Living in the Retro Arcade (Joel McLaughlin)

FIRST show in the Grove City 80s Arcade Studio! We talk about the year 1988.

Today we are talking about Atari Flashback Classics for the Nintendo Switch.  You get for around 25 dollars ALL of the games below:

3-D Tic-Tac-Toe (2600)

A Game of Concentration (2600)

Adventure (2600)

Adventure II (2600)

Air Raiders (2600)

Air-Sea Battle (2600)

Aquaventure (2600)

Armor Ambush (2600)

Asteroids (Arcade, 2600 5200)

Asteroids Deluxe (Arcade)

Astroblast (2600)

Atari Baseball (Arcade)

Atari Basketball (Arcade)

Atari Football (Arcade)

Atari Soccer (Arcade)

Atari Video Cube (2600)

Avalanche (Arcade)

Backgammon (2600)

Basic Math (2600)

Basketball (2600)

Black Widow (Arcade)

Blackjack (2600)

Bowling (2600)

Brain Games (2600)

Breakout (2600)

Canyon Bomber (2600)

Canyon Bomber (Arcade)

Casino (2600)

Centipede (Arcade, 2600, 5200)

34. Championship Soccer (2600)

Checkers (2600)

Chess (2600)

Circus Atari (2600)

Code Breaker (2600)

Combat (2600)

Combat 2 (2600)

Countermeasure (5200)

Crystal Castles (2600, Arcade)

Fark Cavern (Night Stalker) (2600)

Demons to Diamonds (2600)

Desert Falcon (2600)

Destroyer (Arcade)

Dodge ‘Em (2600)

Dominos (Arcade)

Double Dunk (2600)

Fatal Run (2600)

Final Legacy (5200)

Fire Truck/Smokey Joe (Arcade)

Flag Capture (2600)

Food Fight (Arcade)

Football (2600)

Frog Pond (2600)

Frogs and Flies (2600)

Golf (2600)

Gravitar (2600, Arcade)

Hangman (2600)

Haunted House (2600)

Holey Moley (2600)

Home Run (2600)

Human Cannonball (2600)

International Soccer (2600)

Lunar Lander (Arcade)

Major Havoc (Arcade)

Maze Craze (2600)

Maze Invaders (Arcade)

Micro-gammon (5200)

Millipede (Arcade, 2600, 5200)

Miniature Golf (2600, 5200)

Missile Command (Arcade, 2600, 5200)

Monte Carlo (Arcade)

MotoRodeo (2600)

Night Driver (2600)

Off the Wall (2600)

Outlaw (2600)

Pitfall (2600, 5200)

Pong (Arcade)

Pool Shark (Arcade)

Quadrun (2600)

Race (2600)

Radar Lock (2600)

Realsports Baseball (2600, 5200)

Realsports Basketball (2600, 5200)

Realsports Boxing (2600)

Realsports Football (2600, 5200)

Realsports Soccer (2600)

Realsports Tennis (2600, 5200)

Red Baron (Arcade)

Return to Haunted House (2600)

Saboteur (2600)

Save Mary (2600)

Sea Battle (2600)

Secret Quest (2600)

Sentinel (2600)

Sky Diver (Arcade, 2600)

Slot Machine (2600)

Slot Racers (2600)

Space Attack (2600)

Space Duel (Arcade)

Spacewar (2600)

Sprint (Arcade)

Sprint Master (2600)

Star Raiders (2600, 5200)

Star Strike (2600)

Starship (2600)

Steeplechase (2600)

Stellar Track (2600)

Street Racer (2600)

Stunt Cycle (2600)

Sub Commander (2600)

Super Baseball (2600)

Super Breakout (Arcade, 2600, 5200)

Super Bug (Arcade)

Super Challenge Baseball (2600)

Super Challenge Football (2600)

Super Football (2600)

Surround (2600)

Sword Fight (2600)

Swordquest: Earthworld (2600)

Swordquest: Fireworld (2600)

Swordquest: Waterworld (2600)

Tempest (Arcade, 2600)

Video Olympics (2600)

Video Pinball (2600)

Warlords (Arcade, 2600)

Wizard (2600)

Xari Arena (5200)

Yars' Return (2600)

Yars' Revenge (2600)

1986 sees the release of the Famicom and the eventual release of the NES.  Nintendo starts taking the arcade by storm and arcades are starting to wane.

Today I talk about the best Star Wars video game ever, the original Arcade Game and it's lesser known arcade sequels for the Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi.

Today I talk about the commercial failure Wing Commander movie. A movie based on the Wing Commander series of PC games.

Today I am talking about the most famous video game character of all time, Mario Mario.....and yes that IS his name!  Started with Donkey Kong and well listen to the show!

Today we talk about 1989 finishing the decade series!

From Journey, to Aerosmith and even Van Halen bands and video games go hand in hand since the very beginning.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Band-centric_video_games

My first retro gaming convention in Columbus, OH.  Got to talk to John Ruggs and some really cool video game developers and see lots of cool stuff.  Be sure to come next year!

https://www.corgscon.com/

Today I am talking about one of my favorite arcade games of all time, Marble Madness from Atari!

Breakout may have been launched in 1976 but it had A LOT of influence in the 80s and in modern day.  From Breakout and Super Break out on the 2600 to versions on the 5200...so many versions that I can't possibly talk about all of them. So enjoy my breakout podcast....see what I did there???

I talk about my CORGScon purchase but before that the original Return of the Jedi Game for the Arcade and various other systems

Today we talk about 1984.  Not an exciting year but video games are pressing on.

Atari CX-40

Atari Proline Joystick

Microsoft Sidewinder 3D Pro

Nintendo 64 Controller

Nintendo Gamecube Controller

Sega Genesis Controller

Wii Mote

Wico Command Control

Super NES Controller

Nintendo Switch Pro Controller

1983 was a pivotal year of video games in that the market crashed.  I talk about this and other significant news of the year 1983.

Today I talk about 10 gifts where money is no object for the retro gamer.

I talk about the upcoming 50th anniversary of Atari and the modern Atari VCS release...and a little bit about the Legends Ultimate systems by AtGames.

If you had a SNES or N64 you probably always wondered what the EXT port was. Today I talk about the usually unused expansion ports on many Nintendo systems and a little on the cancelled in the US N64DD

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b64Bx0WKh7M&t=668s

Video games were very popular in the 80s and of COURSE they made cartoons for Saturday morning.  Let's revisit a handful of these shows.

Today I talk about the PC Gaming company Sierra On-Line. So many great series were started by this company.

Also, make sure to check out Metal Jesus's show with Ken and Roberta Williams AND Metal Jesus's time at Sierra.

https://youtu.be/LAemLilaNjk

and

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmNCFtAlYN0

Listen to the show for the full list.  One item I mentioned on the show is somewhat special so here is the link below:
Cocktail Table Game

This title is AWESOME if you grew up playing both in the arcade AND game consoles of the 80s and 90s.

These were as close as you can get to having an arcade cabinet in your home in the 80s.

In light of Livingin the 80s strange trup through the 70s I decided to talk about the birth of the 80s video game scene....the 1970s. More happened than you think!

A little bit of a geeky show here...repairing and taking care of your retro consoles.  Focusing in on the Atari line but some of the same techniques apply to other systems like the Apple II line, Intellivision and others.

Today I talk about some of the top video games of 1981 and notable releases including 2 world changing hardware releases.

Today we talk about the video game that never was in the 80s, The Last Starfighter. Thankfully you can play this game today by going to this website:

http://www.roguesynapse.com/games/last_starfighter.php

This weeks show is inspired by this article on music inspired by video games:

https://blog.scienceandmediamuseum.org.uk/top-10-songs-about-video-games/

I talk about my top 5 games played with a trackball.  The trackball was almost never seen at home but we loved playing games with it in the arcasde.  Here is my top 5.

Today I am talking about the original Atari 2600 release of Haunted House AND the Reimagined version that JUST came out this year on Steam, Nintendo Switch, Xbox, Playstation, Epic Games and the Atari VCS.

Haunted House 2023

The 1981 classic Frogger is one everyone remembers and remembers well.

Today I am talking about the Adam Sandler vehicle Pixels that has a lot of 80s video games and 80s nostalgia. Love it or hate it I think if you are Living in the 80s like most people my age you will love it.

Today we talk about the classic RoadBlasters.  Very similar to Spyhunter and very fun game!

Next week we will talk about the system behind this and many other Atari arcade games....Atari System 1 and System 2

I give a Life Update and 5 reasons why retro games are better.

A new season and a new name! Living in the Retro arcade allows us to talk about games outside of the 80s....today I talk about the Nintendo 64!

I talk about if money was no object and space wasn't either...the top 5 full size cabinets I'd like to have.

Today I talk about early PC gaming that started in the 80s with the IBM PC 5150

Today we're talking about the phenomenon that is Pac Man! 

Today we're talking about what I think are the 10 best video games on the Atari 2600

Mattel made more than just games for the Intellivision with the M-Network line. From 1982-1983 they made many interesting games for the beloved 2600.

Today's show is a little geeky in that I talk about the boards behind the great games. Specifically, Atari System 1 and System 2 which were some of the early attempts to make it easier to develop arcade games without having to build new hardware for each and every video game.

Today I talk about the two systems I remember getting on Christmas, the Atari 800 XL and the Atari 7800.

What was your Christmas video game memories?  Send me a clip at gorkon@gmail.com

Today I am talking about the classic Space Invaders from 1978 that may have started in the 70s but is decidedly an 80s phenomonon.

Just give a little update on my health and then talk about some cool hardware from Atari.com

Activision was the first independent software developer for game consoles starting with the Atari 2600!

Today we talk about the infamous and much maligned game ET for the 2600.

Today I am going to talk about the 1987 classic Afterburner.

Today we are going to talk about the Atari 2600 version of Pac Man. Wildly successful and probably the one game we wish looked more like the Arcade version than any other.

Today I am reviewing Lotharek's SIO2SD Floppy Emulator for the Atari 8 bit Line of Computers.  Comes in around 50 to 60 dollars in US dollars and is AWESOME.

https://lotharek.pl/productdetail.php?id=328

Today I talk about 2 games that both feature buildings....Crazy Climber from 1980 and Rampage from 1986.

Today I chat about Alladin's Castle...the arcade change that was probably bigger and older than we thought.

Today we talk about the Two Guys from Andromeda's creation: The Space Quest Series! Come listen and learn about the adventure of space janitor, Roger Wilco.

We talk about 1985 on this weeks show which includes the monumental release of the NES!

Today I am talking about the first Video Arcade Game Gameshow fromthe 80s....Starcade.

I love watching these top 5 channels. They are all very great!

5. Adrian’s Digital Basementhttps://www.youtube.com/@adriansdigitalbasement

4. Retro Recipeshttps://www.youtube.com/@RetroRecipes

3. Retro Hack Shack

https://www.youtube.com/@RetroHackShack

2. John Hancockhttps://www.youtube.com/@johnhancockretro

1. Metal Jesus Rockshttps://www.youtube.com/@MetalJesusRocks

Kind of a silly idea for a show but we always liked to munch on something will eating dots with Pac Man or Zapping Invaders...top 5 foods consumed during an 80s video game session.

The Portal series is massively popular and still being sold today for various game consoles and Steam.

I list out MY top 5 driving games of the 80s and talk a little about each one

Today I share some of the memories I had of playing my first PC game, Space Quest and about Sierra OnLine which at one time was the top company making PC games.

Metal Jesus Rocks Sierra Reunion;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxW1IK0fDJs

Metal Jesus Rocks We Worked at Sierra

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmNCFtAlYN0&t=1s

Another great year for Nintendo as they continue to dominate and sever sequels to great games from Atari and Sega.

Today I talk about the poll and what I got for Christmas for 2020 and the plans for 2021

On today's episode I talk about CORGS-con 20203.

https://www.corgscon.com/

Today I am talking about the Atari VCS aka The Atari 2600

I talk about video game controllers and peripherals that started in the 80s but continue on in the modern gaming world.

Today we talk about Atari's only real competition in the home video game market....Mattel.  It sounds strange that they tried to enter the video game market but  they did and today we talk about Intellivision, George Plimpton and everything surrounding the system with the better specs and the worst controller...behind the Atari 5200...

Today I talk about the top selling video games of 1982 and notable game and hardware releases of the year

Today I talk about the Apple TV+ Biopic Tetris which is all about how Henk Rogers obtained the worldwide rights to Tetris.

Today I discuss the differences between the moderd arcade/barcade and the 80s arcade.  I also talk about where to find classic 80s cabinets in the Columbus area and how to find them elsewhere.

Without Donkey Kong, there would be NO Mario and no Nintendo. Today we talk about the phenomenon of Donkey Kong.

Since I am in York as you download this I thought I'd share a bit of my memories from West Manchester Mall's Arcade.

https://yorkblog.com/onlyyork/memories-the-original-stores-a/

Today we talk about the first third party console developer Activision who is still around today thanks to Microsoft buying Activision Blizzard

Today's show we talk about probably one of the best systems for Arcade ports...the ColecoVision. We talk about the expansion modules, origin of Coleco(Originally the ConnecticCompany and Coleco's ill fated Adam Computer.

