Great analysis!, in the NES mini case, the big N is benefiting from the community's work by using the ines format.

Sonic 25th Anniversary Party Swag Bag

This past July 22nd, 2016 SEGA celebrated the 25 years of Sonic the Hedgehog with an official party at the House of Blues during the San Diego Comic-con. Although I consider myself a big SEGA and Sonic fan, sadly I was unable to attend the party due to financial and scheduling reasons (mostly financial lol). For those who were able to attend, they were treated to special guests, exclusive 25th Anniversary merchandise and musical performances by Crush 40 and Hyper Potions.

Included in the swag bag are the following:

- Sonic the Hedgehog 25th Anniversary bag

- Sonic the Hedgehog 25th Anniversary coin

- Sonic the Hedgehog 25th Anniversary USB thumb stick

- Sonic: Mega Drive #1 variant comic

- Sonic the Hedgehog 25th Anniversary New Era Hat

- Sonic Plushie

- Totinos hat

Hope you guys enjoyed the share! Would love to know if any of you were able to attend the Sonic the Hedgehog 25th Anniversary party at SDCC. Feel free to share your love for SEGA, Sonic and any special moments from the event. As always, game on brothers and sisters!

PS2 component video and CRT

On my Slim PS2 everything works but PS1 games loaded via PSXLauncher (my imports for example). As I don't have a PS1 at the moment, using component with my PS2 will be a no go for me. The issue with PSXLauncher and using a component cable is that the colors are wrong and the image is too bright, it looks horrible.

The other thing is, unlike with the Xbox, I didn't notice much improvement over composite, so I'll just keep using composite.

Xbox and component 480i

This may be useful for some. I just found out how to make my original Xbox work with the component cable and my Toshiba CRT. The problem I had was, after the boot up sequence which displayed fine, I'd get diagonal video at the EvoX dashboard. That was because the XBox was throwing 480p video to a TV that only takes 480i.

It was as simple as launching the MS dashboard (my first option in EvoX) and going to the video settings. Just tell the Xbox you don't have a 480p or 720p capable display. The MS Dashboard displays video in 480i to keep thing compatible. After resetting the Xbox, Evox and everything else worked just fine. The 480p/720p/1080i options don't show up in settings unless the component cable is hooked up.

A huge improvement in video quality over composite. From what I've read if you're already using S-Video on a CRT you won't notice much improvement if you go the component route.

LG V10

I've had this device for two weeks and I absolutely love it. This replaces a personal Note 2 and my work S4. I can do without a replaceable battery but a removable SD is a must. Everything looks, well, big, but does not compromise in quality. The second screen notifications are a blessing, I dont get interrupted while composing an email, checking the calendar, working with the terminal emulator, relaxing watching the tube, etc

Everything works super fast, I can use it with one hand (I have big hands).

On the downside it is not "scene" friendly. Still with some work it can be rooted and Xpossed can be installed. Custom roms cannot be installed unless you posses the US T-Mobile version or the European H960A (except France). Given the unique qualities of this phone I wouldn't advice installing a custom rom anyways.

Battery life is great if you are on Android 5.1.1, with a fresh installation of Marshmallow the battery still drained quickly.

(re)Tinkering with the Wii

Lately I've been tinkering with my Nintendo Wii (you may have heard of it). In order to play newer stuff it is necessary to update some cIOS. 

Otherwise, at the very least you'll get a black screen, or if the game loads it may not be fully functional. I had this issue where Rodea the Sky Soldier would reboot all the way back to the system menu when I tried to change the in game language. And the voice would remain in english (bleajh).

At the very least cIOS 249 and 250 need to be updated with the d2x cIOS. Use the beta 53 if you want better usb support, use the beta 52 if you want better emunand support. This is how I allocated the cIOS: 

cios 247 base 37 

cios 248 base 38 

cios 249 base 56

cios 250 base 57

cios 251 base 58

Regarding cIOS 236, it seems it is no longer needed, still it doesn't hurt to (re)install it. Just make sure you use the "mod" or "pro pirate" version of the installer. If you use the regular one make sure to press "2" especially if your dvd drive is hosed.

