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Video Interview with John Kellas

John Kellas was a consultant and director for many British software companies in the 80s and 90s like Mastertronic, GT Interactive or Rushware. In this interview, he talks about his career in the German subsidiaries of these companies. Learn more about some pretty interesting gaming industry insights like for example the first game compilation for the Sony Playstation...

Posted by Nafcom on Apr 04, 2021 // Read more »

Unboxing: ZZAP! Annual 2021 & ZZAP! 64 Micro Action Issue 1 Sampler

The Annual was funded on Kickstarter and features game reviews and articles, including an exclusive Tony Crowther interview by Mark Hellewell, Andrew Braybrook - In His Own Words looking back at some of his classic games. Perks shown include the Oli Frey art print and the 2022 Calendar filled with Oli Frey artwork. The Issue 1 sampler perk is a 28-page preview of ZZAP! 64 Micro Action, the new A5 bimonthly magazine from Fusion Retro Books. Featuring the same mix of game reviews and articles, this sample copy includes the long-awaited Soul Force review and Simon Butler's Art Gallery.

Posted by Nafcom on Apr 04, 2021 // Read more »

Audio Interview with Gary Penn

A historic interview with Gary Penn, a video games industry veteran and former games reviewer for Zzap!64. Fun fact: The first Grand Theft Auto game would have been ended up cancelled without his efforts as a creative director at DMA Design (later Rockstar Games). Enjoy!

Posted by Nafcom on Mar 28, 2021 // Read more »

Podcast Episode #111 - Repair Cafes with Martine Postma

When Martine Postma was done with the "throw away and buy new" behavior of society, she had no idea that her idea for a repair cafe where the layman can come in and get help repairing their electronic devices, would cause international awareness. Nowadays repair cafes are spread all around the world! Learn her story how it all started, how it moved the society back to a more repair-than-bin mentality, and how it helps the #righttorepair movement despite she is not officially a part of it. (Interview begins at 6:30)

Posted by Derision on Mar 17, 2021 // Read more »

Merman unboxes soul force!

Here's an unboxing video of Soul Force - an amazing new horizontal shmup for the C64

Posted by Nafcom on Mar 12, 2021 // Read more »

Podcast Episode #110 - Karl Lillrud

Karl Lillrud is an entrepreneur and public speaker and also recently released his book 'Hacking Your Destiny'. In this interview we learn a lot about the live of a person of his caliber and try to tackle why Commodore failed and what they could have done to make certain they'd still be around today. (Interview begins at 21:00)

Posted by Derision on Mar 09, 2021 // Read more »

Podcast Episode #109 - Watermelon Games' CEO Gwénaël Godde aka Fonzie

For the world outside of the retro game bubble, it's just some strange variant of playing with food, but for the retro lovers, this is a publishing powerhouse known for Pier Solar, the biggest Mega Drive game release back in 2010 and a well-praised RPG which was even ported to many current-gen consoles later on. After many years of hype and drama they just released their new smash hit Paprium, a brawler pushing Sega's 16bit console to its absolute max and even beyond. This sophisticated 80 Mbit shock is already considered by many as the system's best game and even Game Of The Year 2020. So, what is all the fuzz about? You've got more questions than answers? Fonzie himself speaks out! The interview starts at 8:34 minutes.

Posted by Nafcom on Feb 27, 2021 // Read more »

Podcast Episode #108 - Roy "Mr. Awesome" Shildt (Part 1)

Roy "Mr. Awesome" Shildt is one of the worlds' premier gamers, specifically for his Missile Command scores. More recently, he (and Twin Galaxies) have become the subject of controversies regarding said scores, and Roy's battle to maintain his supremacy. AJ and Joerg talk to him about his history, the intricacies of playing Missile Command, and hit on some of the controversies at the heart of this topic. (interview begins at 14:50)

Posted by Derision on Feb 22, 2021 // Read more »

Podcast Episode #107 - Demoscene: The Art of Coding

Demoscene - The Art of Coding is an initiative to enlist the demoscene as the first digital culture on UNESCO's list of intangible cultural heritage. AJ and Joerg (er, Derision and Nafcom) talk to Dedux, Flopine, Kudrix, and Unjello about why this is important and how we can all help move the initiative forward. (interview begins at 10:00)

Posted by Derision on Feb 16, 2021 // Read more »

Podcast Episode #106 - Remute with Denis Karimani

Retro music is in right now, but few people have taken it to the lengths that Remute has, releasing his songs not just on vinyl and digital download, but also on cartridge and floppy disk! Joerg, Martin, and AJ talk to him about why he chose this medium, and the unique challenges associated with releasing music on such unusual platforms. (Interview begins at 22:40)

Posted by Derision on Jan 25, 2021 // Read more »