Malc breaks silence in new Retro Gamer Shock!

MikeB · Post by **MikeB** » Thu Aug 14, 2008 8:41 pm

Hello peeps,

Thought I'd just drop into say the ever-so-shy-and-retiring Mr Malcolm Laurie, venerable creator of this very site, has an interview discussing Shmups.com in this month's Retro Gamer magazine (Issue 54). You can't miss it, its got a rather snazzy Outrun cover, along with a rare interview with Yu Suzuki about the making of the game, plus my belated Salamander Deluxe Pack thing, an extensive history of the Neo-Geo MVS arcade system, and much more.

Should be out in the UK as I type. Enjoy.

jpj · Post by **jpj** » Thu Aug 14, 2008 9:13 pm

nice one. bit pricey these days, but sounds worth a look

Post by **system11** » Fri Aug 15, 2008 7:53 am

I wish you could buy an electronic copy. I have too much 'stuff' in the house as it is.

sven666 · Post by **sven666** » Fri Aug 15, 2008 8:03 am

cool, hope its reached the shops here.

PC Engine Fan X! · Post by **PC Engine Fan X!** » Fri Aug 15, 2008 4:32 pm

For MikeB,

That Outrun special in the Retro Gamer Shock won't reach the USA until a month or two later down the road at American based bookstores. Why is that?

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

Koa Zo · Post by **Koa Zo** » Fri Aug 15, 2008 4:36 pm

PC Engine Fan X! wrote:For MikeB,

That Outrun special in the Retro Gamer Shock won't reach the USA until a month or two later down the road at American based bookstores. Why is that?

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

Shipping time.

jpj · Post by **jpj** » Fri Aug 15, 2008 5:42 pm

not a bad read

boagman · Post by **boagman** » Fri Aug 15, 2008 5:51 pm

Koa Zo wrote:
PC Engine Fan X! wrote:For MikeB,

That Outrun special in the Retro Gamer Shock won't reach the USA until a month or two later down the road at American based bookstores. Why is that?

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~
Shipping time.

Not for nothing, but the price of the magazine itself is, by today's conversion rate, US$9.31, for this one single issue. The shipping would easily double that, making one copy of a magazine around about US$20. That's a heckuva lot for a single ish.

I really enjoy Retro Gamer from the experiences I've had with it, and yes, I would think about subscribing if it weren't so darned expensive, but $20 for one issue is the price of a decent game for a portable system, and I think that, if the read is actually that important, I can wait for a couple months for it to arrive in the US at about half that price. I think the newsstand price for RG is usually around $13 here, IIRC.

It's one of those "Is it really worth all that?" moments.

Post by **system11** » Fri Aug 15, 2008 6:05 pm

My girlfriend picked me up a copy on the way home from work - the article about Outrun is nice, but the epic namedrop from Malc for the forum was even better

malc · Post by **malc** » Fri Aug 15, 2008 6:16 pm

hi mikeb, blood , everybody!

Yup did you notice they spelt your name right as well? I was going to go with bloodflowers but if its your proper name peope can find out where you live and come and steal your pinballs.... erm... maybe I made a mistake there...

I was lamenting how the space invaders tattoo wot I got didnt show up very well. I intend to get a decent galaxian one sometime, but I got 5 wee space invaders in a column the other days which was fun. The guy wanted to do me a sonic the hedgehog next but its not very shmuppy is it.

oh yeh nice salamander article too mike, liked that - I remember was well how jawdropping amazing it looked. I was always scared to play it at first, because there were so many people checking it out - anybody that played it had 10 people watching it to try and work out some techniques. Like getting all the raspberries and how to get through the growing spongy bit.

Oh yeh, bloodf - any decent logos happen by the way?

I was thinking of changing the front page on the site so it acted more like a launchpad for the forum. I did actually put up some more reviews but I get so little time nobody really notices anyway.

I'm off to play some more gunhed on the brand new opened turboduo I found yesterday in a second hand shop...

byeeeee - malc

MikeB · Post by **MikeB** » Fri Aug 15, 2008 7:49 pm

'ello Malc!

Can't talk Salamander without mentioning space raspberries - it's part of the 'official' lexicon innit? Or did I pick that up from you?

Shame they cropped your tat' - glad you got Dangar in the pic though - is that your MAME cab? It looks lovely...

kozo · Post by **kozo** » Fri Aug 15, 2008 8:41 pm

Dumb Question(tm): Where in the US can I grab such a fine magazine? Outrun, Suzuki AND Shmups.com? I NEED THIS.