Other things I did were update the homebrew channel from 1.1.0 to 1.1.2, install Boomii as IOS (no vulnerable "boot1"), install Priiloader and update USB Loader GX (especially for its superb Nintendont integration).

Selecting the cIOS 250 Rodea now allowed me to change the language, and other black screen games now load. 

All in all, the Wii is a great machine and homebrew development still seems to be going strong. It is my go to emulation machine for pretty much everything (but arcade). Component video is a delight on a CRT, almost as good as RGB.

Well, that's it for now.

Soft modding the vWii

Last night I decided to go ahead and soft mod my Wii U's "Wii mode". Main motivation to do this is to play emulators via the HDMI interface and see if input lag would improve, another reason was to try GC games using progressive scan.

The process is simple enough if you have the right tools. In my case I procured a copy of Smash Bros Brawl many moons ago to perform the Smash Stack on a relative's red Wii. I kept the game in case it was needed in the future.

The process is pretty much the same as with a regular Wii, 

- Start "Wii mode" 

- Delete any Smash saves

- Launch Smash

- Create a save

- Delete custom stages

- Go back to "Vault"

- Insert a regular SD card (< 2gb one) with the smash stack and the Hackmii installer

- Go to the stage builder, the Hackmii installer should begin

- Install the Hombrew channel as usual

I tried FCEU GX, I can even load roms from my NAS. Picture quality and lag improved by a lot compared to using my Wii with composite. Super Mario 3 and Tecmo Super Bowl were definitely playable.

Nintendon't worked like a charm using the SD card exclusively. Great picture quality at 480p, and flawless control with the Wii U Pro controller.

I couldn't get the external USB hard drive to work even using a "Y" cable. It seems the Wii U USB ports are utter garbage. The same drive works great on the Wii and using a regular cable. I'll test tonight with a powered enclosure and report back.

Another issue I found is that with certain homebrew apps (tested multimods, wad manager and the intellivision emulator) after the the app starts the Wii remote disconnects and it doesn't connect back, so it is impossible to use the app or get back out of it, so I have to unplug the console. Multimods screen saver kicks in so I know the console is not locked, just the remote is not syncing. I'll have to do some research.

Update 1: Just read some newer controllers maybe incompatible with certain apps. Last night I was using a Luigi edition remote with integrated motion plus. I'll test with an old regular regular remote and report back.

Update 2: Using a powered interface I solved my hard disk issues, homebrew can see the hard disk no problem. Using an old regular Wii remote solved my controller problems, that one works fine with all homebrew apps (Atari 2600 yay!).

Emulation nostalgia

I remember back in the late 90s (around 97 I think) I still had my Genesis and games around, until a friend told me about Genecyst. I got me a four button PC gamepad and sold my Genesis and games and saved for a PSX. I had the PSX for a few months and sold it to save for a Dreamcast. Since then I kept all my consoles. 

I'd say the golden age of emulation was the late 90's early 00's. You may think I'm crazy but lately I've been feeling nostalgic about those times, when I'd find a translated game or would discover a gem and fire up KGen or ZSnes and enjoyed it on my Celeron PC.

With the modded Xbox I never thought I'd go back to the original hardware, until the nostalgia bug bit me sometime in 08 and got me a Genesis. I have the carts I like and can afford, for everything else I use flash carts. 

For systems like the Saturn, the emulation never got to the level of PS1 so real hardware is the way to go. For systems like the PCE while they're emulated pretty well, I had some curiosity as to how things worked there.

It all boils down to your preferences and budget. Personally, nothing beats the real console hooked up via composite to a CRT, just like back in the day. While RGB may look nice on a PVM, I just don't see me going that route, I mean it's not what I had 20+ years ago.

Hobbies

Ok, so here are some of my hobbies:

1. Hiking / Hiking mountainous terrain
2. Sky diving (it's been some time but I'm always ready for some action)
3. Cooking
4. Photography. I may not have an expensive Nikon/Canon camera but that doesn't stop me form taking the most unusual pictures.
5. Play softball. Yeah I know no more baseball, the team atmosphere is what I like the most.
6. Writing. You know like this blog.
7. Reading. Last year I read 4 books. The most recent "Ensayo sobre la ceguera" (Blindness) from José Saramago.
8. Community service. It's so great being able to "give something back" to the community.