Today I talk a little about my memories of playing video games in the summer time and a couple summer themed video games in what will be my first episode of my Summer Time short topic series until we get the 80s arcade studio re-setup in the new home.

Today we talk about the 80s arcade classing Tron and the legacy the video game and the movie created.  In the show I mention a lightcycle game and it's called Armegatron and can be downloaded here:

http://www.armagetronad.org/downloads.php

Today we're talking about the only Star Trek game to hit the arcades in the 80s, the Star Trek Strategic Operations Simulator also know as the Star Trek Arcade game. I talk about the Sega published game, the ports and the lore of the game that was probably one of the first computer games with the original ideas being developed on mainframes in the 70s.

Go preoder this for $129.99

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

Also if your interested, here's a link for the new Atari VCS.

https://atari.com/pages/atari-vcs

Have you played Atari today?  Yar's Revenge is in the house along with the Enhanced version and the Recharged version

Today I talk about 5 reasons retro gaming is better.

Taking a break from the decade episodes to tell my memories of playing arcade games from Space Invaders to Gauntlet! Moving from a place you have been for any extended period of time causes you to reminisce and that's what I am doing today!

One unique tech of the 80s arcade scene was the LaserDisc video game. From Dragon's Lair to Mach 3 they were cool even if you couldn't figure out how to play them! (looking at YOU Dragon's Lair! LOL)

Today I talk about Asteroids and it's sequels, Asteroids Deluxe and Blasteroids.

Today I am going to talk about movies that were inspired by video games or movies where video games were a crucial plot point in the movie.  I have atop 5 and some honorable mentions.

https://www.arcadeclassics.net/blog/top-80s-movies-where-arcade-games-were-crucial-to-the-plot/

https://www.homeleisuredirect.com/blog/arcade-games/nine-of-the-most-memorable-arcade-appearances-in-movies.html

It's October which means it's almost time for the kids to go trick or treating and what game would be more appropriate for this time of year than Ghosts and Goblins!

Today I am going to talk about the phenomenon that is Tetris. Russian video game that everyone has played!

Today's show is all about the phenomonal puzzle game EVERYONE has played...TETRIS! Tetris was created in Soviet Russia by Alexey Pajitnov.

Yes there is so much intrigue behind getting Tetris outside of the USSR that they are making a film that will start streaming on Apple TV+ on March 31st!

Today I review the Secret Level Episode on Pacman.

"You have a limited offer you can use now, that gets you up to 48% off your first subscription or 20% off one time purchases with code RETROARCADE20  at checkout. You can claim it at: https://www.magicmind.com/RETROARCADE20 "

Today I am talking about board games from both the 80s and today that were inspired by the totally awesome arcade games of the 80s.

Today I talk about 3 ways to play arcade classics:
1. Buying something new and prebuilt.

2. Building something

3. Buying the actual machine

https://arcade1up.com/
https://www.atgames.net/arcades/

Today I talk about the notable releases and top selling games of the year 1980.

It started on mainframes but made a great move to the Arcade in 1983

Got a large amount of arcade memories from my friends at Living in the 80s and others. You're gunna like this!

Today I talk about two great gaming computers, the Apple IIc and the Atari 800XL. These are both influential systems in my life and part of the reason I am doing IT work today.

Apple II Floppy Emulator

https://www.bigmessowires.com/floppy-emu/

Lotharek SIO2SD Floppy Emulator

https://lotharek.pl/productdetail.php?id=58

Today I am talking about the top 5 iconic games of the 80s.  This is my current list and only MY list.  Yours may differ.

Today's show was inspired by a post by Rob Faught on the Living in the 80s Facebook Group on their favorite Atari Cartridges.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/livinginthe80sus

Call it copy protection or DRM. No doubts about it...it is killing our games.

Before we had games like Space Invaders we had electro mechanical games like Ride Motorcycle. These were games that did not have CPUs or CRTs but motors and lights. Today we talk about games like Motorcycle, Pinball and Varisty as well as the Tomy Classics Digital Derby, Baseball and Blip where were all electro mechanical games.

https://www.arcade-museum.com/Arcade/motorcycle

https://rctoymemories.com/2012/11/16/tomy-digital-derby-auto-raceway-1978/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blip_(console)

https://handheldmuseum.com/Tomy/Diamond.htm

Today we're talking about something which if they didn't exist would have extended the roll out of Video Games and that is the electronic handheld games from the likes of Mattel, Coleco, Tomy and Sears.  I also give an update on the 80s Arcade Studio and an update from Eran Feit from the Facebook Group.