The NES Thread

[TrapZZ]

It's so weird to me that the NES wasn't well received over there, I just can't get my head around it!  I understand the reasons but it's so ingrained in U.S. culture I feel like I'm looking at a parallel universe when you talk about it. 

Similar to Back to the Future 2...

[TrekMD]

It's so weird to me that the NES wasn't well received over there, I just can't get my head around it!  I understand the reasons but it's so ingrained in U.S. culture I feel like I'm looking at a parallel universe when you talk about it. 

Similar to Back to the Future 2... :)  It did have a significant impact in the US market and that's where I live!  LOL

[Rogue Trooper]

It's so weird to me that the NES wasn't well received over there, I just can't get my head around it!  I understand the reasons but it's so ingrained in U.S. culture I feel like I'm looking at a parallel universe when you talk about it. 

Similar to Back to the Future 2... :24:

I would'nt worry, i'm still having difficulty getting my head around  UK Retro Gaming publications (RG and to a lesser extent, Gamestm) constantly making out it did far better over here than it did, when i was very much alive, well and gaming during that entire era.

I think it's now very clear said Retro specific  publication is really desperate to conquer the US market and has been for some time, i mean we saw articles on the Contra series, where as if like myself, you picked up the C64 version, it was known as Gryzor or if you were 1 of the few Nes owners here in UK, you'd have known it as Probotector.

I think have the problem honestly is said publication has no competition (something it's admitted on numerous occasions) so it's left to people like myself to pont out just how bizare their portral of the UK Nes scene was, each and every time they feature in print.It's a thankless task, been called all manner of names under the sun, 'elsewhere' and it's claimed i'm trolling threads by pointing out just what happened.

Well boys and girls in the publishing buisness, as long as i keep buying publications which have articles on the Nes and the UK that give a different ( by that i mean false) version of events, i'll quite happily keep pointing out how very wrong said version is and i'll keep posting factual examples of said events from publications and industry figures of that time-you want to class it as trolling? good luck to you.


I'll stop, when you start treating your UK readership with some respect.when your dealing with a niche subject, such as Retro gaming, you have to expect people that read magazine to often know a lot about the subject in question as they were avid gamers back then.

[DreamcastRIP]

...I didn't have a NES until recently.  DC seems to think I'm some fanboy because of that!  LOL

Not so! I just had you down as a retro gamer with better taste!  :1:

http://www.retrovideogamer.co.uk/http://www.retrovideogamer.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1

[TrekMD]

...I didn't have a NES until recently.  DC seems to think I'm some fanboy because of that!  LOL

Not so! I just had you down as a retro gamer with better taste!  :21:  Well, how did you propose I get a taste for the system?  Like I said, I never had one before.  Needed to get one to see what the fuss was all about!    So far I'm hating how arcade ports are not like the games they are supposed to be porting.  There are exceptions, of course, but it is clearly a recurring thing with the system. 

[Rogue Trooper]

So, i'm looking at front cover of back issue of Retro Gamer, said cover story is:

The Untold Story Behind The Spectrums Infamous Port:

Now, what could it be? ZX Spectrum had sooo many ports, many of them superb, esp.for the hardware.Chase H.Q? R-Type?, Afterburner?....no to all those, it is of course...'GRADIUS'.

Sorry, who? ohhh you mean NEMESIS!!!

Which is exactly what the article is entitled inside:

Coin-Op Capers#4 Nemesis.

So a UK publication, dealing with a UK home micro and conversion to it, but front cover does'nt use UK name.

Like i said earlier, looks like someone keen to crack the markets other than UK, which, let me be crystal clear, is fine, i understand 100% the magazine, as does any other, needs to reach a mass market to survive, but please, a little honesty from the publisher please, say that.It's nothing to be ashamed of...unlike re-writing UK NES history.....


 

[TrapZZ]

...I didn't have a NES until recently.  DC seems to think I'm some fanboy because of that!  LOL

Not so! I just had you down as a retro gamer with better taste!  :21:  Well, how did you propose I get a taste for the system?  Like I said, I never had one before.  Needed to get one to see what the fuss was all about!    So far I'm hating how arcade ports are not like the games they are supposed to be porting.  There are exceptions, of course, but it is clearly a recurring thing with the system.

Double Dragon is one of the WORST offenders.  Fortunately when it came out I had an SMS with a nearly arcade perfect (for the time) port.

[TrapZZ]

So, i'm looking at front cover of back issue of Retro Gamer, said cover story is:

The Untold Story Behind The Spectrums Infamous Port:

Now, what could it be? ZX Spectrum had sooo many ports, many of them superb, esp.for the hardware.Chase H.Q? R-Type?, Afterburner?....no to all those, it is of course...'GRADIUS'.

Sorry, who? ohhh you mean NEMESIS!!!

Which is exactly what the article is entitled inside:

Coin-Op Capers#4 Nemesis.

So a UK publication, dealing with a UK home micro and conversion to it, but front cover does'nt use UK name.

Like i said earlier, looks like someone keen to crack the markets other than UK, which, let me be crystal clear, is fine, i understand 100% the magazine, as does any other, needs to reach a mass market to survive, but please, a little honesty from the publisher please, say that.It's nothing to be ashamed of...unlike re-writing UK NES history.....


 

Wow that's really interesting.  Being a US reader I was surprised how many titles retained the name across both continents.  Now I see how mislead I've been!

[TL]

Double Dragon is one of the WORST offenders.

Indeed, Ninja Gaiden is another one of the worst suspects.

You will like THIS THREAD I think!

[TrapZZ]

Double Dragon is one of the WORST offenders.

Indeed, Ninja Gaiden is another one of the worst suspects.

You will like THIS THREAD I think!

Ah yes, that's a great read - thanks!

[Rogue Trooper]

So, i'm looking at front cover of back issue of Retro Gamer, said cover story is:

The Untold Story Behind The Spectrums Infamous Port:

Now, what could it be? ZX Spectrum had sooo many ports, many of them superb, esp.for the hardware.Chase H.Q? R-Type?, Afterburner?....no to all those, it is of course...'GRADIUS'.

Sorry, who? ohhh you mean NEMESIS!!!

Which is exactly what the article is entitled inside:

Coin-Op Capers#4 Nemesis.

So a UK publication, dealing with a UK home micro and conversion to it, but front cover does'nt use UK name.

Like i said earlier, looks like someone keen to crack the markets other than UK, which, let me be crystal clear, is fine, i understand 100% the magazine, as does any other, needs to reach a mass market to survive, but please, a little honesty from the publisher please, say that.It's nothing to be ashamed of...unlike re-writing UK NES history.....


 

Wow that's really interesting.  Being a US reader I was surprised how many titles retained the name across both continents.  Now I see how mislead I've been!

Like i say, i understand the reasoning behind it, magazine needs to sell well in USA to continue, but all i'm asking them to do is be a little more 'open' with the readership.It's clear the spate of Nintendo and now Atari related articles are part of a bigger plan by the publisher to see which content sells the most copies and in which areas, not that they'll ever release sales figures, far too sensitive an issue there.

(Please don't insult the intelligence of your readership, those of my age that grew up with the very early micro's onwards, lived through the Nes/MS era, read a lot of gamesmagazines, still have them etc etc, as when we read things which paint a different version of events, we will pull you up on it.)

But on flipside, as a mere subscriber/reader, it's daft at times.Cover say's Gradius...article title say's Nemesis.

If they ever cover Quedex on C64, which title they going to use? the UK title or as you guys knew it Mindroll?


A bigger question might well be:why is it that your only finding out these things via a lowly poster like myself and not the magazine?.Is it not a publications 'job' to present the reader with the facts in an unbiased manner and let them make their own minds up?.

Hopefully there's a wealth of information in this thread as well as the Nes and UK:what really happened? thread that can present to those who honestly want to know how Nes was recived here, using quotes, review scores from numerous UK publications at the time, which can build up a far truer picture that presented by someone who dare i say, only owned a Nes during that period and had a rather, ahem, blinkered view.

Publications need to realise that people like myself, the moaners, the cynics etc still buy your publications as we've a love and a knowledge of the subject material, we are'nt buying it just for a story and chance to 'meet' a famous person.

In the past i've seen ex-staff writers question articles done on same subject matter they once covered, because they were factually incorect, unfinished etc  and got shot down for it, so i'm not overly surprised i'm not exactly popular.

[Rogue Trooper]

:21:

[TrekMD]

The NES actually has two different versions of Ms. Pac-Man to choose from:  a Tengen version and a Namco version.  You can check out Laird's review of the Tengen version here:  Nintendo Entertainment System L-N but there is a nice video review of both versions.  What do you think?  Tengen or Namco?

[align=center:246t2nox]Classic Game Room - MS. PAC-MAN review for NES[/align:246t2nox]

[Gorf]

It's so weird to me that the NES wasn't well received over there, I just can't get my head around it!  I understand the reasons but it's so ingrained in U.S. culture I feel like I'm looking at a parallel universe when you talk about it. 

Similar to Back to the Future 2... :39:

Still scratching my head as to why it was ever well received over here.

 

[DreamcastRIP]

It's so weird to me that the NES wasn't well received over there, I just can't get my head around it!  I understand the reasons but it's so ingrained in U.S. culture I feel like I'm looking at a parallel universe when you talk about it. 

Similar to Back to the Future 2... :39:

Still scratching my head as to why it was ever well received over here.

 :24: