jdodson | Cheerful Ghost

Mega Man 2 & Mega Man X Get A New Limited Run Cart Release!

I should have posted this at the top of the month but somehow this news big got buried. That said, iam8bit and Capcom are partnering up to release two new repro collector carts for Mega Man 2 and Mega Man X for $100 each. I imagine a lot of Mega Man fans are pretty excited to get a new pressing of Mega Man and since these carts are in limited quantities what more could a collector want?

"Capcom and iam8bit are kicking off “Mega May” with the announcement of two nostalgic Mega Man collectibles: the Mega Man 2 - 30th Anniversary Classic Cartridge and Mega Man X - 30th Anniversary Classic Cartridge. These brand new, limited edition reproductions are now available for pre-order on iam8bit.com for $100 each. Units are expected to ship late September 2018.

Each game is a Limited Edition of 8,500 units. Each cartridge comes in one of two available colors: Opaque Light Blue (7,500 units total per game) and Translucent, Glow-in-the-Dark Blue (1,000 units total per game). Cartridge colorways are randomly inserted into sealed, unmarked boxes so each package is a surprise."

https://store.iam8bit.com/collections/mega-man-cartridge-collection

Will Sony Make a PS4 "Switch" Console Hybrid?

After the Switch dropped and it was obvious that is was really popular I started thinking that Sony, Microsoft and even Valve might want to get into dedicated mobile gaming handheld market. With everyone having handy access to very powerful smartphones the market could get crowded but one thing Nintendo showed me that if you do something right, people will buy it. I'm not gonna lie, I've wanted a dedicated PC gaming handheld for a while and would love it if Valve made one. That all said the people over a Digital Foundry made a video recently wondering if Sony would make the Switch equivalent for the PS4. The long story seems to be no and if they did it would just be a sequel to the Vita. A Vita successor might be awesome and worth a release but the value of the Switch is that it's the current Nintendo console and a handheld, which is harder to do with the PS4 or XBox One mostly due to power constraints giving Nintendo a huge advantage.

"Is Switch truly one of a kind, or could Sony - and indeed Microsoft - create their own console hybrids? Rich explains why it's actually more likely that Switch could step up to challenge those consoles rather than the other way around."

The NES Classic Returns June 29th!

Nintendo is finally bringing back the NES Classic as it promised and we now have a date to expect it.

"#NESClassic Edition will return to stores on June 29! This system and the #SNESClassic Edition system are expected to be available through the end of the year."

Good news to everyone that wasn't able to get a NES Classic or is having a hard time securing a SNES Classic! That said, I imagine you could take the "available through the end of the year" to mean Nintendo might discontinue them? I gotta think that they don't mean that but... well if you want one, now's a good time to get one. I know the NES & SNES Classics mostly sit unused for most but I play them a lot and we've been dedicating one Cheerful Ghost Radio segment per month to cover games on the NES Classic.

Now i'm just wondering when Nintendo is gonna drop the word on the N64 Classic?

https://twitter.com/NintendoAmerica/status/995831060826030080
https://www.nintendo.com/nes-classic/

The Steam Link App Streaming Coming Soon To iOS and Android! Is Valve Getting Ready For a Steam Handheld?

"The Steam Link app, slated to launch the week of May 21st, allows gamers to experience their Steam library of games on their Android (phone, tablet, TV) and iOS-based (iPhone, iPad, Apple TV) devices while connected via 5Ghz network or wired Ethernet to a host system (Mac or PC), with Android access initially offered in beta. The Steam Link App will feature support for the Steam Controller, MFI controllers, and more across both platforms."

It's a good thing when you can play your games in more places and soon we'll all be able to stream out Steam games to our phones and tablets. I have a crazy fast 5G wireless router and a wired PC and when that's streaming to the Steam Link on wifi in the living room it's a great streaming experience. Soon my iPhone 6S will be able to play my Steam games and i'll be able to use my Steam Controller to play them? If it works well that sounds honestly pretty awesome and sort of begs the question...

Is Valve Gonna Release A Linux Steam Handheld?

With the Nintendo Switch doing so well and Valve founder Gabe Newell recently saying that they admire what Nintendo does as a company with hardware and software I wonder how closely they are looking at making a competitor to the Switch? Steam now has a bunch of native Linux apps, great controller support and now the ability to stream games that are not on Linux over wifi.

STEAM HANDHELD CONFIRMED?

Hardly, but it's fun to dream.

Also, I have Apple TV I think now I don't need to have my Steam Link connected to my TV anymore. If the app is just as good this would free up an HDMI port and make everything a bit simpler. When the apps drop expect to hear a few things from me about them.

