Joystiq

Sonic CD coming to XBLA, playable at PAX [update]

Jordan Mallory — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 18:24:00 EST

Major Nelson, majordomo of all things Xbox, took to his blog this afternoon and posted a detailed list of all the games and events that will be spread out across Microsoft's five booths at this week's Penny Arcade Expo. It's about what you'd expect; Gears of War 3 Horde mode, Forza 4, Mass Effect 3, etc, until you get to the list of Booth 432's XBLA titles. Right near the end, snuggled squarely between Retro City Rampage and War of the Worlds, is an unannounced XBLA port of Sonic CD.

We've reached out to Major Nelson and Sega for comment, but as of yet no additional confirmation has been provided by either party. We suspect they're too enthralled by Sonic CD's masterful theme song to even move, let alone respond to our e mails.

Update: A communique has hit our inbox from Sega PR: "We don't have any details at this time, but we'll be sharing some more information soon."

Sonic CD coming to XBLA, playable at PAX [update] originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 22 Aug 2011 18:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Kojima on Snatcher: 'If anyone else would like to develop it, I would love it.'

Jordan Mallory — Sat, 16 Jul 2011 12:00:00 EST

During an interview with PlayStation Blog, Metal Gear mogul and transfarring technorati Hideo Kojima dropped a crucial truth-bomb about the future of Snatcher, his cyberpunk cult-classic.

With L.A. Noire's brain-bustingly successful existence as an adventure game, and with Deus Ex: Human Revolution bringing cyberpunk back into the limelight, Kojima was asked whether or not he thinks the world is ready for another Snatcher. "I would love to do something like Snatcher," he said, "but I do not have the time or the means to do so. But if anyone else would like to develop it, I would love it."

It's sad to hear that the series' progenitor won't be returning to Neo Kobe City anytime soon, but at least die-hard Snatcher fans (Snatchies, we call ourselves) can look forward to a radio drama based on the game. What do you think? Should Snatcher be handed off to another developer, or left as-is?

View Poll

Kojima on Snatcher: 'If anyone else would like to develop it, I would love it.' originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 16 Jul 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ben Heck builds a portable Sega CDX

David Hinkle — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 21:20:00 EST

Remember how when you were a kid, your parents would see you playing video games for hours and force you to go outside and "get some fresh air," whatever that meant? Remember how you would then sneak down into the sewers and pretend you were playing Sewer Shark? Remember that? Uh, you have no idea what we're talking about, do you? Great, now we look like a bunch of weirdos.

Now that our whole intro is shot, we'll get right to the point: Ben Heckendorn has used his Frankenstein-like ability to create new life from old, defunct consoles to make handheld console out of the Sega CDX, making the dream of subterranean Sewer Shark possible. As you can see in the image above, it's quite small -- the portable taps an old camcorder battery for power, a gutted Genesis pad for the controls and a four-inch LCD screen for the display. It's an impressive mod (as the majority of Ben Heck's work is), whose creation is documented in the video just past the break.

Continue reading Ben Heck builds a portable Sega CDX

Ben Heck builds a portable Sega CDX originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 08 Feb 2011 21:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Night Trap's original cover art for sale on eBay

JC Fletcher — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 09:31:00 EST

Have you ever dreamed of having the original cover art from a video game hanging on your wall? How about the original cover art from Digital Pictures' Sega CD vampire-hunting game, Night Trap? If so, passion burns and danger calls you to eBay where, for around $250 (the current bid), you can own the 15" by 25" painting used for the Sega CD box, retrieved from Sega of America's art department.

If you're not sure whether you want this real gaming history for yourself, mull it over while you watch Night Trap's party scene, after the break.

Continue reading Night Trap's original cover art for sale on eBay

Night Trap's original cover art for sale on eBay originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 20 Oct 2010 09:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Goozex now accepts SNES, Genesis and other retro game trades

Griffin McElroy — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 19:40:00 EST

The increasingly popular game-trading service Goozex is expanding its capabilities to encompass the game platforms of yesteryear. New to the site is an option to trade NES, SNES, Nintendo 64, Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Genesis, Sega CD, and Atari 2600 amongst the site's growing user base. Sadly, there's still no support for our precious Virtual Boy. Now we'll never be able to get our hands on that copy of Teleroboxer we've always dreamed of owning.

There's already a ton of games from each platform up for trading on Goozex right now. Like, good games. Not the nine pathetic copies of WCW Mayhem which comprise your local used games store's N64 selection.

Goozex now accepts SNES, Genesis and other retro game trades originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 31 Mar 2010 19:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lunar: Silver Star Story Harmony trailer turns back the clock

Mike Schramm — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 13:00:00 EST

The game once called "not just the best Sega CD RPG ever, but one of the best on any Sega system" has eventually moved to almost all of the systems, as Lunar: The Silver Star has been remade and re-released on the Sega Saturn, the PlayStation, the PC, and even the GBA. And now here it comes again on the PSP as Lunar: Silver Star Harmony. This time around, the graphics have been given a complete makeover, and cutscenes have been added in, along with new voicework and music as well. Although going by the video above, XSEED might not have even bothered -- the new anime style turns a console RPG relic into something that looks like Ranma ½.

But the gameplay is still there, and the story is a good one. Lunar: Silver Star Harmony should be out in stores on March 2nd, available both for $29.99 and as a limited edition for $39.99.

Gallery: Lunar: Silver Star Harmony

Lunar: Silver Star Story Harmony trailer turns back the clock originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 25 Feb 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Desert Bus for Hope raises more than $132,000 for Child's Play

Justin McElroy — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 13:00:00 EST

After five days and 16 hours of playing the world's most boring game, the Desert Bus for Hope crew has reached its final stop for the year, bringing in a staggering $132,392.94 to benefit the Child's Play charity. With the third iteration of its annual marathon play session of "Desert Bus" -- a mini-game from the unreleased Penn and Teller's Smoke and Mirrors -- comedy troupe LoadingReadyRun raised nearly $110,000 more than its first year. If you want to see just how brutal the experience was, you can try the game for yourself right here.

It's just the latest piece in a long line of evidence proving that a bunch of good-hearted gamers and Canadians with a brutal, masochistic streak can accomplish just about anything. Congrats, everybody.

Desert Bus for Hope raises more than $132,000 for Child's Play originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 27 Nov 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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PSP Go hacked and homebrew-enabled, becomes Sega CD Go

Griffin McElroy — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 19:30:00 EST

Some folks measure the length of time it takes for a new console to be hacked wide open by how long it takes to display a "Hello, World!" message. For us, that metric is determined by how long it takes to get a Sega CD emulator running on the system. For the PSP Go, that period of time has been finalized: 43 long, lonely, Night Trap-less days.

A YouTube video by "Neon" from "Team Typhoon" (is that some sort of gang?) appears to prove that on some PSP Go, somewhere in the world, one can play Sonic CD. Don't get your hopes up -- the video's annotations repeatedly promise that the hack will not be released to the general public, so for the time being, you're going to have to keep playing that old copy of Wirehead on your clunky, Voltron-esque home console. Still, our heart swells knowing that our wildest dreams are possible -- if not slightly out of reach.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]

Continue reading PSP Go hacked and homebrew-enabled, becomes Sega CD Go

PSP Go hacked and homebrew-enabled, becomes Sega CD Go originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 12 Nov 2009 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Amazing array of homebrew emulators released

JC Fletcher — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 12:45:00 EST

Filed under: News, Homebrew

Yesterday was a banner day for Wii homebrew. In addition to WiiPaint, a load of console emulators designed for Twilight Hacked Wiis were also unveiled, and DCEmu has rounded them up. They're all based on existing Gamecube-based emulators, but have been extended for the Wii to take advantage of features like the Classic Controller and the Wii's 480p output. Lopst's and RobertFC's ports of SNES9x even allow you to use the Wiimote! In case you always wondered what it would be like to have a really hard time playing an SNES game.

In addition to an SNES emulator, new PC Engine/Turbografx-16, Genesis (with Sega CD!), and Game Boy (which installs into a channel) emulators are now available.

Amazing array of homebrew emulators released originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 21 Apr 2008 12:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Snatcher Pilot Disk ported, fantastic

Eric Caoili — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 11:15:00 EST

Filed under: Homebrew

Fresh off its abridged port of visual novel Fate/Stay Night: Trial Edition, Multiple: Option has posted another homebrew adaptation of a text-heavy game, Snatcher Pilot Disk.

This release is based on the PC-Engine demo of Hideo Kojima and Konami's acclaimed adventure title, but uses still images from the Sega CD version. Though there isn't much players can do to deviate from the game's very linear progression, the cyberpunk plot and voice acting keep Snatcher Pilot DS interesting. For those of you who demand interactivity beyond selecting text options, there's also a fun bug-blasting segment towards the end.

Unfortunately, this "pilot" comprises only the first act of the full Snatcher game, taking players through the J.U.N.K.E.R. headquarters and factory scene (Multiple: Option does not plan to port the complete game). Still, it's an entertaining, 10-minute experience worth playing through.

[Via PAlib]

Snatcher Pilot Disk ported, fantastic originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 07 Mar 2008 11:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Selfless crazies play Desert Bus for charity

Scott Jon Siegel — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 21:01:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, Driving

The guys behind LoadingReadyRun have a very unique way of contributing to this year's Child's Play charity: they're playing one of the worst games of all time.

Desert Bus is one of several mini-games included in the never-officially-released Sega CD game Penn and Teller's Smoke and Mirrors. The Desert Bus mini-game challenges players to drive Penn and Teller's tour bus from Tuscon, Arizona to Las Vegas, Nevada... in real time... and at a maximum speed of 45 mph.

It's a task that takes 8 hours to complete, and earns players one point in the game. The task can be completed back and forth as many times as the players can stomach, each time earning one point. The LoadingReadyRun team has pledged that the more money they receive, the longer they will sit and endure this painful, painful game. Over $1,000 USD have already been donated, which guarantees the masochists at least 64 hours of play-time. To see just how crazy they are, check out the gameplay footage after the break.

[Thanks, Graham]

Continue reading Selfless crazies play Desert Bus for charity

Selfless crazies play Desert Bus for charity originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 22 Nov 2007 21:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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