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UK honors 'Tomb Raider', 'Worms' and other classics with retro postage stamps
The UK's video game legacy is being honored with a new set of commemorative stamps from the Royal Mail. The collection, which will set you back £14.25 (nearly $19), features iconic designs from the likes of Wipeout, Lemmings, Micro Machines, Worms and, of course, Tomb Raider.
The legendary Nintendo PlayStation prototype is up for auction
For years it was the stuff of legend -- a games console that incorporated both a CD drive and SNES cartridge slot made with the official backing of PlayStation and Nintendo? But back in 2015 we saw the magical prototype for ourselves and even had a play with it. Now, after years of touring the world to show off the system to classic gaming fans, the owner of what is believed to be the only remaining Nintendo PlayStation system is putting the console up for sale.
Vega, Chun Li figurines ready for pre-order from Tsume-Art
Ultra Street Fighter 4 will stoke the flames of rivalries in June, but perfecting frame-perfect combos isn't the only way to appreciate the newest entry to the Street Fighter series. Actually, you don't even need to have played SF4 to appreciate these - Tsume-Art's Chun Li and Vega figurines should work just fine for any Street Fighter fan. While Tsume-Art notes that fans should expect "full availability" of both figurines in the second quarter of 2014, you can put your quarter up to claim your place in line right now. Each figurine is 1/8 scale, leaving the tribute to Vega's wall-climbing tendencies at 35 centimeters and Chun Li's soaring kick at 28 centimeters. Both are sculpted from PVC and are available for preorder at €119.90 each ($162). They're pricey, no doubt, but both fighters make a great first impression. If we bought both, we could probably reenact the dozens of times Vega taunted us from the walls of SF2 ... right before he slaughtered us in midair.
Massively unboxes EVE Online's Collector's Edition
Sci-fi MMO EVE Online initially launched as a physical disc sold in stores back in 2003 and saw limited success in the fledgling MMO space. A decade of regular updates and digital distribution has seen EVE grow organically into the largest sci-fi sandbox on the planet with over half a million subscribers, but until now something has been missing: EVE has never had an actual collector's edition box. To celebrate 10 successful years of operation, last month CCP officially released the EVE Second Decade Collector's Edition box. I recently received a review copy of the Collector's Edition from CCP and have put together an unboxing video with my general impressions of the items within. The collection comes in a sturdy presentation box and contains a 192-page commemorative hardback book looking back on the first decade of EVE's history, along with an anniversary re-release edition of CCP's board game Danger Game and a physical Rifter model that doubles as a USB hub. The pack also comes with a new account key with 60 days of game time, a soundtrack CD of the EVE music played by the Icelandic Symphony Orchestra, and keys to unlock billions of ISK worth of virtual collectables in-game. It's pretty expensive at around €150 or $150 US, but the virtual items can be sold in game to claw back some of the cost in the form of PLEX. Enjoy our look at the new CE!
Stadium Events sells for $41,300, becomes most expensive NES game ever
We're not sure which element of this story is the most newsworthy, so we'll lead with this: Some person, somewhere in the world, recently spent $41,300 on an extremely rare NES game. Someone was perusing the eBay auction block, saw Stadium Events (which Nintendo bought the rights to and retitled World Class Track Meet), and said, "you know what? That looks like the kind of thing I'd like to spend an American's median annual income on." According to Video Game Price Charts, that auction has turned Stadium Events into the most expensive NES game ever sold. There are around 200 copies of the game still floating around out there -- which should be enough to send most of you rushing to your local pawn shop in a Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory-esque tizzy. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]
TurpsterVision: Hands on with Chen Stormstout
We can't believe it either – Turpster has been let loose on WoW.com to bring you videos from in and around the World of Warcraft! You've heard him on the WoW Insider Show, and now see him on TurpsterVision right here on WoW.com. So it's Black Friday for a lot of you guys out there -- Happy Thanksgiving for yesterday and yes, my Turkey was awesome thanks for asking! A day for picking up electrical bargains and stopping The Intersect falling into Fulcrum's hands -- I'll be honest, my knowledge of Black Friday stems pretty much directly from episodes of Chuck. I was lucky enough to have my latest purchase come through today and I am super stoked to be able to show you guys, Chen Stormstout! This guys is many kinds of huge -- some say he looks like a fat Gene Simmons, I don't see that being a bad thing since The Demon is also pretty awesome (though he's no Starchild). Standing over 8" tall and weighing in at 4.5 lbs, this guy is built to impress. The detailing is beyond anything I've seen on my previous DC Unlimited figures. Enjoy the video and pick one up if you haven't already -- I wonder how much mine is worth now that it's out of the box... Check out more of Turpster's work, recent work like sites made for a Bristol Garden Landscaper or classic stuff from his WoW parody songs to TV previously on Massively.com, not forgetting everyone's favorite podcast 'The WoW Insider Show' and of course, TurpsterVision right here on WoW.com!
