Pete Skerritt

31 years ago today, after weeks of waiting (and paying it off), I picked up my pre-ordered Sony PlayStation from Electronics Boutique in Holyoke, MA. In 2015, for the 20th anniversary of the launch, I began building a library of original PlayStation games. It remains one of my favorite consoles.

One of the neat things about working in a school is that I get home at 3:30pm, like I did in elementary school. Instead of watching cartoons from 3:30 - 5:30, like I did, I play video games instead. Although, I sometimes did play some Atari 2600 games on those afternoons at my grandparents' house.

The inclusion of Van Halen's "Unchained" on the game's soundtrack meant that track got played a BUNCH. As for the game itself? It's okay. Shaba Games always had a good feel for "extreme" games, and having that team in the Activision/O2 group just made sense. I still prefer Grind Session, though.

While I'm very much not a fan of openworlditis, Underground makes it a tiny bit more palatable with an interesting narrative approach-- making the player the main character. It's an approach that I liked in the Underground/Sk8Land games. Unfortunately, Activision kinda ran this series dry.

Fatal GEXtinct

Don't tease me, Capcom. A console game compilation would be amazing. Capcom Console Arena? Capcom Mega Museum? Oh, the possibilities.

For a very, very narrow window of time, Dreamcast was *THE* place for arcade games at home. Midway's early support (NFL Blitz 2000, NBA Showtime, Hydro Thunder) and SEGA's Crazy Taxi and Virtua Tennis led the charge. I never felt like there was a crazy wide gap between the coin-ops and the DC ports.

Vs VIII for Switch 2. THERE we go. February 2027? Awww… well, I can wait.

Monday mail call! The sealed Vegas Stakes for Super NES is probably the most notable of this quartet, though it’s far from uncommon. Tomb Raider II Greatest Hits is a variant I needed, and Street Sk8er 2 is a better-condition upgrade.

Okay... and? It's not like anything is going to happen to the King, and there's tens of millions of Americans who really don't care about this because their guy is Teflon. I know people keep hoping for a "gotcha" to change the narrative, but America is wayyyy too far gone.

"Fools and their money are quickly parted."

I keep trying to warn y’all. Don’t waste your time. You’re worth more than this. There are other avenues for your talents— let the video game industry crash and burn, as it deserves. Please don’t be a statistic.

River Raid is *still* so, so good. It looks simple, and it is... at first. But it's got that arcade magic to it, where it gradually gets harder and relies on a variety of player-learned skills to get further and score more points.

They're clearly in the Bargaining Stage of Grief for market implosion. Depression is next up.

Love seeing Fighting Force getting the cover. From getting to play the demo via the Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine on, I've always had a soft spot for this game-- imperfect as it is. Also seen here are key 1997 releases in EXACT's Ghost in the Shell and some game called Final Fantasy VII.

On October 26th, 2000... I was not yet sold on the PlayStation 2. After going all-in on Dreamcast just 13 months earlier, it wasn't feasible to drop more money on another new console. Three months later, Dreamcast was given its death sentence and I traded everything Dreamcast I owned toward PS2.

Yes, it's true. I created a new Xbox account for gameplay. Why? Hopefully this explains things a bit.

The leap from Tekken games on the original PlayStation to this was insane. It wasn't just polygonal characters anymore-- these fighters looked a lot more realistic. The stages looked better and more detailed. The soundtrack will always occupy a place in my head. Bangers through and through.

HAWT CAWFEEEEE

Utah fan to the Dumbass:

Here's a bit about my experience with Street Fighter II... Back in the Day.

An interview with Shigeru Miyamoto from the February 1990 issue of Nintendo Power. Apparently he’s working on Super Mario Brothers 4 and Legend of Zelda 3… #Nintendo #NintendoPower #Miyamoto #SuperMarioBros #RetroGaming ☀️🌴

Just End The Season

Christians chumming around with the Antichrist himself probably isn’t a good look, but they are as guilty of politics over people as elected officials are. If there’s in fact a Sky Daddy, I’d guess it’s probably not thrilled about this.

I still have a sealed copy of this game, after thinning out a lot of my PS2 collection. I should open & play it at some point, but I say that with all of my sealed stuff. Always a question of time.

DEE DEE TEE

ESPN missed a golden opportunity by not having a Ratatouille altcast for this football game.

61°F in here. I still refuse to turn the heat on until at least November 1st, so… layers it is.

It is the month for horror, after all.

Chuckie Finster is a treasure.

Yes, please. All of them.

Love these Console Heroes dioramas. This is my second (to go with a Twisted Metal 2 one I got a few months ago).

Capcpom got hacked:

I grew up in an era where I needed to go somewhere specific to play my favorite video games, like arcades, restaurants, or bowling alleys. Since then, I can play many of these same games in the privacy of my own home— or even on the go. I don’t take this for granted.

I *really* want to reminisce about Street Fighter II and its place in my life as a video game player, but it's too long to thread here and I don't have the time to write about it as I should right now. I know that my fellow elderly video game fans have their own stories, many of which may overlap.

Just posted! "How Game Collecting’s Past Can Predict Its Future." How does a video game become a collectible? What's going to happen to all those limited editions? Where's the line between Sophisticated Physical Media Owner and Weirdo? WATCH: www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkIv...

I'm in the tiny minority who prefers the original game, but NBA Street Vol. 2 did add some style and attitude, along with a lot more content. I wouldn't call it a "JAM-killer", but rather a game that builds on a lot of Mark Turmell & company's early 1990s ideas.

5.5 hours later… the clock is still doing its thing. I’m thinking the motor will give out by the end of the day.

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