Are you wondering, what does “black label” mean in video games? You’re not alone. It gets confusing when one game is released under so many different labels. You’ll often see Gamecube Player's Choice vs black label or PS2 black label vs red label, among other variations. What do these different release labels of video games mean for the cost and content of the game? Technically, they don’t inherently mean anything. Or, rather, these relabeling campaigns mean something different for each console. Nor does each labeling campaign mean the same thing every time. Yes, we understand that this answer does not even slightly clarify the issue. That’s why we’ve written you this comprehensive guide. It compares the various labeling campaigns of several different consoles to give you a complete answer. Read on to learn all you need to know. PlayStation Black Label vs Green Label Avid gamers are well versed in these...

In 1986, Nintendo released the Nintendo Entertainment System in North America, changing the entertainment industry forever. It was immediately so popular that people trampled strangers in department stores just to get one before it sold out. This trend continued as Nintendo and third-party programmers released one hit NES game after another. Given all this hoopla, would anyone notice or care that the number of NES cartridge screws changed from 5 to 3? Nintendo didn’t think so. They just stopped producing 5-screw NES games and adopted the new 3-screw format without any explanation. Obviously, they forgot that 100% of their core demographic are obsessive geeks (like us). And geeks notice details, especially when the items in question become rare, retro collectibles. So, why the big (or rather, hardly noticeable) change? And why all the secrecy? Furthermore, does it even matter? Actually, it matters more than you’d think. Read on to learn why.  ...

Ho ho ho! It’s the most wonderful time of the year With the kids jingle belling And everyone telling you be of good cheer It’s that time of the year again, folks. Unwrapping gifts, decorating homes, and enjoying sumptuous meals with your family and loved ones. The best Christmas Themed Video Games  But you and I know, there’s really one Christmas tradition that beats them all – playing the best Christmas Themed Video Games! That’s right. Getting together with your friends or siblings, your beverage of choice, and fragging or exploring new & old worlds together is what the holiday season is all about. And if the games you’re playing are true to the spirit of the holidays, there’s nothing quite like it. Without further ado, let’s take a look at some of the best Christmas video games. Jazz Jackrabbit: Holiday Hare (PC, 1995) Made by the mad genius Cliff Bleszinski, Jazz...

In the last 15 years, Microsoft’s Xbox has risen to become, along with Sony’s PlayStation. One of the twin pillars of home console gaming. While stalwart companies like Nintendo have enjoyed success as well. Xbox and PlayStation are Coke and Pepsi. Let's Discuss if Sega DreamCast is the first version of the original Microsoft Xbox Console While Microsoft’s machine has built a solid reputation for itself. Through solid hardware and an extensive game's library, it didn’t materialize out of thin air. In fact, it wasn’t even the first of the famous “sixth-generation” of consoles. That honor goes to the Sega DreamCast, which was Sega’s last-ditch effort to save a sinking ship. And recapture some Sega Genesis mojo they’d lost along the way.  The Sega DreamCast exploded on the scene upon its release in 1999. The Dreamcast had rave reviews and high sales. Then 18 months later it was discontinued, making room...

It can happen to even the most scrupulous retro-game collector. You’ve got a pristine Super Nintendo displayed alongside other throwback consoles, and yet somehow it turns yellow over time. 

The 1980s were a dreamer's paradise: a decade that thought it was the future. But the 90s were a lot more practical. That’s when we realized that most of our 80s dreams were nonsense and we actually started developing the ones that weren’t. Case in point: this era turned our dreams of handheld gaming devices and portable video games into a reality. The 90s saw an explosion of handheld game systems, most of which came on the heels of the popular Nintendo Game Boy. Which one ranks, pound for pound, as the best video game console? Below, we look in-depth at the history and stats of all the major 90s handheld consoles to answer this question. Check it out! Nintendo's Original Game Boy (1989) Though not technically the first handheld game console, the Game Boy was the first to become a true, worldwide phenomenon. Also, the Game Boy is actually an...

I’m not the kind of player who longs for “the good old days” when games seemed to hate you and want you to die. My attempt to replay Paperboy and recapture the glory of my NES days was short-lived as I realized how needlessly, unrewarding cruel that game is—I just didn’t know any better as a kid.  But I’m also not the kind of player who wants games to be easy. My first walkthroughs are more often set to Hard than to Normal. My biggest disappointment about the death of my first PS3 Console was that I lost the save data for my finished Hard play through of The Last of Us and so wouldn’t be able to play Survivor mode next. The difference is in what makes the game difficult Difficulty, like everything else in a game, can be designed well or poorly. To see what good difficulty plays like,...