Oh and they are also releasing a Steam video app so you can stream all your movies on your phone or tablet. Not sure i'd buy a movie on Steam but it's pretty neat anyway.

https://store.steampowered.com/news/39998/

Travis Admin wrote on 05/11/2018 at 08:53pm

“and now the ability to stream games that are not on Linux over WiFi”

What do you mean there? I’ve streamed plenty of non-Linux games over WiFi for years on the Link and in-home streaming before that.

But yeah this is solid news. Though I doubt they’d make it easier to play games on the handheld devices you already have if they plan on making a handheld themselves any time soon.

But as much as they’ve pushed the Link in sales (I bought a couple for five bucks a pop) and now this, they definitely want to make sure you can access your games easily. If they implement a way that you can play them over the Internet (like PS Now) and you aren’t tied down to your home network, you can play them anywhere.

I definitely look forward to trying this on my AppleTV. That device is getting more and more useful. I already can’t imagine TV without it.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 05/11/2018 at 11:10pm

> What do you mean there? I’ve streamed plenty of non-Linux games over WiFi for years on the Link and in-home streaming before that.

Yeah, that was a bit odd there. I meant that Valve started with Linux ports of games and then they add in home streaming. At least I think that was the ordering there. So now they have a pretty good ecosystem to support a handheld built, if they want.

Travis Admin wrote on 05/12/2018 at 12:25am

Ah I see what you meant. The “now” was throwing me off.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 05/12/2018 at 01:01am

I wonder how they are going to allow you to use the Seam Controller on iOS? I thought it requires an attached USB dongle to your PC?

Travis Admin wrote on 05/12/2018 at 03:00am

They seem to indicate that you can. Maybe the Steam Controller hardware can do MFI with a firmware update?

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 05/12/2018 at 03:14am

Yeah or the Steam Controller is bluetooth and they have the drive in the iOS app.

Travis Admin wrote on 05/12/2018 at 04:36am

https://steamcommunity.com/games/353370/announcements/detail/2503317299191608387

Here we go then

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 05/12/2018 at 01:28pm

Awesome. Thanks for sharing that.

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 05/12/2018 at 05:05pm

Hmm. Given that it will work on the AppleTV, I will give it a try. If Bluetooth mode hasn’t made it out of beta for the steam controller, I wonder if my existing appletv game controller will work.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 05/12/2018 at 06:11pm

The Valve announcement said they were going to support MFI controllers!

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 05/12/2018 at 07:30pm

Dammit Jon, you made me look up MFI.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 05/12/2018 at 10:14pm

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 05/25/2018 at 06:07am

And Steam Link app isn't coming to iOS.

https://www.theverge.com/2018/5/24/17392470/apple-rejects-valve-steam-link-app-store-ios-game-steaming

The walled garden of Apple rears it's head.

Travis Admin wrote on 05/25/2018 at 03:43pm

Hmm... with a company like Valve I’m hoping they can make some progress here. Surely someone high up the flagpole at Apple would talk to Gabe about it and figure out exactly what’s going on.

I would love to know what business process they’re referring to. It should just be treated like a Remote Desktop app.

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 05/25/2018 at 04:33pm

Maybe they think it will eat into game sales on the App Store?

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 05/27/2018 at 03:31am

It should be like that but I think that Apple is thinking that Valve runs a huge app store and that those games can now be played which might mean some games you might not buy on iOS which is partly true as some games are on both systems. That said, Apple should allow it anyway.

Travis Admin wrote on 05/27/2018 at 03:46am

It's hard to find any concrete info about this specific case but a theory is that the issue could have been that Apple doesn't allow any apps to be used to purchase digital content. Thus, you can't use the Amazon app to buy Kindle books, etc.

But according to some sources, Valve disabled the ability to buy games when using Steam Link on iOS and resubmitted it so maybe something will come of that?

Travis Admin wrote on 05/27/2018 at 03:50am

Ok here’s a more concrete source on that:

https://www.engadget.com/amp/2018/05/26/apple-works-with-valve-on-steam-link-ios/

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 06/22/2018 at 04:38pm

Another steam link sale. $2.50 right now + $7.99 for shipping. I ended up just ordering one instead of waiting for the ios app.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 06/22/2018 at 07:27pm

That’s a crazy deal. I wonder how much of a loss that is? Shipping is more than the price.

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Breath of The Wild on The Gameboy Color

What if The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild launched in the ‘90s on the Game Boy Color?

If Nintendo released a Gameboy Color demake of Breath of the Wild i'd buy it immediately and even if it doesn't come to be (it won't) it's still fun to think about.

The History of Speedrunning The Legend of Zelda

The original Legend of Zelda on the NES may be one of the most influential adventure games of all time. Because of this legendary status it has a very competitive history in the speedrunning community. That said, lots of time has gone by with some of the original speedruns not being broken and this video by YouTuber Summoning Salt explains why.

Michael Biehn Confirms Blood Dragon 2 In Reddit AMA

Recently I read a Reddit AMA with Jennifer Blanc-Biehn and Michael Biehn because i'm a big fan of Micheal's films. A fan asked about a follow up to FarCry 3: Blood Dragon and his Jennifer had this to say...

Question: Have you been approached about Blood Dragon 2? The first was one of the best pieces of content I had ever played and a lot of it was because of your deadpan performance as Rex Power Colt.

Answer: He Did the sequel

As well as...

Question: Hi Michael Biehn! Any news on Blood Dragon 2?

Answer: He did the sequel it’s digital

I was surprised that a Reddit AMA could drop such a huge news bomb and so far this doesn't seem to have been picked up in the games press yet. A couple things you can take from all of this is that Ubisoft is in fact working on a sequel to Blood Dragon and Michael has recorded his parts for it. Like the first game it's going to be a digital only game which given where the state of gaming is now, makes total sense. Blood Dragon is one of the better FarCry games and i'm still making my way through it and since it was so beloved by fans it makes total sense for it to get a sequel. I'm betting it will be based on the FarCry 5 engine which should make it a really beautiful game.

https://www.reddit.com/r/movies/comments/8gqld7/were_jennifer_blancbiehn_and_michael_biehn/

Did You Know There Were Two Versions of Donkey Kong Released on The Commodore 64?

When Cheerful Ghost Radio recently reviewed Donkey Kong I noted that the version I played the most was on the Commodore 64. What I didn't know was that there are two C64 versions of Donkey Kong and I had only played the first one. Nintendo licensed Donkey Kong out to a few different companies over time to bring the game to different computers and because of this two companies made entirely different Commodore versions. Ben Paddon of PortsCenter (a FilmJoy show of the Movies w Mikey fame) takes a peek at both versions and talks a fair amount about Donkey Kong's history along the way. Paddon and Ports Center are great and if you haven't watched one of his videos, now's the time to fix that problem.

Battle for Wesnoth Is Now On Steam!

If you have spent much time in Open Source gaming Battle for Wesnoth is a project you are familiar with. Battle for Wesnoth has been going strong since 2003 and the developers have released big sets of updates including large graphical overhauls, extra campaigns and features. As the game has evolved over the years it's been a pure cross platform game and playable on Windows, Mac and Linux long before Steam released a Linux client opening the floodgates to more cross platform games. Recently the Wesnoth project dropped on Steam which means that it's available, for free, on Steam to play right now.

Battle for Wesnoth is one of the most refined 2D turn based strategy games around and if you haven't tried it, I encourage you to give it a shot.

"The Battle for Wesnoth is an open source, turn-based strategy game with a high fantasy theme. From the plains of Weldyn to the forests of Wesmere, from the mines of Knalga to the soaring peaks of the Heart Mountains, take part in over a dozen adventures spanning centuries! Play as a young prince as he flees the encroaching forces of the Lich Lords to a new home across the sea... Delve into the blackest depths of the earth to craft a jewel of fire itself... Travel the continent in a daring quest to reclaim your rightful throne from a usurping queen... Step into the shoes of a young mage, his village beset by orcish invasion, as he seeks vengeance and immortality... Battle the undead hordes of a foul necromancer as he marches upon your capital... Lead a daring group of survivors across the blazing sands to a final confrontation with an unseen evil... The choice is up to you."

More on the Steam version and the 1.14 Horizons update below.

https://www.wesnoth.org/start/1.14/
https://store.steampowered.com/app/599390/Battle_for_Wesnoth/

Travis Admin wrote on 05/03/2018 at 05:38pm

Sweet now I can get incredibly frustrated by RNG on Steam too!

I jest, it’s a solid game. Back in the day it was this and Tuxracer if you were on Linux.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 05/04/2018 at 03:19am

Yeah and everything iD ported as well. It's cool to see the project keep going and that it's living on and hopefully this gives it a wider look.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 05/04/2018 at 03:20am

So, not sure if people knew, but Travis and I were admins on ye olde Ubuntu Forums. Travis, did you partake in any of the gaming events we had where people got together to play Wesnoth and Quake 3?

Travis Admin wrote on 05/04/2018 at 03:30am

I know I was in some Wesnoth events yeah. And I think a weird open source game in the quake 3 engine that had you playing as toys in someone's room? I can't remember it clearly but I remember playing with jdong.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 05/04/2018 at 03:34am

OpenArena if memory serves. But what you describe sounds like the Counter-Strike map Rats to me.

Travis Admin wrote on 05/04/2018 at 04:28pm

World of Padman is what I was thinking of:

https://worldofpadman.net/en/

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 05/07/2018 at 04:00am

Oh yeah, I remember that game. I don't think I played it, but I remember it being rather popular with the free shooter community.