Retro Gaming Australia

Nintendo eShop (Australia, Europe)

WiiU Virtual Console
Harvest Moon (SNES) – $AU10.40

Nintendo eShop (North America)

WiiU Virtual Console
Harvest Moon (SNES) – $US7.99

3DS Virtual Console
Kirby’s Dream Land 2 (Game Boy) – $US3.99

PlayStation Store (Australia, Europe)

New Releases
Superfrog HD – $AU9.40 (CrossBuy)

Discounts
PlayStation Festival / PlayStation Memories
Shin Megami Tensei: Persona (PSP) – $AU7.35 ($AU6.62 for PSPlus)
Persona 2: Innocent Sin (PSP) – $AU21.95 ($AU19.76 for PSPlus)
Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1 – $AU5.85 ($AU5.27 for PSPlus)
Retro City Rampage – $AU7.35
Resident Evil 4 HD – $AU14.45 ($AU13.01 for PSPlus)
Prince of Persia Trilogy HD – $AU14.45 for the three, $AU7.35 individually ($AU13.01 / $AU6.62 for PSPlus)
Beyond Good and Evil HD – $AU7.35 ($AU6.62 for PSPlus)
Rayman 3 HD – $AU7.35
ICO and Shadow of the Colossus HD – $AU18.25
Killzone HD – $AU11.05 ($AU9.95 for PSPlus)
Ratchet & Clank HD – $AU11.05 ($AU9.95 for PSPlus)

PlayStation Store (North America)

New Releases
Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly (PS2 Classics) (aka Project Zero 2) – $US9.99
PTO IV (PS2 Classics) – $US9.99

Steam
Quakecon Pack (74% off) – $US119.60, includes The Ultimate Doom, Doom II: Hell on Earth, Doom 3, Quake + all expansions, Quake II + all expansions, Commander Keen and numerous other id Software and Bethesda Softworks games.

Conker: Live and Reloaded is a fantastic remake of the late N64 era release Conker’s Bad Fur Day, but it wasn’t particularly well received at the time. The reason? People expected big things out of Microsoft’s purchase of Rare in 2002, and they got precisely two games on the original Xbox, the maligned Grabbed by the Ghoulies and a remake. It’s one of the best looking games on the Xbox by far.

Before Crash Team Racing was released, many saw it as a soulless cash-in on the success of Super Mario Kart. Opinions were quickly changed when Crash Team Racing actually turned out to be good. Quality multiplayer racing action combined with a solid and beefy single player mode made Crash Team Racing one of the most popular games on the original PlayStation.

Returning after another absence – fortunately the pickings this week are pretty frickin’ sweet.

Daze Before Christmas (Mega Drive)

HES Real Players Pack (NES)

HES Mindblower Pak (NES)

Golden Axe Warrior (Master System)

Shenmue II (Dreamcast)

Fatal Fury Special (SNES)

Metal Gear Solid Special Missions (PSX) – It’s new. Seller seems to think he’s got an MGS + Special Missions bundle, but it’s not in the pics

Super Mario Bros. DX (Game Boy Color)

F-Zero GX (GameCube)

NES Toploader w/ Tetris/World Cup/Super Mario Bros. 3-in-1

Sega Mega Drive II Street Fighter II Bundle

Atari’s assets have gone up on the auction block, and Stardock has scored the rights to Star Control.

Stardock CEO Brad Wardell elaborated on the company’s plans for the rights, stating that “We expect the new Star Control to come in the form of a reboot, similar to what Firaxis did with the XCOM series last year. We are looking at Star Control II as a major source of inspiration.”

Plans for re-releases of the previous games are somewhat limited – the rights Stardock acquired only relate to the naming of future games, as the rights to previous Star Control games lay with series co-creator Paul Reiche.

Japanese TV show Game Center CX, which features Japanese comedian Shinya Arino attempting to beat various video games, will be adapted into a feature length movie in 2014, in celebration of the series’ 10th anniversary.

