Featured Posts
Review of the GB Operator – By William Schwartz
What distinguishes handheld gaming in the modern era? Strictly speaking, most games today are handheld, as mobile games are played on phones. If you want classic games on that platform, you can probably find them. But Epilogue’s suspicion - borne out by the fact that...
Old School Gamer Magazine Exclusive: Inside RailGods of Hysterra
Old School Gamer chats with RailGods of Hysterra Troglobytes' Art Director Lucian Iurino, who discusses the game’s development, inspiration and goals for the future. About RailGods of Hysterra: RailGods of Hysterra, a cooperative base-building survival action game set...
A scorcher of a shooter!! Releases February 7th, 2025
MACROSS -Shooting Insight- is coming to Nintendo Switch, PS5 and PS4 on February 7 digitally Paris, France - 31st of January, 2025 – Red Art Games is announcing that the Western version of MACROSS -Shooting Insight- will now release on February 7, 2025 in North...
Non-Nintendo Handhelds – by Patrick Hickey, Jr.
Could you imagine gaming without handhelds? While that section of the market is still dominated by Nintendo today, that hasn’t always been the case. Way before the Nintendo Game Boy, there was a market for one-off handheld games made by Coleco and even Nintendo’s Game...
The VGHF Library opens in early access
For eight years, we've been building a world-class collection of game history materials. Now we're turning that into a research tool that anyone can use to study video game history. The Video Game History Foundation Library is the long-term home to our collections of...
Neo Geo Pocket – by John Michonski
The Neo Geo Pocket Color’s failure always seemed odd. Sure, it was up against the Game Boy, the certifiable big handheld in town for its entire existence, but how could such a well-made device with barely a single bad game only snatch a reported 2% of the handheld...
How Half-Life 2 Forever Changed the FPS Genre
After the release of Half-Life 2, the first-person shooter genre saw many changes, thanks in large part to this groundbreaking title from the masterminds at Valve.
Hacking the PSP – by Brian Lesyk
Psst! Hey, you! Yeah, you. Over here. I see you like PSPs. Wanna learn a secret? That thing can do so much more than you probably know, but, like, don't tell Sony I told you this, okay? Let's keep this between us, alright? This info ain't exactly street legal, ya...
Grinding: Mindless Filler, or A Different Kind of Fun?
With the appearance of the role-playing game on video consoles, a genre less about actual role-playing and more about navigating enemy dungeons via numbers rather than reflexes, we also saw the appearance of grinding. How grinding works is simple enough. If...
The PlayStation Portable – by Todd Friedman
The PlayStation Portable (PSP) is handheld game console developed by Sony. It was first announced at E3 in 2003 and shown to the public in ay of 2004. It was released in Japan on December 12, 2004, and in North America on March 24, 2005. The PSP primarily competed...
Intellivision Thunder Castle | Swords & Sorcery in an Ever-Changing Maze!
Thunder Castle is a 1986 maze video game for the Intellivision. The player controls a knight navigating three mazes, defeating enemies to progress. To defeat the enemies, the knight must interact with objects throughout the maze before interacting with them. The game...
The 20th Anniversary of the Nintendo DS – By Matthew Owen
In the early '00s, Nintendo was in dire need of a sales boost. For years, Sony had been dominating the market with the PlayStation and PlayStation 2, while Nintendo's own GameCube failed to meet expectations. Competition was getting more crowded in the console space...
Donkey Kong Country: RARE’s Gorilla Turns 30
Donkey Kong is an iconic Nintendo character with a storied history, transforming from villain to hero over the course of his existence. Though he made his menacing debut in arcades, Donkey Kong has since become a goofy character prime for comedic relief, so much so...
The Angry Video Game Nerd Returns in 8-Bit Glory
Pittsburgh, PA – Jan. 22, 2025 – Get ready to dive into the world of terrible games once again as Retroware and Mega Cat Studios announce The Angry Video Game Nerd 8-bit, coming to the NES and all modern platforms in Q2 2025. Heavily inspired by classic side-scrollers...
Handheld Electronic Games of the ’70’s – by Brett Weiss
The mid-to-late ‘70s saw the dawn of handheld electronic games and the beginning of my collecting something other than comic books. Console systems like the Fairchild Channel F and Atari 2600 launched in 1976 and 1977 respectively, but their high prices - $250 for an...
A Review of Inspector Waffles: Early Days
What first stands out about Inspector Waffles: Early Days is just how cute the idea is. Inspector Waffles is a PC detective game from 2021. While Inspector Waffles also has a retro visual design, it's more akin to early flash games on the PC in the early...
Something shocking coming from Stern Pinball….⚡
pin STERN PINBALL END USER LICENSE AGREEMENT This limited software license Agreement (“Agreement”) applies to your use of Stern Pinball Software pre-installed on a Stern Pinball Machine and any Authorized Updates made available to you. BY USING YOUR STERN PINBALL...
Is Dungeons and Dragons a Retro Video Game?
Last month, Amazon Prime's Secret Level adapted fifteen video games to short, animated films. Some of these could fairly be described as retro video games, though the bulk of them dated to the twenty-first century. But one of the odder ones of the full set, in...
Atari Gives End-of-Year 2024 Business Update
Company finishes 2024 with a slate of successful game releases; executes against retro-focused growth strategy NEW YORK, Jan. 17, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Atari® — one of the world's most iconic consumer brands and interactive entertainment producers — has today...
Stern Pinball Reveals Official Accessories for Godzilla 70th Anniversary Pinball Machine
This afternoon, Stern Pinball officially unveiled its new line of accessories for its Black & White Godzilla 70th Anniversary pinball machine. The line of products includes: Black & White Mothra Egg Shooter Knob King Gadorah Side Armor Black & White...
Box Boy’ Review: ‘LocoRoco’ meets ’Super Mario Land’
It’s crazy that this game has been out for over a decade and more people haven’t played it. Check out our retro review for yourself and see if you can get your hands on it. Hal Laboratory, the minds behind such iconic games the likes of “Kirby’s Dream Land, “The...
Think Quick Events Escape Room
"Through creative and whimsical game design and execution, Think Quick Events Escape Room strives to create memorable experiences for all players. Our games allow everyone to enjoy escape rooms, regardless of age, ability, experience or background, and break through...
Cancelled 35 Years Ago: P-47 II MD Returns with Retro-Bit!
PRE-ORDER HERE P-47 II MD is based on the 1988 arcade shooting game ‘P-47’, released by Jaleco. The game was secretly developed in 1990 under the title ‘P-47Ⅱ FREEDOM STAR’ as Jaleco's first entry into the MD platform. Although completed, its release was canceled due...
The Dukes of Hazzard
About This Episode Forty-five years ago, a southern action-adventure comedy set in rural Georgia hit the small screen. For seven seasons in the early ’80s, we followed the adventures of Bo & Luke Duke and their ’69 Dodge Charger. In this Backtrack, we look back on...
This Day In Video Game History
