They're currently 16% of the way there and are [taking donations via Ko-fi.](https://ko-fi.com/johnnyhartist/goal)

archive.org

The group is currently aiming to raise $500 to purchase 20 more prototypes from the same source - read more about that [here, on their site](https://raregamingdump.ca/shantae).

If you ever wanted to search for gaming-related newspaper snippets, now's a great time to do so!

www.rockman-corner.com

These were released on Hidden Palace a few days ago (January 20th).

archive.org

The documents are a bit broader, encompassing other platforms' *Chicken Run* games (including an unreleased GBA title).

This may not be new information but I only learned of it now. Google claims that "you can continue to view and search for historical Usenet content posted before February 22, 2024 on Google Groups," but personally I would take this as a sign to start archiving anything and everything you can - I'm not one to trust tech companies at their word. (While this obviously doesn't spell the end of Usenet altogether, it *is* the death of a prominent method of accessing Usenet posts online without any specialized protocols.)

hiddenpalace.org

This is the first released prototype for this game to be on the PS2, apparently.

Direct quote: > Bill & Ted will be removed from sale before January 1 on all platforms, yes. This means it won't be available to buy, but people will still be able to redownload it. It was released in February 2023, so this means it will have been available for less than a year in total.

That bit's 13:21 in.

store.steampowered.com

Another online-only game bites the dust.

www.segasaturnshiro.com

If you hold L or R while entering your name, you can put in the following initials & birthdates to access the two: - **Tim Kitzrow:** KIT, June 8 - **Fox:** FOX, August 3

archive.org

[Long story short](https://youtu.be/7Fk6yDKhFR8): during the lead up to the English release of *Pokémon the Movie 2000*, Nintendo gave Warner Bros. permission to release tie-in products to promote it. Warner Bros. opted to commission Cyberworld International Corporation to create a short browser game to that end. According to Eddie Ruminski, an employee who kept the files and allowed them to be shared online, the game was downloaded more than 1,000,000 times within a month - which led to Nintendo forcibly shutting it down, as they felt the game was "[exceeding their] contract's allowable scope."

hitsave.org

Short summary: in a Japanese journal from 1997, an employee of Ikegami Tsushinki (the company that programmed *Donkey Kong* for Nintendo) wrote about the process. He still had documentation from back in 1981, and his account provides brand-new historical details. [Critical Kate](https://www.acriticalhit.com) happened across the journal and, knowing that its length (11 pages) would be beyond the usual remit of volunteer translations, organized a fundraiser with Hit Save! and Gaming Alexandria to raise $750 to commission a translation from Shmuplations. The goal's already been met, but you can still donate if you'd like!

I'm a bit late to post this, but this article weaves together many different sources (old magazines, internal Sega communication, Usenet reactions, etc.) to explain just how big *Adventure* was to *Sonic* and Sega fans in 1999.

In order: - [Nintendo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSTW2cqSmPQ) - [Sony](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0W6bSU6iR8) - [Microsoft (Xbox)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJgRC4fcTUU) - [EA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJDd7Srb6tg) - [Ubisoft](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUpfVaV4Qbo)

I remembered this older article just recently - it outlines Nintendo's attempts to market the GameCube in America, with Kyle Mercury (who worked with Nintendo during the console's lifespan) shining some light on some of their inner workings at the time. Among other tidbits, he claims that he recommended that he recommended Nintendo focus on *Resident Evil 4* during a meeting with then-new hire Reggie Fils-Aime and that Nintendo began to feel spite for their own audience near the end of the era ("they felt as if they were being betrayed by the gamers they created," additionally figuring that they didn't need to appeal to their hardcore fans because they'd buy their games no matter what).

hiddenpalace.org

This is admittedly a bit old (originally posted on July 4th, 2020), but I still think it's an interesting historical piece about the game's unusual past (including the version that *did* see release: *Special Champion Edition*).

spritecell.com

There's currently 3,253 ads on here!

Everything from "giant enemy crab" to "599 US dollars" to "Riiiidge Racer!"

www.rockman-corner.com

Translated by [Windii](https://twitter.com/WindiiGitlord), to be precise.

mdshock.com

The article also includes some relevant statements from other people who worked at Sega during that period.

www.youtube.com

It specifically goes over three separate games: * *Sister Sonic*, which was *not* meant to be a *Mean Bean Machine*-esque reskin of *Popful Mail* solely for overseas audiences but an outright remake for the Sega CD that would've released worldwide as a *Sonic* game (which turned into a more faithful remake after *Popful Mail* fans "vehemently protest[ed]") * A sequel to *Sonic Chronicles*, an RPG on the DS by BioWare that ended on a cliffhanger and inadvertently provoked a lawsuit from Archie *Sonic* writer Ken Penders that killed any further continuation * *Sonic Day*, a mobile game by Nitrome based on their hit platformer *Jump Day* -- Sega of Japan ultimately passed on it (I actually wrote up a full summary of the video, but Lemmy wouldn't let me post it here.)

sonicretro.org

In short: referencing other retro game collections released in the past year, the writer notes that *Origins* could have been a prime opportunity to collect *everything* about "classic Sonic" from the early to mid-'90s in one package - obscure games, development documents, promotional material, and so on. Relevant quote: >[Digital Eclipse](https://digitaleclipse.com) has, over the last few years, stepped up what a video game compilation should be. *[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The] Cowabunga Collection* has the games, yes. It has multiple versions of some of them! And all sorts of options that alter your playing experience. But it’s the extras that, for me, make it truly shine. You’ve got all sorts of magazine advertisements. You don’t just have a couple pieces of concept art – you have entire game design documents, for multiple games. Anything written in Japanese? A single button gives you an English translation. You have screenshots of every single episode of *Ninja Turtles*. It takes that extra step to not just give you the games, but let you take a peek into how they were made, and how they were part of the greater Turtles experience. The Ninja Turtles were one of the biggest things in the world back in the late 80’s and early 90’s, and you get a sense of why. >Then *[Atari 50: The Anniversary Collection](https://atari.com/products/atari-50th-the-anniversary-celebration)* took it another step, turning the video game compilation into a true interactive museum. You’ve got a timeline, you’ve got full documentary style interviews. The Atari 2600 was before my time, but I understand the importance of that company and the games they produced. For someone who has zero idea why? That is the perfect game to tell you. It takes any Atari collection that came before and blows it out of the water. The highs and the lows are there for everyone to see, with commentary from the people who were there, and giving you a selection of games that cover it all. It even has Atari Jaguar games. A system that most people will say had [one good game](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NVLXA05Lx8)! >*Sonic Origins* doesn’t bother to tell you when *[Sonic the Hedgehog 2](https://info.sonicretro.org/Sonic_the_Hedgehog_2_(16-bit))* was released. It's an interesting point - even if companies aren't necessarily required to be stewards of their own history and present it all to the public like this, on some level perhaps they *should* be.