A third game based on the series will also be released in 2014. There are no signs that it will be leaving Japan – the same fate suffered by the second game.

30 years ago today, two consoles were released in Japan; Sega’s SG-1000 and Nintendo’s Family Computer, or Famicom. Guess which one is getting the bulk of the attention?

If you answered Famicom, you are correct. Nintendo’s console took Japan by storm, and 3 years later revitalised a depressed console market in America as the Nintendo Entertainment System. The system would go on to bring us great games such as Super Mario Bros., The Legend of Zelda, Metroid, Castlevania and many more.

The impact of the SG-1000 should not be ignored, however. Sega’s first home console effort, while not the smashing success the Famicom was, did well enough to encourage the arcade giant to continue to pursue home console development. Without it, there would be no Master System, Mega Drive, Saturn or Dreamcast.

Happy birthday, you old consoles!

Transport Tycoon, one of the all-time classic management sims for the PC, will be headed to iOS and Android devices soon, according to a teaser trailer released today.

The PC version of Chris Sawyer’s legendary game has you building up your own transport company from something as small as a modest local bus route to a massive shipping concern. Whether the new version of the game will be cast in this mould or be updated into today’s preferred management simulation formula of microtransactions and social media hassling remains to be seen.

Expect to hear more soon.

Back from holiday induced hiatus! Tax returns are hitting this week, so watch out for cashed up nutballs bidding high on Mega Man games.

Mario Party (N64)

Shining Force II (Mega Drive)

Klonoa: Door to Phantomile (PlayStation)

Gargoyle's Quest II (NES)

Grand Theft Auto: Collector's Edition (PlayStation)

Pokemon Puzzle League (Nintendo 64)

Nintendo 64 Grape Purple Console

Nintendo 64 Jungle Green Console

Game Boy Color – Pokemon Special Edition (New)

Nintendo eShop (Australia, Europe)

WiiU Virtual Console
Metroid (NES) – $AU6.50
Kid Icarus (NES) – $AU6.50
Special deal: Buy Metroid, get 50% off Kid Icarus and vice-versa.

Nintendo eShop (North America)

WiiU Virtual Console
Metroid (NES) – $US4.99

3DS Virtual Console
Super Mario Bros. 2 (aka Super Mario Bros. USA) – $US4.99

PlayStation Store (Australia, Europe)

Discounts
#PlayStationMemories Sale – PS2 Classics week (add 10% off for PSPlus)

Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon – $AU7.35
Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter – $AU7.35
Cel Damage – $AU3.65
God Hand – $AU7.35
Maximo – $AU7.35
Maximo vs. Army of Zin – $AU7.35
Okami HD – $AU14.45
Metal Gear Solid 2 HD – $AU11.75
Metal Gear Solid 3 HD – $AU11.75
Zone of the Enders HD – $AU17.95
Neo Contra – $AU7.35
Deus Ex – $AU7.35
Twisted Metal Black – $AU5.85
Shinobi – $AU7.35

PlayStation Store (North America)

New Releases
Castle Shikigami 2 (PS2 Classics) – $US9.99

Discounts
Oddworld: Munch’s Oddysee HD – Free for PSPlus Subscribers
The Simpsons Arcade Game – $US6.99 ($US4.89 PSPlus)
X-Men – $US6.99 ($US4.89 PSPlus)
Hitman Trilogy HD – $US19.99 ($US15.99 PSPlus)
Prince Of Persia Classic Trilogy HD – $US15.99 ($US8.00 PSPlus)
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (PSVita) – $US14.99 (permanent reduction)
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater HD (PSVita) – $US14.99 (permanent reduction)
Metal Gear Solid HD Collection (PSVita) – $US29.99 (permanent reduction)
Retro City Rampage – $US4.99

Good Old Games

New Releases
Dracula Trilogy – $US9.99

Discounts
“Thank You, Atari!” Sale – 65% off Atari/Infogrames’ catalogue

Steam
Steam Summer Sale – ongoing until July 23, check your Steam client for daily deals, flash sales and community choice discounts.