The current generation of gamers has probably never heard of Blockbuster Video. However, there was a time, about 20 years ago, when Blockbuster was as ubiquitous as McDonald's. It crushed the competition and became as synonymous with video rentals as Coca-Cola was with soft drinks. Its footprint was all over the United States and spread throughout the world. Such were Blockbuster’s fever dreams of manifest destiny and global domination that they weren’t content to merely exist and expand. They wanted absolute control! What to Know - About Blockbuster Exclusive Video Games Okay, so maybe they weren’t trying to conquer the planet. But they definitely did everything they could to dominate the video rental market. That included offering exclusive titles in their inventory that competitors couldn’t get their hands on. Thus, Blockbuster Exclusive Video Games were born. These titles were only available at Blockbuster stores, and only to rent—not to buy. Now,...

With hits like Mario 64, Super Smash Bros, and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, the N64 was one of the most popular and successful consoles ever. But why didn’t we ever see Final Fantasy 64, Chrono Trigger 64, or even Earthbound 64? Where are all the N64 RPG games? For that matter, when you compare RPGs from Super Nintendo vs Nintendo 64, it looks downright ridiculous. Case in point: SNES gave us two of the best RPGs ever made, Chrono Trigger and Earthbound, plus hundreds of other RPG hits. In contrast, Nintendo 64 gave us the infamous RPG dud, Quest 64. That’s about it. What happened? Who’s to blame? Also, are there any Nintendo 64 RPGs worth playing? Find out below. Nintendo 64: The Pinnacle of Nintendo As far as console gaming history is concerned, the Nintendo 64 is significant for a lot of reasons. As mentioned, it was...

Most retro gaming fans have a closet full of widely-known platformers, RPGs, and party games. And why wouldn’t they? The most popular games are the all-ages are the all-ages, general-audience titles that everyone can enjoy. These are also the games that get the most press coverage and prestige. As such, there’s one genre that retro gamers always seem to overlook: old-school horror games. And that’s a real shame. Like all retro games, horror games had their golden age in the 80s and 90s, too. So today, we’re dragging the best horror video games back into the limelight. These are the scariest games that sent shivers up our spine and made us afraid to walk into a dark room. They also gave us some of the scariest moments in gaming history. Now, read on, if you dare. Splatterhouse on the TurboGrafx-16 - Released 1990 What do you get when you (unofficially) turn...

The main focal point of this video [Shown Below] is to introduce you to using keywords. Using identifiable keywords to sell your games will speed up the selling process on our website. The best practice is to search for the games and type the title of the game out as listed on the game or case.

Few gaming franchises have established as much of a legacy and a permanent spot in the gaming pantheon as the adventures of Mario and his cast of lovable characters. Today, we’ll be taking a look at a crucial decade for the Mario franchise Let's go through the Best 90s Mario Games in no Particular Order  Super Mario RPG (1996) Super Mario RPG is a unique game. For starters, it is developed by one of the most powerhouse combos you could hope for in the gaming world – a team-up between RPG stalwarts Square Enix and Nintendo. A sprawling RPG set in the Mario universe created by the evil geniuses behind Final Fantasy, this game is everything you would expect from such a wonderful premise. Super Mario RPG took one of gaming’s most recognizable icons and gave him a role-playing adventure for the ages. As per usual, the story belongs with our...

The Intro: The Sega Dreamcast considered by many to be one of the most innovative consoles of its genre. It's funny to think that little white box could provide us a splendid home arcade feel. Perhaps even more interesting is the fact, this may have been the first Xbox Console I have; been told by a few customers that Sega and Microsoft were collaborating in a home video game console together. The console had the first online capabilities, with most consoles being sold with a detachable phone-line modem. It's too bad this console did not get the recognition it deserved. It may have been the lack luster titles from the sega cd library or the Sega 32x console, or its library, which turned gamers away. Not only that, but it's certainly possible gamers got feed up with Sega and their struggles with compatibility amongst their consoles. Seriously, in order to play a 32x...

