May 6, 2013
I got a package from China today. That can only mean one thing– I have a new toy related to the Sega Dreamcast video game console (it has only been three total Chinese shipments since 2001, but still, all DC-related). Did you hear that a new Sega Dreamcast game just got released? An independent developer released a full new game in the year 2013 called Sturmwind:
Click for larger image
I totally intend to play it sometime, hopefully soon.
A recent trip to my favorite thrift store uncovered a still-wrapped copy of a game called Internet Puzzle Adventure Treasure Hunt:
Click for larger image
I’m not sure if I arranged those 5 title words in the right order. It comes from the year 2003 and was published by a company named Lagoon Multimedia. I don’t believe they exist anymore. The URL on the box copy is www.puzzleadventure.com. Yeah, that doesn’t exist anymore, either. However, the Internet Archive has some records of it and it looks like the site did persist until early 2009.
The back of the box copy has 3 steps: 1) Open the box and solve the puzzle inside; 2) find the hidden password; and 3) begin the internet puzzle adventure. Here’s what’s inside:
Click for larger image
No CD-ROM. Just puzzle tiles and a manual. I guess that lack of system requirements on the box should have been a tip-off. However, “internet” seems to be an implicit requirement.
Other items, one of which is not yet represented in the database:
Click for larger image
Posted by Multimedia Mike under Acquisitions | Comments (0)
March 1, 2013
It has been a slow few months for collecting old games that no one cares about. However, I have managed to accumulate a few choice items that still enjoy no representation in the MobyGames database:
Click for larger image
- Barbie: Swan Lake: The Enchanted Forest — Yep, I will never run out of Barbie games to enter
- Dear America: Friend to Friend — Not sure if this is technically a game or not but my curiosity was piqued by the cover copy boasting “featuring FriendLink Technology: Non-Online Chat”. Not sure if “non-online” is a synonym for offline.
- Infinity City: The Gigglebone Gang by Headbone Interactive; other titles chronicling the Gigglebone Gang include AlphaBonk Farm and Pantsylvania– nearly every name in this series seems strangely suspect.
- Rock Tour Tycoon — Embellishing my collection of odd “Tycoon” titles. “Dream it! Manage it! Rock it!” Also, “MP3 included.” Not sure what that means.
I have acquired 2 titles in some “Elroy” series from different sources:
Click for larger image
There’s a dedicated wiki for this series. The wiki gives me the impression that Elroy Goes Bugzerk and Elroy Hits the Pavement are the only 2 games in the series.
Other items, including 2 titles that originally came from fast food restaurants:
Click for larger image
- Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker: The Music Game
- Martha Speaks: Martha’s in the Middle — I don’t know which of those segments is the title and which is the subtitle. The disc is marked as 5 of 5 and was distributed by Chick-Fil-A restaurants.
- Pokemon: Gotta MAKE ‘em All! (Red) This appears to be a creativity tool rather than a game. A little searching reveals that there is also a blue version of the disc.
- Disney’s Treasure Planet: Etherium Rescue — distributed by McDonalds and appears to only be a demo
- Fun Bundle II for Mac — 4 games:
Posted by Multimedia Mike under Acquisitions | Comments (0)
October 14, 2012
I’ve been going through my backlog of acquisitions (dozens!) that I have yet to mention. I thought I would compose a post to showcase the ones that aren’t in MobyGames as of yet. Sometimes, if I don’t mention a game, that vast ocean of knowledge known as the internet will have no record that it ever existed. It’s a solemn duty that I undertake.
2 more ‘Tycoon’ games in this bunch:
Click for larger image
- Caterpillar Construction Tycoon: A simulation game sponsored by the construction giant (I never realized that they own the domain cat.com); published by Activision Value
- Midnight Outlaw: 6 Hours to Sun Up
- Prison Tycoon: Alcatraz– there are at least 5 games in the Prison Tycoon series and I have now collected 3 of them
- Fate: The Traitor Soul– part of The Fate Series; not sure how large this series has grown but I now have 2 titles that aren’t on record
There’s some good licensed schlock in this bunch:
Click for larger image
- Merrian-Webster Spell-Jam (Tik Games)– I find it grammatically odd that “Spell-Jam” is hyphenated, but far be it from me to argue with the dictionary people
- Fashion Craze (Viva Media)
- Sonny’s Race for Chocolatey Taste– a Cocoa Puffs game!
- Common Cents– a game sponsored by State Farm Insurance; the jewel case copy mentions Flash Player as a requirement which leads me to believe it started life on the web and was also published on CD-ROM; comes from year 2004
- Burger Island Combo (eGames)– a compilation of Burger Island and Burger Island 2
- Whitetail Fever– hunting game by Valu-Soft
Posted by Multimedia Mike under Acquisitions | Comments (0)
October 6, 2012
I visited my favorite thrift store today. It has been a long time since my last visit and their CD bins were all absolutely overflowing. I had to make some choices because I didn’t want to take home too many games.
