Gamertell

Its always wonderful to see people coming together to help support a charity. The latest kudos goes out to GoNintendo and Ustream.TV, which are teaming up to create an eight hour “Best of NES” event to benefit Child’s Play. From 8am until 4pm EST on November 22, 2008, GoNintendo’s podcast crew and some others will all join together to play NES games over a live-stream.

So the podcasters and associates will be playing NES games (so far Castlevania, Punch-Out!! and Super Mario Bros. have been mentioned as possible titles) for charity. They’ll also be talking to the people who are watching them via GoNintendo’s Chat Room and there will also be some prizes given out. The goal of the event is to raise $1,000 for Child’s Play. GoNintendo will also be making an initial donation of $300 to the charity as well…

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If you’re a serious Legend of Zelda or Final Fantasy fan, well, if you’re a fan of any major series, you’d probably love to own a special version of a game. A new auction on Shop Goodwill that just started today (August 4, 2008) is ready to accomodate you. The Goodwill Industries of the Columbia-Willamette area in Oregon have listed a lot which contains special Nintendo Promotional Offer versions of the NES games Final Fantasy and Zelda II: The Adventure of Link.

As of 3:18pm CST today, there have been no bids, so the starting price is only $5. Both games come with their original boxes, sleeves and instruction books. Neither game was tested though, for $5 its worth the risk. The auction ends August 11, 2008.

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It turns out that all the way back in 1987,  a game for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) was tricking its unsuspecting users into exercise routines. Bandai’s Dance Aerobics is the spiritual predecessor to Nintendo’s Wii Fit and natural movement.

The game features a few modes of following an instructor’s robotic stomping pattern that you repeat on a Power Pad accessory…

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It’s a good week for Nintendo products at Shop Goodwill. A lot today which has just come up on the site includes a working NES with the original box and package in nearly perfect condition. If that wasn’t enough, the system also comes with an extra controller, a light gun, the original manuals and 48 games.

The item is from the Chattanooga Goodwill Industries, in Tennessee. It was originally listed for $4.00 this morning (June 26, 2008), but has since risen to $46.00 (2:29pm CST June 26, 2008). That still isn’t too bad - it’s not even a dollar a game. The auction ends July 7, 2008.

The games included according to the listing are as follows…

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I can’t wait for my copy of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots but I don’t want to say goodbye to elite agent Solid Snake, whom we’ve grown to love while following his adventures.

We pray that rumors of an end are not true and continue to pose theories about why the series could never end.  Even so, as a preemptive memorial to help cope with the denial that this may be the absolute last game for Snake, here is a look at the MGS franchise….

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I love when big companies do something to help out those less fortunate. Nintendo Canada was doing some spring cleaning and found a warehouse filled with old Nintendo, Super Nintendo, Game Boy, Game Boy Color and Virtual Boy paraphernalia (mainly games). So the division made an eBay account (nocl604) and decided to auction off all the items in 33 separate lots for the United Way.

If you’re suspicious, because it is a new eBay account and you figure anyone can go online and pretend to be from anywhere - you need to be a little more trusting. Plus the members of the NintendoAge forum did quite a bit of extensive research to make sure the sale was legit. Link at gameSniped.com even posts the complete message explaining the sale, left by a Nintendo representative at the NintendoAge forum.

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This week, the Virtual Console is receiving two retro-tastic titles (as per the usual). We have King’s Knight on the NES and Genesis sports mash-up Powerball in a rather low-key lineup. I’m still waiting for Majora’s Mask, but hey, to each their own. All VC titles are available on the Wii Shop channel, with a fresh batch arriving every Monday at 9 AM PST. Wii points can be purchased at a rate of $1 for 100 points. The new games bring the North American count to 212.

Click through for full descriptions…

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One of the coolest displays at CES 2008 displayed the awesome powers of the Retro Duo and Gen X consoles from Innex. Okay, cool for people who were born sometime in the 1980s. The two consoles are the thing of dreams for gamers who owned the original Nintendo, Super Nintendo, Sega Master System or Sega Genesis, and want a chance to relive those glorious days.

Each of the system focuses on one of the two major branches from the period that started in the late 1980s and ended in the middle of the 1990s. The Retro Duo handles Nintendo cartridges and the Gen X handles the one Sega Genesis and NES cartridges (Thanks Ron!). Both systems allegedly have full compatibility with all existing cartridges. Both systems also have top loading, like the last NES model, SNES and Genesis, which helps reduce the necessary cart blowing to make cartridges work.

Wired reports that the reason these systems are legal is that the patents the original systems had expired. Even so, I doubt the FBI and police are going to come knock on your door for buying a working machine to play games you already own. Already some of these consoles are popping up on eBay, so if you’re interested they’re worth a look.

“Editor’s Note: The article has been updated to note that the Gen X handles Genesis and NES cartridges.”

Read [Wired] Via [Kotaku] Product Page [eBay]

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Finally, a retail console that will play carts from more than one game system. Unfortunately for younger gamers - and fortunate for us lder gamers who horde their old carts - the Gen-X Dual System plays both 8-bit NES and 16-bit Genesis games.

The Gen-X has two top slots, one for each type of cartridge. I’m guessing it’ll play your original carts, which is nice if you are still blowing to get your games to play. (Much like shaking a Polaroid picture, that does not really work. If your games have troubles starting, you likely need a new data cable. Ask any game system repair tech).

Currently selling for…

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Now this is a hard core gamer. Anyone who will sit under the needle for hours to get full-color tattoos of their favorite games - especially those from many years ago - deserves plenty of respect.

The man sporting this lovely ink is Samuel Mullin with arm art created by Daniel Innes. Mullin plans to finish off the arm and get a matching sleeve on the other side with more groovy Nintendo-themed art:

Next month we’re starting a Zelda sleeve on my right arm (full length), then we’re going to come back to my left arm and fill the last 1/4 with some more Mario art. I’ve also been collecting art for a Metroid piece (probbaly [sic] on my chest)...but that is still a ways out!

Wear those sleeveless Ts with pride, m’friend.

Read [Samuel Mullin] Via [Gay Gamer]

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