January 8, 2016 – 2015 Year In Review (Part 1)

Posted on January 8, 2016 by Mike "The Legend"

Greetings friends, and welcome to 2016! We here at The Arcade are getting back in the swing of things after an enjoyable holiday break. This week, we’ll take a look back at some of the bigger stories that played out last year for part one of our 2015 Year In Review.

The Big Topics of 2015:

Nintendo: Steady Newsmaker of the Year
What The Hell Is Going On With Konami?
2015: The Year eSports/ Playing Games Starts To Become Legitimate In North America
Virtual Reality: The New Must-Have Accessory In Gaming
The High’s & Low’s Of Crowdfunding In 2015

Dennis’ Nickname:

The Weary Wasteland Wanderer

Blast From The Past:

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November 20, 2015

Posted on November 20, 2015 by Mike "The Legend"

Ludicrous Leadoffs:

Diamond-Studded Master Chief Helmet Sells For $34,000
(watch a video of its making here)
Pornhub Claims Fallout 4 Release Caused Dip In Site Traffic

News Of The Week:

Female Link Character Being Added To Hyrule Warriors As DLC
Star Fox Zero Gets A New Release Date
(watch the new trailer here)
Nintendo Announces Twilight Princess HD
Next Wave Of amiibo Figures Announced, Coming In January
Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam Given A Release Date
Nintendo Bringing Mother 3 To Virtual Console In Japan
Nominations For The 2015 Game Awards Released
Minecraft Teaming Up With Code.org
(watch an explanation trailer here)

Dennis’ Nickname:

The man who DOES remember Troy McClure from such films as: P is for Psycho, Firecrackers: The Silent Killer, Phoney Fire Alarms Reduce Readiness, Let’s Save Tony Orlando’s House and Buck Henderson: Union Buster

Blast From The Past:

Also Worth A Look:

Hi, I’m Troy McClure from Chris Coleman on Vimeo.

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October 16, 2015 – NES 30th Anniversary Special

Posted on October 16, 2015 by Mike "The Legend"

Friends, we’re using this week’s show to celebrate an important milestone in the history of modern video gaming: the 30th anniversary of the Nintendo Entertainment System releasing in North America! To celebrate, we interviewed some really smart people to discuss the NES, its history, and some interesting information you might not have known about the machine itself.

Jeff Ryan, author of Super Mario: How Nintendo Conquered America, (which is available for purchase here), discussed the legacy of the NES and Super Mario Bros.
Blake J. Harris, author of the book Console Wars, (which is available for purchase here), spoke with us about Nintendo of America and the people involved with helping to bring the console to North American homes in 1985.
Nathan Altice, author of I AM ERROR, (which is available for purchase here), shed some light about the actual hardware of the NES, and what went in to making it work.

Dennis’ Nickname:

The man who wonders who died and put the librarians of the Chicago Public Library in charge of replacing the traditional anniversary gifts.

Blast From The Past

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October 2, 2015

Posted on October 2, 2015 by Mike "The Legend"

Ludicrous Leadoff:

Pokémon Co. Selling Pokemon Butt Merchandise In Japan
(if you can read Japanese, visit the official site here)

News Of The Week:

TBS Adding eSports Competition To Weekly Schedule
FanDuel Also Adds eSports To Fantasy Sports Lineup
Mighty No. 9 Gets A New Release Date
Nintendo Moves New Mario Tennis To November 20th, Replacing Star Fox Zero
(watch a new trailer here)
Microsoft Makes Project Spark Totally Free, Cancels Conker DLC
Telltale Games Re-Releasing Back to the Future: The Game This October
(watch the announcement trailer here)

Dennis’ Nickname:

The man who inexplicably wants to remind you of Téléfrançais

Blast From The Past:

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September 25, 2015

Posted on September 25, 2015 by Mike "The Legend"

Ludicrous Leadoffs:

DARPA Develops Prosthetic Giving Paralyzed Man Sense Of Touch
(read the original research paper here)
Rare Japanese Sonic Arcade Game Discovered, Dumped Online
(watch a gameplay video of it here)

News Of The Week:

Konami To Cease Production On Triple-A Console Games
Nintendo Delays Star Fox Zero Until Early 2016
DraftKings Adding eSports Fantasy Betting To Offerings
(visit the official site here, and watch the announcement video here)
System Shock Gets Enhanced Re-release On 21st Anniversary
Rock Band 4 Pre-Orders Get You “Weird Al” Yankovic, BABYMETAL Songs

Dennis’ Nickname:

The man who is consistently impressed when revisiting Futurama

Blast From The Past:

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September 18, 2015

Posted on September 18, 2015 by Mike "The Legend"

Ludicrous Leadoffs:

Japanese University Develops Robot Perfect At Rock-Paper-Scissors
(read their research paper here, or watch a demonstration video here)
Commercial Pitchman For Rock Band 4 Hails From Winnipeg, MB
(watch his video debut here, or find him on Twitter here)

News Of The Week:

Nintendo Names A New Company President
(read the official press release here, and some analyst reaction here)
Pokémon Go Announced For Mobile Devices
(watch the announcement trailer here)
LEGO Dimensions Voice Cast Announced
(watch the reveal trailer here)
Sony Reveals New Name For Project Morpheus, PlayStation VR

Dennis’ Nickname:

The man who is glad to see that jerks have not let him down with their sadistic Super Mario Maker levels.

Blast From The Past:

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September 11, 2015

Posted on September 11, 2015 by Mike "The Legend"

Ludicrous Leadoffs:

Scientists Calculate Food Energy Required For Fellowship To Walk To Mordor
(read the research paper here)
PewDiePie Becomes First YouTube Creator To Reach 10 Billion Views

News Of The Week:

Dennis’ Nickname:

The man who can’t wait to see the sadistic levels jerks will come up with in Super Mario Maker

Blast From The Past:

Pinky and the Brain (TV Series / Sept. 9, 1995 – Nov. 14, 1998)
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (TV Series / Sept. 10, 1990 – May 20, 1996)
Captain Planet and the Planeteers (TV Series / Sept. 15, 1990 – May 11, 1996)
(for a dose of 1990’s web design, visit the old Captain Planet site here)

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June 19, 2015 – E3 Wrap-up (Part 1)

Posted on June 19, 2015 by Mike "The Legend"

Friends, this week is part one of our E3 wrap-up, and we’ll give you a rundown of the big news coming from the E3 press conferences for Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo!

News of the Week:

Dennis’ Nickname:

The man who doesn’t appreciate it when E3 makes him feel old.

Blasts From The Past: