A cool history of video game consoles:

20XD6?!

But seriously… I wanted to follow up Zoyx’s wonderful post about the Halo homebrew for the Atari 2600. There are a number of awesome homebrew games at Atariage many of which will be available when the store re-opens in September.

Lucky for the members of Atari-Age, Albert has returned from CGE in Las Vegas with a few leftovers. Among them is the completed version of the Atari 2600 prototype: Sega’s Turbo. This game was slated as a release for the Atari 2600, advertised and the programming was even believed to be about 80% completed.

If you visit http://www.atariprotos.com/, you’ll see the two photos of the original cartridge I’ve featured here for convenience. You’ll also get a thorough understanding of how nearly complete this game was before it was scrapped.

Well, the good folks over at AtariAge decided to complete the game.  Not only did they complete it, but they enhanced the graphics, included a menu option to play the original prototype and created all-new Coleco style packaging for the release.  The image above and to the right is the marketing mock-up that was believed to be the way the final cart would have looked. Look at the attention to detail in the reproduction of that cartridge:

I picked up a copy.   So at the next retro-gaming party this fall, I should be able to bring it and let people give it a try.  I also picked up another AtariAge homebrew of a classic Arcade game we’ve all come to respect at the last few retro-gaming gigs:

The Classic Gaming Expo 2010 is coming up at the end of this month and will be held at the Tropicana hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada.

http://www.cgexpo.com/register.htm

Anyone interested in a weekend Vega$ trip with some classic gaming involved? Airline tickets are probably very cheap this time of year.

I don’t recall ever having seen one of these, but it is ultra-cool. On eBay right now (approaching the $2800+ bid mark as I type) is a minty fresh Joust Pinball machine. They only ever made 402 of these machines and this one has been given some love and put out for auction.

I really can’t say much more than that except that the video they included in the auction really shows you what an awesome concept Joust Pinball is:

I’ll be keeping an eye on this one. I wouldn’t be surprised if this thing went for 10K.

I was browsing for a bartending guide for the iPad and stumbled upon Barman HD for the iPad. The app is $1.99 and closely resembles the popular 80s arcade game: Tapper.

Description:

Barman, the bartender superhero has finally arrived to your iPad, featuring the funniest cartoon graphics and 20 levels with increasing difficulty, providing many hours of gameplay and great fun. From business man to aliens, from punks to cowboys, knights and secretaries, everybody wants a cold glass of beer, and our Barman superhero is destined to satisfy everybody’s thirst, as far as your reflexes and skills can hold on.

Screenshots:

This app has no reviews. I haven’t yet downloaded it because… well, I’m not really interested in paying someone for a knock off… and I have tapper at home. Apple’s site says you must be at least 17 years old to download this game as it references frequent/Intense Alcohol, Tobacco, or Drug Use.