Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Nomad LCD Mod in Action!

Back in December I wrote about an awesome Nomad mod which upgraded both the screen and battery to modern day quality. Now it looks as though that same genius had posted a YouTube video of his mods in action. Watch and weep:



To double the awesome, he offers to do the mod for others (at a price of course). While $70 is a bit much for an upgraded screen, I'm sure there are Nomad fans out there would would love crystal clear gameplay.

Again, great job jonjandran!

Friday, March 26, 2010

Sega Genesis Ultimate Collection Canned

And Sega is reevaluating their iPhone strategy. Pocketgamer.co.uk has the full story:

Announced as a free app from which you could download classic games like
Sonic The Hedgehog, Ecco the Dolphin, and Golden Axe, Sega Genesis Ultimate Collection has been slated for release before the end of February. Well, February came and went without the game appearing on the store, let alone any word from Sega. Despite enthusiasm for the concept, Sega has decided to pull the plug on the in-app purchase anthology. The decision had less to do with the actual game and more with general struggles the company wants to remedy in its general iPhone and iPod touch gaming strategy. In short, Sega is completely re-evaluating its approach to iPhone games, and this just wasn't a part of that picture. Before the tears start to roll, this is actually great news. Kudos to Sega for making quality a priority and working to deliver better games to the iPhone community. I know I speak for a lot of us in saying that I'd love to see well-made Sega games hit the device.

In my opinion this is good news. Sega has, for the most part, done very well with their iPhone releases such as the solid Super Monkey Ball 2 and the feature-packed Sonic at the Winter Olympic Games. However, the Genesis ports were dodgy and did need a reworking. Perhaps the rumored Sonic 4 iPhone release led Sega to rethink placing a killer app beside dodgy ports of Sonic 1-3.

Of course, Genesis gaming on-the-go is not dead due to this announcement, remember we'll always have the Nomad!

Get it? 'Cuz the Nomad is like the God of mobile gaming?

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Super 32X 15th Anniversary Album

As no other Junkyard blog covers the 32X, I thought I'd take it under my wing and occasionaly post about it here. When you think about it, the Nomad Junkyard is the perfect fit for the 32X; both the Nomad and the 32X were made primarily for the North American market and both sold poorly.

It looks as though Sega has not completely forgotten about the little mushroom (or Genesis tumor as some see it as), as Sega and Wave Master will be releasing an album to celebrate the 32X's 15th birthday. The 3 disc set will include tunes from Space Harrier, Virtua Fighter, Virtua Racing Deluxe, code Pallas and Metal Head. You can view the full track listing and more details here. Like the 32X, the album will cost a pretty penny: $40 retail in Japan and probably much much more as an import.

Now where is the Nomad's birthday album?

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Goodbye to Virtual iPod Touch Pads?

While not really Sega related, the proposed GameBone from 22Moo could help in ridding Sega fans of those pesky touch screen controls.

While I'm all for the iPod touch screen, I have to admit that I really dislike how classic games are hurt thanks to so-so touch d-pads and buttons. While games like Golden Axe play well, faster more sensitive games like Sonic the Hedgehog suffer from virtualpaditus.

22Moo is currently working with Apple to get their device approved, and if all goes well we may very well see developers like Sega implementing an option to play games the old fashioned way.

Check out the GameBone's specs:
• Styling to compliment iPod/iPhone with optimized design for ergonomics and comfort
• 2000mAh Lithium-ion Battery for additional power for your iPod touch / iPhone*
• LED showing charging state and capacity
• 8-way D-Pad with 6 buttons
• Built-in Stereo speakers
• Highly sensitive omni directional Mic
• 3.5mm audio headphone jack
• Apple authentication IC + "Made for iPod" and "Works for iPhone" certification**

I could definitely see Sonic 4 playing very well with the help of GameBone.

Friday, March 12, 2010

Sonic Classic Collection Gets a Trailer

You'd think with the VAST library of Sonic tunes they could have picked a song that wasn't stock game trailer rock music.

Friday, March 5, 2010

Classic Sonic Hits the DS, iPhone Genesis Emulator is MIA

It has been a big two weeks for Sonic fans! Not only has the excellent Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing hit nearly every platform, but Sonic Classic Collection has hit the Ninetendo DS in America. The collection arrives in Europe and Australia on the 12th of this month. Check out some footage below, it looks quite solid!



In other portable Genesis release news, February and passed and the promised Sega's Ultimate Genesis emulator for the iPhone is nowhere to be seen. Sega promised that the app would be free to download and would include Space Harrier II. Additional games would be available to purchase within the app, allowing for a one stop app for all Genesis games. Hopefully March will be kinder to iPhone owners.