Yes, we know that there are plug-and-play retro NES consoles that are very cheap to buy. We also know that these systems are pre-loaded with hundreds of games and that they include two controllers. So, why would anyone buy an original NES console for over $100, no games included? Two words: Duck Hunt. Can you play the beloved classic Duck Hunt on a plug-and-play system? No, you can’t. These systems don’t include or even support the Zapper light gun accessory that’s required to play this title. Along those lines, can’t you just play Duck Hunt on the Wii U Virtual Console, you ask? Yes and no. Yes, there is a playable version on the Wii U Virtual Console. But no, this port does not provide the same experience. Namely, it displays crosshairs where you are aiming, making it impossible to miss. This dumbed-down perversion of the original game is so dull...

Simplicity is a word you have seen thrown around when people write about Final Fantasy IX. They say that it is the game that brings the series “back to the basics,” that it is a celebration of the past.  We have to wonder if this game was a success or not, as explained in this Final Fantasy IX Review. These statements aren’t incorrect, but they undermine the quality and charm of the game. Released in 2000, the game is in so many ways a reaction to the two games that came before it, but it bests its two immediate predecessors with a coherency neither of those game achieved. Final Fantasy VII was too busy successfully launching the series into the 3D era to mind that the game veered wildly from serious melodrama to a wacky slapstick section where the main character cross-dresses as a female escort as if that was totally normal,...

Community college student Palmer Luckey made a splash at CES 2013 with his 3D gaming headset, the Oculus Rift. The buzz was so strong, in fact, that Facebook purchased Oculus in 2014 for the staggering sum of $2 billion. The interesting thing is that this technology is not new news. Indeed, VR sputtered and died once before. This came in the form of Nintendo’s Virtual Boy, an ill-fated VR device released in 1995 that failed to capture the public’s imagination. And while today’s virtual reality technology exceeds expectations—it could even disrupt all of video gaming—the Virtual Boy is renowned only for how it failed to live up to those expectations. Here are the six principal reasons why the virtual boy was a failure in the VR market. Why did the Virtual Boy Fail  Which has to do with the marketing efforts by Nintendo. In advertisements leading up to the Virtual Boy’s...

One of the worst experiences for gamers is seeing the new game that just came out, but not having the funds to make a purchase. There are options for the gamer whose cash flow is not quite up to snuff, a lot of retro video games have high trade-in value. The biggest issue is trying to find the best video game trade in offer for those old games & gaming consoles. Then trying to figure out your selling options can be difficult, but here are some options that will help.   How much are old video games worth Research the value of your games & consoles to determine if the Trade-In process is the right fit for you. You can easily track sales data for many of the more popular games like:  Mario Kart, Donkey Kong, Pokémon, and Mario bros to name a few. Just go to eBay, type in the name of the...

Before we begin, let’s get something out of the way. There’s literally no one on the planet who hasn’t dreamed of waking up one day, receiving a holographic phone call from a hot secretary who tells you “The world needs you. Now!” as you smirk out of bed, put on your suit, head over to the bay and strap yourself into a 40-foot machine built for absolute destruction. I mean, words and diplomacy can solve a lot of problems, without a doubt. But sometimes, you need to pilot a badass mech and just… Blow. Enemies. Away. Mech games are a lot of fun. When they’re done well, it’s almost too much fun. Without further ado, let’s take a look at the best mech games of all time. Note that these aren’t in any particular order, they’re all awesome games. Mobile Suit Gundam: Extreme Vs. Full Boost – PS3/Arcade Extreme Vs. Full...

Spoiler note: This post contains plot spoilers about Borderlands and Borderlands 2 and, by default, spoilers about the characters in the upcoming Pre-Sequel who also appear in Borderlands 2. Spoiling Borderlands 1 for you might actually be doing you a favor, though. That ending’s terrible. With Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel right around the corner, I recently explained why the first two games are so hard to put down. You might notice that that post doesn’t talk about story at all. You don’t play Borderlands for the story. But—and this is coming from a gamer deeply interested in video game storytelling—that’s okay. Some games are fun enough that they can do just fine with no narrative interest whatsoever. Borderlands is one of those series. That being said, the ending of the first Borderlands was one of the bigger narrative train wrecks in recent gaming memory.  But to their credit, Gearbox admitted it, learned from it, and made the story and characters of Borderlands 2...

Contra Intro:

Contra is a huge nostalgia game for me. I have many fond memories of sitting in a dark basement with a friend blasting away at this and Super C for hours. This is the first run-and-gun game I remember playing, and it was mind-blowingly fun, especially in co-op.