Penny Arcade to appear at Upper Deck's Darkmoon Faire in Seattle
If you've never been to Upper Deck's Darkmoon Faire event before, it's a pretty good time. It's obviously a lot more fun if you're a fan of the WoW TCG (as they have open-to-close tournaments and events going on), but even online game players will find something to do -- UDE sets up an event realm provided by Blizzard, and they sometimes even have leveling and instance contests as well.Upper Deck is holding a Darkmoon Faire event in Seattle next weekend, June 13-15, and they sent along a note letting us know that the guys from Penny Arcade are going to be there in attendance. Both Gabe and Tycho, you'll know if you're an avid reader of the comic, are fans of the card game, and while Upper Deck isn't clear about what they'll be doing there (all they tell us is that the guys will "partake" of the gaming), it's not hard to expect that at least Tycho will be eventually running a Molten Core raid game.Should be fun -- if you're around Seattle and get to stop by the Seattle Center next weekend (it's free to visit the event, and various tournaments have different costs associated with them), definitely take pictures and let us know how it went.
Buy an actual stadium instead
We're no strangers to collectable NES junk and completely bonkers auctions, but learning about this piece of Nintendo history makes us glance, ever-so-slightly, to our own boxes of dusty cartridges in the hopes that we might one day become millionaires after a forgotten NES relic turns out to be a gold mine.Stadium Events is apparently the single rarest "officially released" NES cartridge in history. Why? Well, it was first introduced to the USA by Bandai, and the game made use of the Power Pad (formerly known as Family Fun Fitness). Nintendo subsequently purchased the rights to the Power Pad, wanting a piece of the hot sporting action. After the purchase, Nintendo renamed the actual game itself to World Class Track Meet, and copies of Stadium Events were pulled from the shelves. Hence, they are now rarer than a lion's steak dinner.While the history of such a probably awful game is mind-numbingly complex, Stadium Events goes on existing as a rare collectible. And guess what? You can bid on it here, costing you only a couple ... thousand dollars. Not to worry, the seller is offering a discount on the $7.95 shipping cost if you buy multiple rare games from his collection. Thrifty buyers take note of this saving.For reference, a sealed copy of the game sold in 2006 for this much.
Preview EQII's Game Update 43
It hasn't been long since the momentous Game Update 42 hit EverQuest II, but the update train has kept on chuggin', and we've now got a preview of what's coming in Game Update 43. Of course, it's nowhere near the magnitude of GU42, but was anyone expecting that after the amount of content that has just been added mere weeks ago? The update is centered around looting, with changes to group loot options and looting "shiny" collectables from the ground. A much missed "Need Before Greed" group loot distribution method is being added, which many players will be familiar with from other games. A "Round Robin" will also be introduced, which distributes loot to group members automatically and in sequence . The other change makes it so that you have the option of leaving a shiny on the ground once you've harvested it and seen what it is. This is to help prevent looting the same worthless shiny over and over amd cluttering up your inventory. Alternatively, you'll be able to shove that worthless shiny on to your group, with the option to include these in group looting.
Calculating the Virtual Console's savings rate
Obviously, owning games on the Wii Virtual Console is a lot more convenient than having dozens of cartridges for a variety of classic systems laying around the house. But does it make fiscal sense as well as organizational sense? To find out, the folks at Vintage Computing & Gaming compared the price of current Virtual Console selections to the going rate for the same classic carts on eBay.The results, unsurprisingly, showed an average savings of about 50 percent over the eBay price across the VC library. Sure, you're paying a few extra dollars for ultra-common clunkers like Double Dribble, but you're saving nearly $200 on ultra-rare games like Bonk 3: Bonk's Big Adventure. In fact, Turbo-Grafx fans can save roughly 75% buying their library on the Wii rather than eBay.Of course, as VC&G points out, games bought for the Virtual Console have functionally zero resale value, so those interested in collectability should shell out the extra money. Those interested in actually playing the games, however ...
Illidan says: You are not prepared (for my coolness)
Somewhere out there, one of my guild-mates is about to squeal with glee. For that matter, so am I... if only internally.For you see, buying Collectors Edition Boxed-Set versions of the game, trading card game packs, t-shirts and stickers just isn't enough for my collectable-loving little heart. DC and Blizzard have ensured that I will once again break down into a puddle of "that is SO COOL" in front of my fellow gamer geeks. (Well, okay, maybe only in front of the fellow geeks who happen to frequent my favorite local comic book store, but I digress...)Sure, we knew back in February that the Illidan Stormrage figure was coming out. We even had an idea of the rough look of the statue. And considering the already drool-worthy things we've seen from the DC World of Warcraft line, we knew it was going to have to be cool. But now we have the final picture of what the new figurine is going to look like. Much like the others in the DC figure line, it is truly a (SO COOL) thing of beauty.Mind you, I can't speak for anyone else - or ultimately that guild-mate of mine who is probably noting the December 19th release date even now - but I know what just landed on my holiday wish list!Now if you'll excuse me, I think I'm going to go invest in some earplugs before the squealing starts up over Vent.[Via bowzerblack on the WoW LJ community]
