ROM hacking, the act of modifying the "cartridge" data for a video game played in an emulator, has been covered before (and before). What you may not know is that intrepid hackers have been at work on more modern systems, producing a wide array of new takes on old classics. New worlds for Mario to explore (also, also, also). A new adventure for Link. Goldeneye levels that are a bit... different. A whole new universe of classes and challenges in Final Fantasy Tactics (gameplay). And HD texture packs for games that haven't aged as well as others. [more inside]
posted by codacorolla on Jul 19, 2011 - 23 comments

"It's a secret to everybody" -- an unbelievably comprehensive blog post about the etymologies of the names of famous (and not-so-famous) video game characters.
posted by empath on Jun 20, 2009 - 26 comments

Modern video game covers reimagined as Classic Books.
posted by ColdChef on Feb 4, 2009 - 30 comments

Sony Ordered to pay 90.1 million in damages, and immediately stop selling Playstation 2's that come with a dual shock controller. Why has this not been in the news?
posted by AMWKE on Mar 29, 2005 - 25 comments

Thinking of buying a PSP anytime soon? Before spending up to $400 for an imported unit, check this out: Engadget, among others, reports that the new PlayStation Portable will eject the currently-playing disc if the device is twisted a certain way. And if you don't believe it, see it for yourself (avi & mpeg, last link NSFNintendoDS).
posted by armage on Jan 13, 2005 - 30 comments

Sony is attempting to trademark the term "Shock and Awe" for a computer game. having scored a hit with its original PlayStation game, Conflict: Desert Storm. It is among a swarm of companies scrambling to commercially exploit the war in Iraq (which has killed thousands of civilians and soldiers on both sides).
posted by MintSauce on Apr 10, 2003 - 51 comments

2 hours of Playstation vs. 2 hours with a good Book If true, (big if given source) life as a parent just got more complicted. Maybe our children's toys really do need to be "smart" .
posted by Voyageman on Mar 19, 2002 - 43 comments

Hand-arm vibration syndrome may be associated with prolonged use of vibrating computer games. Prolonged in this case means seven hours per day, which seems to be "excessive and exceeds the manufacturer's recommendation." Methinks this is the least of his problems.
posted by gazingus on Feb 1, 2002 - 8 comments

Playstation 3 chip to be designed by IBM. The three companies (Sony, IBM, and Toshiba) aim to design a "super-computer on a chip" with a wide variety of consumer applications, they said in a joint statement.

"The result will be consumer devices that are more powerful than IBM's Deep Blue super-computer, operate at low power and access the broadband internet at ultra-high speeds," the statement added

Wowzers!
posted by zeoslap on Mar 12, 2001 - 22 comments

"That wasn't me, that was the guy before me!" This is like "A bear walked in the door and ate it" from a little kid... What scares me is that people are stupid enough to fax him pictures of their credit cards. Wait until they see their next bills!
posted by Steven Den Beste on Dec 3, 2000 - 0 comments

Now while these guys are not exactly the most unbiased source for an evaluation of the PlayStation 2, they have nonetheless backed up their evaluation with a lot of convincing hard information on the performance and in particular about the financing. If these guys have got it right, Sony's going to take a bath on this; they'll never come close to recouping their costs of production, let alone all the research they did. If these guys have it right, Sony will lose money on the PS2 as long as they sell it. This Is Not Good. (Unless you hate Rambus, like I do, because this means both of their markets will collapse.)
posted by Steven Den Beste on Oct 30, 2000 - 19 comments

How could Sony be low on cash when Target, Wal-Mart, Best Buy and Circuit City all have lines of people around the corner who have been waiting since yesterday morning? All waiting to get their very own PX2.

Think about this - approximately 500,000 of the units will sell today, at $300 a pop, plus numerous purchases of games in addition to the console. Let's estimate that each lucky customer will spend $400 (1 PX2, and 2 games per customer - a modest estimate). That's a one-day gross of $200,000,000.

My bet? Sony will not only turn itself around by the end of the day today, cause a major boom in US currency flow, but also cause a sharp decline in spending for the next month - people will be at home playing their new games, and will have little interest in going out to buy anything else!
posted by tatochip on Oct 26, 2000 - 31 comments

This has nothing to do with the web.. But in case you're like me and the time you spend away from your computer usually consists of drinking beer and/or playing on your neato video game system. You NEED Tony Hawk. the graphics on the DC version kick playstation's ass and its the perfect game to waste hours of time and lots of beers and to destroy your friend's ego.
posted by sikk on Jun 6, 2000 - 11 comments