Ack wrote:Just a couple of quick questions. When you guys ask for more obscure consoles, would you also like to see much more in terms of old school? I mean, 1970s consoles, since we haven't given them too much love. Would you like the really weird ones, like the R-Zone, to pop up? Do you guys want to see articles covering knock offs, examining things like the Turbo Duo or FC Twin or some of those Russian consoles so seldom seen in the West?
Also, when you want information about genres, would you enjoy a history, or more like a rough guide on how to approach it? Do you want us to continue to give breakdowns of genres by console, such as my recent article on fighting games for the Nintendo 64, or do you prefer the more open approach of the Hidden Gems articles? Do you want us to publish control schemes and relevant information, such as how much space a game might take up on a memory card?
I'm assuming for peripherals you'd want everything from the PlayStation Dex Drive to the Master System's 3D glasses, arranged by console.
I doubt I only speak for myself when I say that I'm interested in any systems with good games. If 1970s consoles fit the bill, then I don't see why not. Even consoles without good games could be covered in an article though, especially as there are quite a few collectors who visit this site. Spin-off consoles even have a place, especially when compared and contrasted to the consoles they're spun-off from.
I would prefer at least an option for an open approach to genres, since I have every single console listed in topics save for the 32x (which I'll get around to eventually). I also prefer more of a rough guide rather than a more encyclopedic effort, as I'm not as interested in the history of, say,
all platformers as I am interested in the best platformers ever made.
Similarly, the posts need to be cleaned up a lot in topics. If I click on Dreamcast under topics I won't see the Undiscovered Dreamcast Games article until page six. Sure, I can find it more easily under hidden gems, but what if I didn't know I was looking for it? A better system for organization would go a really long way, though I do understand it would involve changing the format around quite a bit. I don't think the nitty gritty like memory card space is important, but certainly more detail wouldn't hurt, so long as it strays from the convoluted.
As for peripherals, my own interests are pretty specific: Controllers that have a
use. The world of hardware is an even larger one and would be VERY difficult to tie down. But I could definitely see how articles about hardware like Dex Drive could be useful, and SegaScope (the 3D glasses) seems pretty damn cool.
As for the controllers, some time in the next few days I'll take some pictures of my controller collection and see how much interest it garners. I don't collect things that serve use only as a collector's item (though a few come very close), like the Resident Evil chainsaw controller or Yuna's Tiny Bee Gun controller, I don't try to collect multiple of various types of controllers (I only have two arcade sticks, for instance, and I'm missing light guns for a system or two), and I don't collect inferior controllers (no R.O.B. or Power Glove, sorry), but I guarantee I have a few controllers that 99% of people have never seen before. And I do KNOW of most the controllers that only serve as a collector's item.
My knowledge fades a ton when it comes to stuff like Famicom controllers and older peripherals (see:
http://www.ne.jp/asahi/oroti/famicom/cont00.htm). If I knew Japanese my hunt for novelty controllers would be a lot more productive. I only knew about a few of those Famicom controllers before I found that site. I'm sure there must be lots of controllers I'm completely oblivious about for older systems.
). Trying to sort out information about various consoles, and more specifically, the best titles on various underdog consoles can be an arduous task of sorting through contrary opinions and bias. The hidden gems articles on the site have the right idea, but applying them to less successful consoles and filtering out the bias is a more difficult task (and becomes more difficult the less successful the console is).