MikeB · Post by **MikeB** » Fri Aug 15, 2008 9:15 pm

Quick FAQ for US/Non UK peeps:

Where do I get this mag?

The main vendor in the US is Barnes & Noble - they tend to import only a few copies of any particular issue though so it might be an idea to give your local branch a call and see if they can order/hold one for you. They usually have them in at about $12. Some US branches of Borders get it too - as do many international branches (I found a copy at the Borders at the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur a few months back). There may be a number of smaller bookstore chains that carry it as well. You could also order it online here:

http://www.retrogamer.net/back_issues.php

Not sure how much they charge for overseas shipping though - maybe around $8-10 US. Maybe you could think about doubling up with Issue 53, which has a rather nice article on the making of Border Down

When is it out?

It's onsale in the UK (WH Smiths/Borders) and some EU countries now. In the US Barnes & Noble usually get them about 4-6 weeks after the European street date, AUS-NZ about 8-12 weeks (!).

What does it look like?

The issue concerned is this one here:

jpj · Post by **jpj** » Fri Aug 15, 2008 9:28 pm

MikeB wrote:[...]Issue 53, which has a rather nice article on the making of Border Down

dang...

Post by **BulletMagnet** » Fri Aug 15, 2008 9:31 pm

Heh, the "OLD!" still cracks me up.

MikeB · Post by **MikeB** » Fri Aug 15, 2008 9:35 pm

jpj wrote:
MikeB wrote:[...]Issue 53, which has a rather nice article on the making of Border Down
dang...

Still available on back order online with free postage in the UK

J-Manic · Post by **J-Manic** » Fri Aug 15, 2008 10:08 pm

This thread reminded me of something.

I was going to ask this at the time that I bought it, but I forgot to.

Did anyone here pick up a copy of that Retro Gamer issue with the shmup special? There was a huge article on the Saturn library, which was very nice. I purchased it right there on the spot, at Barnes & Noble, without hesitating. I'm not sure which issue it was (dont feel like bringing it out right now). Maybe earlier this year, or around Nov-Dec last year. Anyway, it's a great read.

PC Engine Fan X! · Post by **PC Engine Fan X!** » Sat Aug 16, 2008 11:13 am

malc wrote:hi mikeb, blood , everybody!

Yup did you notice they spelt your name right as well? I was going to go with bloodflowers but if its your proper name peope can find out where you live and come and steal your pinballs.... erm... maybe I made a mistake there...

I was lamenting how the space invaders tattoo wot I got didnt show up very well. I intend to get a decent galaxian one sometime, but I got 5 wee space invaders in a column the other days which was fun. The guy wanted to do me a sonic the hedgehog next but its not very shmuppy is it.

oh yeh nice salamander article too mike, liked that - I remember was well how jawdropping amazing it looked. I was always scared to play it at first, because there were so many people checking it out - anybody that played it had 10 people watching it to try and work out some techniques. Like getting all the raspberries and how to get through the growing spongy bit.

Oh yeh, bloodf - any decent logos happen by the way?

I was thinking of changing the front page on the site so it acted more like a launchpad for the forum. I did actually put up some more reviews but I get so little time nobody really notices anyway.

I'm off to play some more gunhed on the brand new opened turboduo I found yesterday in a second hand shop...

byeeeee - malc

Hi Malc,

Long time no hear from you, dude. How's it hanging? I remember reading your posts from the old Shmups Mk II.com era...damn, that was a long time ago. ^_~

Congratulations on picking up U.S. region Turbo Duo console, NEC really knew how to make such a solid gaming console such as the original PC Engine Duo and it latter released variants. Such a pity that the NEC PC-FX wasn't released in the USA though. Oh well, due to the joint collaboration of Hudons Soft and NECHE American branches, it was how Turbo Technolgies Incorporated (TTI) came to be born in 1992. Now only if TTI had more sufficient captial, they could've better promoted the Turbo Duo and had a better lineup of "killer app" software to sell for the North American marketbase.

Say, how much did you buy your used Turbo Duo console for, Malc?

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

malc · Post by **malc** » Sat Aug 16, 2008 11:25 am

Hiya pcefx!! doin cool thx, hope u are as well

I'm trying to make some time for shmupping again. I think I have moved house 4 times since those days - finally settled and got a lovely games room (read: living room) set up again...

ooh, I paid a very not hefty £2.99 for it - came with vigilante hucard, and it was totally minted and brand new.

