, user name was Stu15, we used to talk about shit and games, it was great for the best part, but got to the point where video-game companies were really cracking down on Emulation Sites, so my mate Dave would've gotten into a bit of trouble, so the format had to change a little, and eventually it became just a forum, which slowly dropped in users, and Dave didn't want or have the time to deal with the site any more. So he handed it to my fellow admin, Chris, and eventually it was shut down, but popped back up at some point for a month...?
A selection of my stupid Signatures from the forum.
A couple of Signatures I made for other members.
The scene had changed, emulation was still alive, in fact it was easier to just find the ROMs that you wanted to, and you didn't have to be part of a forum community any more. It was less of a niche due to Sega releasing SEGA Megadrive Collections on all platforms so people could play the games on their current platforms. Hardware companies don't have the licence to stop other people making copies of their old machines, so handheld Sega's with built in games are released often, even retro-bit's 'Super Retro Trio' - a console that has Sega Genesis/Megadrive, SNES and NES hardware all built into one machine, and you can get a Gameboy advanced adaptor for it, plug it into the SNES port and play GBA games, All native hardware made by a third party. For $100. It's a shame it will never release in the UK.
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| retro-bits Super Retro Trio |
So, Smartphones came along and offered the same freedom of using emulators, with Android actually been a huge platform where you can plug a HDMI dongle into your TV and use a bluetooth controller to game on it, and because everyone is able to game with their friends in these social gaming networks like PSN, XBL, Steam and whatever that Nintendo thing is called, the majority of places for chatting are on YouTube, Game Sites, or Facebook groups, full of trolls and fan boys, finding a niche site for your gaming needs, might be hard but not impossible. Magazines still cater to Retro gaming, like Retro Gamer, and often EDGE features retro games, and websites report on anything retro-inspired or related! Diverse times we live in, where all your games can be played right where you are!
Moving along to HD remakes, they would release the games anyway, as before, but now the current hardware is better, they can put 6 months to a year into 'remastering' the game, making it high resolution and better textures, and whatever additional content they decide to add to it. Like Persona 4 Golden on the Vita.
And the other trend is for people to make games that are similar to the older games, like difficult platformers; Spelunky, Rayman Origins/Legends, McPixel.
There's also; Hotline Miami, Retro City Rampage, Luftrausers, Fez.
Pixel art is defiantly a big thing for a lot of these indie games, but some games like Rayman have the classic feel, but been a new, updated version of the old game... I wonder how long it'll be before a new Battletoads?
I too belonged to ButtonBASH forums! In fact, I remember a dude named Soylent Green that I want to shout out right now. Holler. I think I was Played92 or SilentM or DeeJayZee or something like that.
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