You filthy console

A few days ago I saw a listing for a broken XEGS console. I was interested in just the shell (I had a spare working motherboard laying around). I thought this would make for a quick restoration project so for the rough equivalent of $14 USD I got this:

It was filthy with capital F. I set the mobo apart and washed everything with a brush and laundry detergent, dried it with a towel then let it sit in the sun for a few mins.

I still wasn't too happy with it, it was a bright sunny day so I just decided to spray paint it. My options were Red, white, orange or gold. Here's the result:

As per the supposedly broken motherboard, I cleaned it up with compressed air then tested it. It worked fine with the internal Missile Command and a Pole Position cart so I decided to go with it.

Here's the end result:

(at least using composite connections) Everything works like a dream. This will be my go to console for cartridge based gaming. 

For any Atari 8 bit owner I strongly recommend getting the Atarimax cartridge, that thing kicks butt even if you use it only for gaming. Every game on .xex format is available at Atarionline.pl

Can you live 100% on emulation?

Short answer yes. I've done it before. Sometimes I even feel nostalgic about emulation. Around Aug 97 is when I first tried emulation with Nesticle and Genecyst. At the time I didn't have internet at home, part of the fun was to rent a PC after class, bring a box full of floppies, download and copy emus and roms, get home, unload everything, fiddle with the emus configurations and explore all these systems I didn't have "back in the day" or relive past glories. Thanks to emulation I got to relive the glories in the arcades from the comfort of my house and without spending tokens. I got to enjoy the best the Atari 2600 and SNES libraries had to offer (two consoles I didn't have). I discovered some of what the mythical Sega Saturn had to offer, etc. In 98 I sold my Genesis and games, in 99 I sold my PS1 (kept my NES in storage). From 99 to 08 it was 100% emulation for my pre 6th gen gaming.

Fast forward to 2008, I got nostalgic and bought me a Genesis and good amount of games. Later on I found myself getting more games for my NES and later on I was exploring other systems and definitely got back to getting and using real hardware.

Today, emulation still has its place, the Wii is a great emulation box pretty much for everything pre 5th gen. I got a pad converter and use it specially when I want to record some footage.

Using the real hardware helped me to better understand what was it like "back in the day" using these consoles and computers. Consoles like the Saturn and the PC Engine were great to own if you had access to japanese releases. A device like the XEGS was a good value if you needed a PC that got the work done and let you chill out at the same time. 

As per PC goes, packages like Virtualbox, VMWare and Dosbox are neat but don't quite replicate the experience. One of my recent projects has been assembling a PC like the one I had back in 2000. I didn't realize I forgot so many things about getting Win98 to play along with productivity software and games. And I'm gonna leave it there for now.

The Atari XEGS

It was the year 1986. The Nintendo Entertainment System proved there was money to be made in the videogame industry and companies like Sega and Atari wanted a piece of the pie. Sega released its Master System and Atari would re-release the 7800 and the 2600 with plans to repackage their 65XE computer into a sort of hybrid entry computer / advanced game system. 

In 1987 Atari Corporation released the Atari XEGS. It came in two retail configurations: 

Basic set: Game console with Missile Command built in and a matching gray CX-40 joystick.

Deluxe Set: Basic set plus keyboard (with Atari Basic built in), Flight Simulator II cartridge, XG-1 light gun and Bug Hunt cartridge.

As stated before, it was a repackaged 65XE computer which in turn was a redesigned 600XL which in turn was an update of the Atari 400/800 line. The 8-bit line began in 1979, so it was pretty dated technology for the time.

There were some advantages though, for the somewhat low price of $199 USD you had an entry level computer which could play games. It was fully compatible with the existing Atari 8 bit software and peripherals. 

So you could expand it with tape and disk drives, attach a printer and get some work done while being able to chill out and play some good games from the early 80s. 

Software was made during the XEGS era which in turn would work with other 8 bit computers granted they met ram requirements.

In terms of gaming it was what the 5200 should have been but nothing impressive compared to competing systems like the NES and the Master System.

