Neo Geo Pocket – by John Michonski

by John Michonski | Jan 30, 2025 | 1990s, 2000s, Other Magazines Preview

The Neo Geo Pocket Color’s failure always seemed odd. Sure, it was up against the Game Boy, the certifiable big handheld in town for its entire existence, but how could such a well-made device with barely a single bad game only snatch a reported 2% of the handheld...

How Half-Life 2 Forever Changed the FPS Genre

by Matthew Owen | Jan 29, 2025 | 2000s, Console/Handheld

In 2024, just over 20 years ago, Valve created Half-Life 2, a first-person shooter that continues the story of silent protagonist Gordon Freeman. Once a humble scientist, Freeman now finds himself in the middle of a global war against a multidimensional species known...

Hacking the PSP – by Brian Lesyk

by Brian Lesyk | Jan 28, 2025 | 2000s, 2020s, Magazine Preview

Psst! Hey, you! Yeah, you. Over here. I see you like PSPs. Wanna learn a secret? That thing can do so much more than you probably know, but, like, don’t tell Sony I told you this, okay? Let’s keep this between us, alright? This info ain’t exactly...

Grinding: Mindless Filler, or A Different Kind of Fun?

by William Schwartz | Jan 27, 2025 | 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, Console/Handheld, Early IBM DOS, Early IBM DOS Intro, Gaming, Indie, Indy Tools By Platform

  With the appearance of the role-playing game on video consoles, a genre less about actual role-playing and more about navigating enemy dungeons via numbers rather than reflexes, we also saw the appearance of grinding. How grinding works is simple enough. If...

The PlayStation Portable – by Todd Friedman

by Todd Friedman | Jan 26, 2025 | 2000s, 2020s, Magazine Preview

The PlayStation Portable (PSP) is handheld game console developed by Sony. It was first announced at E3 in 2003 and shown to the public in ay of 2004. It was released in Japan on December 12, 2004, and in North America on March 24, 2005. The PSP primarily competed...

The 20th Anniversary of the Nintendo DS – By Matthew Owen

by Matthew Owen | Jan 24, 2025 | 2000s, 2020s, Magazine Preview

In the early ’00s, Nintendo was in dire need of a sales boost. For years, Sony had been dominating the market with the PlayStation and PlayStation 2, while Nintendo’s own GameCube failed to meet expectations. Competition was getting more crowded in the...