Here are the items from this score that have no representation in the database:
Click for larger image
- Barbie: Team Gymnastics– yep, there are still Barbie games that neither I nor MobyGames know about yet
- Big Action Construction by Fisher-Price
- Get Ready for School, Charlie Brown!
- Puzzlemania CD-ROM from Highlights (as in, the magazine from your dentist office)
All of these items fall into the category of either “probably not or definitely not a game”:
Click for larger image
- ‘Tronic Phonics from McGraw-Hill School Interactive, listed as disc #11– might be a game
- One Banana: A Jungle Counting Book– very unlikely to be a game
- Location & Direction– lists ISO-9660 on the disc, even though it was published by 1999 (companies mentioned: Arc Media Inc. and Mars)– possibly a game
- Microsoft Cinemania ’95– certainly not a game
- Invention Studio from the Discovery Channel– build, design, and test your own inventions; there’s even a patent office section; might be a game as other titles in this series qualified (notably Team Xtreme: Operation Weather Disaster)
- Attactix: Battle Figure Game, Star Wars Starter Set CD-ROM, Series 2– I have no idea what to make of this; the lengthy title sounds like it’s a digital supplement to a tabletop game
And the stuff that’s already in the database:
Click for larger image
Click for larger image
Posted by Multimedia Mike under Acquisitions | Comments (0)
August 12, 2012
I showed up at work one day to find a Whole Foods bag on my chair:
Strange. However, a glance inside revealed a bevy of games. A coworker had learned that I collect any old CD-ROM games that people happen to have lying about. So he dumped this lot on me:
There were about 25 games inside. Sorting through them all, I found a single game that is certainly not in the MobyGames database yet while I found 3 more that don’t appear to be present. The vast majority of the games have cover art or media scans that are missing from the database, so there is plenty of work to do as always.
These are the games from the haul that are, or are probably missing:
Click for larger image
Grey Wolf: Hunter of the North Atlantic is no where to be found in the database. The other 3 are a bit sketchy. There are a lot of different Railroad Tycoon II games. But there are none that bear the specific title of “Railroad Tycoon: The Next Millennium: Special Edition”. Similarly, several Carmageddon variations are on record but none that specifically mention “Carmageddon: High Octane” which probably deserves its own record.
As for the final item in the photo, these are the Magic: The Gathering Games on record. Is this game already mentioned? I wasn’t sure, so I unrolled the sleeve:
Click for larger image
This marks the first time I have ever officially owned Magic: The Gathering cards. Anyway, this has the core game (which I assume refers to the traditional, offline game), plus the online game. This probably corresponds to the online game currently on record.
Here are some other miscellaneous acquisitions from the previous months, which may or may not be actual games:
Wildlife Tycoon: Venture Africa is probably the most interesting and truest game of this set. “King Solomons” [sic] has some pretty cover art and the system requirements listed on the back (486 vintage) intrigued me. However, a little investigation revealed that it, like the “FiveStar Casino” disc, is just an entry into online casinos.
Then there is VR Soccer ’96, notable for being bundled with 3D Rage hardware, and a Cosmi disc that takes some shareware games and shoves them on a CD-ROM.
Finally, we have the Planet of the Apes Limited Edition CD-ROM. This is a tie-in with the 2001 movie and bears logos of Blockbuster, Coca-Cola, and 20th Century Fox.
I investigated the disc assets to find any sign of an actual game but only found QuickTime movie trailers and featurettes. I started the disc in order to confirm this. However, the disc expects you to register online:
Click for larger image
I tried to register, just to see if the site was still online. However, Windows 7′s security facilities blocked network access by some NavBrowser.exe program and I was left with an error dialog prohibiting me from viewing the contents. I’m not in marketing but it doesn’t seem like adding this much friction to the promotional process is well-advised.
Posted by Multimedia Mike under Acquisitions | Comments (0)
July 2, 2012
I once had a game shipped to me in its original box. The seller actually managed to turn the sizable box inside out and tape the thing up, so it did preserve the cover art somewhat. It’s a good thing I’m not the kind of game collector who necessarily cares about the condition of the cover art or I would have righteously freaked out. Here’s a picture I took at the time to share with some other collectors:
Click for larger image
I bring this up because I thought I had a similar situation today:
Click for larger image
This was disappointing in its own way. I had skipped lunch and thought that I had a delivery of delicious crackers straight to my desk.
Alas, inside was just a collection of 8 girl-oriented games in a package (which arrived in terrific shape) named 8 Great Games for Girls, published by Viva Media:
Click for larger image
A big, tough, manly game arrived separately as well– Supreme Commander. Of course, the latter is already well documented in the database, so there’s nothing I can add (except some cover art scans). That means I get to play slightly less masculine games once more (whenever I get around to video game historianism again), since only 2 of the 8 girls games are presently documented in MobyGames:
- Fashion Craze
- Supermarket Mania
- Diamond Drop Deluxe
- Doggy Daycare
- The Enchanted Unicorn
- Happy Tails Animal Shelter
- Horse Camp
- My Dream Job: Babysitter
Posted by Multimedia Mike under Acquisitions,Girlie Games | Comments (0)