Atari XEGS specs:

CPU: MOS Technology 6502B @ 1.78 Mhz

RAM: 64kb

Colors: 16 On screen out of a 256 palette

Video output: Composite and RF

Audio output: Mono RCA and RF

On future articles I'll cover some its games and accesories, until then.

The X68000

We know or may have heard about the Atari ST and the Commodore Amiga, those computers which brought the 16 bits home (or someone else's ;-D). But you probably haven't heard about the X68000, a japanese computer fromt he same generation as the ST and the Amiga, of which about 120,000 units were only sold in Japan, because Sharp only sold it there.

Let's get to know the "machine". It was a computer created and sold by the japanese company Sharp y it was released to the market aroung 1985 (quite a while indeed). For its time it was quite an impressive machine with an even more impressive software catalog.

It had its own OS (operating system), developed by Hudson Soft (a great software company during the 80s and 90s) in four flavors: HumanOS (similar to MSDOS), another one similar to Atari TOS (Human68k, other version was similar to the Unix X-Window (KO-Windows) y the fourth one was like the Amiga Workbench. Everything off course in perfect japanese... ;-D

Regarding software, well, the catalog was quite extensive with hundreds of games and applications. The games where not quite unknown. Games and Arcades like Ghouls and Ghosts, Final Fight, Bubble Bobble, Bomberman, Cotton, Street Fighter II, Salamander, Twinbee, etc were masterly taken to this computer.

These are the overall basic specs for the X68000. During the years Sharp did some revisions like replacing the SASI controller for a SCSI controller or moving form 5.25" to 3.5" floppies.

some of the X68000 Tech Specs:

CPU: MC68000 at 10 Mhz produced by Hitachi with license from Motorola

RAM: 1-2 Megabytes

Graphic modes: 768x512, 512x512, 256x256 all with 65.535 colors

VRAM: 512 Kb

Sprites ram: 32 Kb (16x16 pixels)

Tranparencies

Sound: Yamaha with FM (synthesis)

For storage, (initially) there were two 5.25" 1.2MB floppy drives. The file system was compatible with MS-DOS. It cam with option of connecting an internal SASI or (later) SCSI hard disk. A unit with an SCSI is more desirable since SASI sisn't gain traction on the market.

An unknown computer, with impressive specs and great arcade conversions. It is never too late to get to know it, thanks to the magic of emulation.

You know what's BS? Motherboard gouging

Yes, exactly that, motherboard gouging. 

During the past few decades, a lot of PCs ended in landfills, so I can understand complete working branded 286/386/486 PCs are now commanding high prices. Maybe even not so old PCs are now commanding high prices. Still, we are talking about complete or somewhat complete PCs.

But crappy old motherboards? you know, the cheap ones (Biostar, PC Chips, ECS, Soyo, etc) made in the millions, that allowed you to assemble inexpensive desktop PCs about a decade ago.

Take a look at this one for example:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ISA-Slot-Motherboard-1-3ghz-CPU-1gb-RAM-M7VKQ-Socket-A-Works-perfectly-/291344647299?pt=Motherboards&hash=item43d57e8483

Sometime in 2003 I bought one of these to make a cheap computer, so I know it. This was not state of the art or anything memorable back then, however someone thinks it is some kind of museum highly collectible piece. Go figure.

These things should be free or nominal cost so they don't end up on a landfill. 

CPUs like Socket 370s PIII and Celerons, PC66/100/133 ram chips are also beginning to command high prices. It is just getting ridiculous. 

2014 anniversaries

2014 was filled with memorable anniversaries. On the top of my head:



Ride the Lightning (1984)
Powerslave (1984)
Sonic 3 (1994)
Sonic & Knuckles (1994)
Megadeth's Youthanasia (1994)
Korn's first album Korn (1994)
The Sega Saturn was released in Japan (1994)
The Sony Playstation was released in Japan (1994)

The recent Sonic games 06 - to date

My own perspective on some of the most recent Sonic games.

Sonic 2006. I got it in November 06, (originally, the reason why I got the X360) and my God, it was awful. Basically the game is glitched and has very long loading times (not even PS1/SAT games had those loading times). The story, don't get me started...

Sonic and the secret rings. Just unplayable. I understand Sega was experimenting with the motion controllers but they should have included a regular controller option.

