VGJUNK looks at "Gonbee no I'm Sorry", a strange Japanese arcade maze game released in 1985 by Banpresto and Sega that mocked notoriously corrupt former Japanese Prime Minister Kakuei "Shogun of Darkness" Tanaka, who was convicted in 1983 of taking 1.8 million dollars from Lockheed Martin in exchange for letting them sell planes to the national airline.
posted by JHarris on Mar 24, 2012 - 14 comments

Here are fan-translated Game Center CX (previously) Episodes on YouTube: #1: Atlantis No Nazo, #2: Challenger, #3: Ghosts 'N Goblins, #4: Konami Wai Wai World, #5: Metroid, #6: Solomon's Key, #7 & #8: Prince of Persia: Part 1 - Part 2, #9: Mega Man II, #10: Super Mario 3. Much more after the break.... [more inside]
posted by JHarris on Dec 28, 2011 - 32 comments

Twenty years ago today, the gaming world saw the launch of a truly landmark title: Sonic the Hedgehog. Developed as a vehicle for a new Sega mascot, the fluid, vibrant, cheery-tuned wonderland swiftly became the company's flagship product, inspiring over the ensuing decades an increasingly convoluted universe of TV shows, comic books, and dozens of games on a variety of systems (all documented in this frighteningly comprehensive TVTropes portal). And while in recent years the series has turned out more and more mediocre 3D and RPG efforts, the original games remain crown jewels of the 16-bit era. So why not kick off this anniversary by replaying the titles that started it all for free in your browser: Sonic the Hedgehog (1991), Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (1992), Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (1994), Sonic & Knuckles (1994). Or click inside for music, remakes, and other fun stuff! [more inside]
posted by Rhaomi on Jun 23, 2011 - 71 comments

The Blue Sky In Games campaign is an old but still relevant call to embrace bright colors and happy themes in videogames. It's the opposite of the currently prevailing Real Is Brown style. Because of cheerful Sega games like Outrun and Afterburner, it is often referred to as 'Sega Blue Skies'.
posted by Lovecraft In Brooklyn on Apr 26, 2011 - 33 comments

Dead Games Tell No Tales Not every video game makes it to the store. Sometimes it's because a company is wary of unleashing a new character property on the world, but other times it's because the publisher overworked the game's development staff to the point of exhaustion. Occasionally a game heavily infringes on a more popular game, leading to a lawsuit. Worst of all is when company politics kills a promising project. Failing hardware never helped anybody either. On the other hand, sometimes there is no reason at all why finished video games are sent to the wastebasket instead of the retail shelf.
posted by Servo5678 on Aug 1, 2005 - 15 comments

EveryVideogame.com ... many retro videogames (arcade, nintendo, gameboy, sega) available for online play via a java applet.
posted by crunchland on Feb 24, 2005 - 20 comments

Chu-Chu! Banzai Shock On! It was Dreamcast game you were sick to death of hearing about, now it's the Shockwave game you can't quit playing. TSUBABABABA!
posted by lbergstr on Mar 23, 2000 - 0 comments