I've just realised I said Turbo Duo. Meant to say Turbo Grafx... duh.... stil a barg tho!

My cd drives died on both my old US turboduo and the briefcase white jap pce I have so I'm just sticking to emulation to play cds - but theres nothing like playing on original hardware. Even Virtual console pcengine releases just dont feel right!!

thinking about it I need to break out the old snes again, wonder if my save games are still backed up... hmmmmm byebye - malc

PC Engine Fan X! · Post by **PC Engine Fan X!** » Sat Aug 16, 2008 11:52 am

malc wrote:Hiya pcefx!! doin cool thx, hope u are as well

I'm trying to make some time for shmupping again. I think I have moved house 4 times since those days - finally settled and got a lovely games room (read: living room) set up again...

ooh, I paid a very not hefty £2.99 for it - came with vigilante hucard, and it was totally minted and brand new.

I've just realised I said Turbo Duo. Meant to say Turbo Grafx... duh.... stil a barg tho!

My cd drives died on both my old US turboduo and the briefcase white jap pce I have so I'm just sticking to emulation to play cds - but theres nothing like playing on original hardware. Even Virtual console pcengine releases just dont feel right!!

thinking about it I need to break out the old snes again, wonder if my save games are still backed up... hmmmmm byebye - malc

For malc,

I'm doing just fine myself. Dang, that is a very sweet price to pay for a used U.S. region Turbografx-16 console with a Hu-card game. Glad to hear that you doing great. Yep, there's nothing like playing with the original console hardware compared to playing with emulation. ^_~

Take care ol' friend...

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

Thunder Force · Post by **Thunder Force** » Tue Aug 19, 2008 2:49 pm

I happened to randomly buy this issue yesterday, indeed page 107 is practically a huge ad for Shmups Forum. Nice work by all involved

Meanwhile, Edge this month had Shoot The Core as their featured website, so lots of shmup website love is going around!

kozo · Post by **kozo** » Tue Aug 19, 2008 6:53 pm

MikeB wrote:Quick FAQ for US/Non UK peeps:

Very appreciated, thanks!

postman · Post by **postman** » Tue Aug 19, 2008 7:05 pm

Meanwhile, Edge this month had Shoot The Core as their featured website, so lots of shmup website love is going around!

Why am I always the last person to find out?!?!

Anyone have scans or can tell me the issue date/number?

MikeB · Post by **MikeB** » Tue Aug 19, 2008 7:27 pm

postman wrote:Meanwhile, Edge this month had Shoot The Core as their featured website, so lots of shmup website love is going around!

Why am I always the last person to find out?!?!

Anyone have scans or can tell me the issue date/number?

Typical Edge and their hoity-toity 'please ourselves' attiude

Congratulations due anyway Roger I think! Has RG interviewed you yet about your site by the way? If not I'll give Darran a kick...

postman · Post by **postman** » Tue Aug 19, 2008 10:17 pm

Thanks Mike!

No, haven't had any contacts about STC, it just gets a small writeup every now and then in "check out these sites" type aritcles.

It's very cool to see shmup sites featured in any media though, I'm happy that the genre keeps chugging along......

louisg · Post by **louisg** » Wed Aug 20, 2008 3:49 am

Oh wow, a Malc sighting! Congrats on the Turbografx find. I'll have to grab a copy of that mag next time I'm out.

Post by **Icarus** » Sun Sep 07, 2008 12:32 am

I was expecting a bigger article, but it is cool to see Malc in the press again.
For those who haven't seen it yet:

Click the small pic for the big one.
Maybe some day I'll get round to scanning "The Making of Border Down" article from a previous issue.

JoshF · Post by **JoshF** » Sun Sep 07, 2008 1:48 am

haha he's got the dangar going

Pixel_Outlaw · Post by **Pixel_Outlaw** » Sun Sep 07, 2008 2:12 am

Good Heavens! *monocle pops out*

He said something about adding fresh reviews!

Ed Oscuro · Post by **Ed Oscuro** » Sun Sep 07, 2008 4:09 am

Fab Upgrades

* Fab upgrades

shmups.system11.org

Malc breaks silence in new Retro Gamer Shock!

Malc breaks silence in new Retro Gamer Shock!

Malc, long time no hear from you, man...