick. Primarily for use with either an Xbox or PS1/2. It's no X-Arcade, but it's damn close!
Built an Xbox to USB controller adapter and hey-presto! PC Arcade Joystick!

It's still not 100% completed, but it's pretty close. Some rough edges to tidy up, and need to replace the coin slot (which I also removed)

Would have liked to photo document the work, but meh. Call me lazy. I did however take a couple of phone cam shots of the (almost) finished product.

Welcome my son, welcome to the machine...

Hello and Welcome to 20Cents.
This site actually came out of a lucid dream I was having when I was rather feverish with a terrible illness a couple of months ago. Believe it or not.

I'm a gamer. I've been playing video games for as long as I can remember.
Unlike a lot of older gamers of my age, I didn't start out with an Atari console sitting in my house, or a Magnavox, or even a Nintendo Entertainment System. In fact - my first computer I ever owned was when I was 18 years old.
No, my first experience with video gaming was down the road at my local Fish & Chip shop.
Arcade parlors existed, but I was too young to even know what they were, so this was the only way I could ever experience these glowing boxes of wonder.
Every Saturday when my mother would buy our dinner for that night, I'd get two twenty cent pieces. I guess you could say this was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
The years passed, and the Fish & Chip shop remained.
The only changes were the owners and the titles of the games themselves.

Through primary school, through intermediate, all the way to early high school. It was a constant. Any troubles that would face a young boy were forgotten about when standing in front of the arcade cabinet.
And I remember all the games that had come and gone from that shop.
Galaga. Rock 'n Rope. Bomb Jack. Elevator Action. Time Pilot. Kiki Kai Kai. Galivan....
Names that to anyone else would raise an eyebrow, but to me they bring thoughts of plans, strategies, tricks, and routines.

Over the years, I finally managed to scrimp and save to purchase my very first home console. A Sega Master System.
Me and my brother would spend countless hours playing it.
A Master System turned into a Mega Drive and SNES. These turned into Mega CD's. And Sega 32X's. And Saturns. And Playstations.
It goes on.

So gaming has always been a big part of my life. With this site I hope for it to become a place not only where I, but others as well, can stop by to relive some of those moments.
To share information about gaming past. The gaming future.

Even now and then when I walk into a chip shop the smell of the oil is like a homecoming. Some kind of familiarity. A call that lures you to the machine.

The Fish & Chip shop is no longer. The building remains, but it now converted into a row of flats.
It's strange to think that people now live in the very same spot where us kids from the neighborhood gathered to meet one another, pockets filled with twenty cent coins...