Sonic and the Black Knight. Another Wii sword game. A meh kinda game. If you wanna end up with a sore arm, go ahead.

Sonic Unleashed. I got the X360 version. I like you can pick the japanese language with subtitles. It's like having two games in one. The hedgehog stages are nicely executed, the werehog stages make you think, the button mashing can be relaxing. Give it a shot, although not on the priority list.

Sonic Colors. This is a highly underrated game (maybe because of its name and because it was a Wii exclusive). It is a shame they didn't make it for the HD consoles. Great gameplay, well inspired stages, great atmosphere overall,  multiple control choices.

Sonic Generations. Just get it.

Sonic Lost World. It's ok. Feels a bit awkward to control but you get used to it. Regarding perspective and cameras, somehow it is what Sonic X-Treme may have been. Not bad, considering the anemic selection on the Wii U this is one to get for the system.

Saturn Memories

Back then, in this part of the planet the Saturn pretty much went unnoticed (it was PSX and N64). It wasn't until the late 90's when I read about it (and got interested in the machine) and it wasn't until sometime in the early 00's when I got to experience some its games thanks to emulation.

Time went by and about 5 years ago I picked up a real Saturn and truly appreciated the system. Just like with the PCE, on the JP side of things, there are plenty of great games, but in my opinion the machine's specialty are Fighting and Shooters.

Some of my favorite games include Vampire Savior, Sega Rally, Daytona, Saturn Bomberman, Guardian Heroes, Sonic 3D (yes, seriously), Sonic R (yes, also that one), Thunder Force V, Radiant, Dracula X, etc

Continuing with the unthinkable

Recently I got a few more games for my recently acquired PS3. I got them form Play Asia.

I've been playing a lot of Initial D lately. It may not be the most acurate or visual appealing racing game ever but I certainly like it, it's been fun.

Pachi para 16 is a pachinko game. I admit I haven't even unwrapped it. I'll get to it soon.

Last night I just fired up "The Last of Us". So far it is one of the best games I ever played, not only on the PS3 but on any console. (If you don't already own one) I highly recommend getting a PS3 to play this an other exclusives.

I thought it was one of those highly overrated. You know, when a product gets high praise form the critics, the so called journalists and gets multiple prices I tend to be a bit exceptical (just a little bit). However, regular users comments and the low price convinced me of giving it a shot.

It's been a while since I had this feeling of, "I can't wait to get home to keep playing".

Regarding the PS4 sales

These days a lot more people buy stuff just because they can. Even with the recent recessions consumerism seems to be at its highest.

What happened with Wii on the past gen is understandable. It was the toy to have. The trend was over and these toys ended up collecting dust, without consuming content.

PS4 is a promising platform, but it's not the time to go get one. No at it's current price point, nor with its current (exclusive) catalog.

As per the other functions, these can be done with other devices, including the (almighty) PC.

Just recently I got me a PS3. With the exclusives released so far there is fun to be had for a while.

Heck, the PS2 has a lot (and I mean a lot) of gems waiting to be discovered.

I did the unthinkable

Yesterday I did the unthinkable. I got a PS3 game. Don't take me wrong, I have nothing against the Playstation brand, I have a PS2 and I love playing PS1 and PS2 games.

Back in 06 I decided to go with the X360 because of the great experience I had with the original Xbox and also because of availability. Down the road I didn't decide on a PS3 mainly because most games were available on both platforms.

Well, reason I decided to get this particular PS3 game (2014 World Cup) was because I couldn't find it for X360.

Also, at this point in time (2014) there are a number of PS3 exclusives I'm interested in playing:

- Gran Turismo 5

- Gran Turismo 6

- Initial D

- Los juegos de Saint Seiya
- Playstation Battle Royale (o como se llame el clon del Smash Bros)

- Metal Gear Solid 4 (igual convendria conseguir la legacy collection)

- Ridge Racer 7

- Little big planet

- Twisted metal

- Motostorm

To name a few. Through history PS3 consoles don't seem to fail as much as the X360, so I'm not sure what model to get. PS2 backwards compatiblity is not an issue since I have a PS2. I guess as long as it is close to a 100 bucks it'll be fine.