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Showing posts from November, 2017

A Thing - The Sega Saturn Infrared Control Pad

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Sometimes I'll write about a single object. Something big, or something small. Something significant, or something insignificant. Something I own, something video games. A video game thing. You can never have enough Saturn pads. For all of its faults, real and imagined, Sega's 32-bit machine had some great controllers. The much-aped Saturn pad was sleek yet substantial. The Nights 3D pad was ahead of its time, just like many of the Saturn's features. You could wield the Saturn light gun without looking like a knob, the steering wheel looked cool, the bog standard joystick was excellent and there were countless OTT, game-specific peripherals, such at the Virtual On sticks and the thingamabob that came bundled with Space Harrier. I own lots of Saturn controllers. More than I have hands (2), or friends (2). This week I added another to my collection, the Infrared Control Pad, or the Cordless Pad as it's known here in Japan. A cordless pad from an era of too many wi

Nintendo Switch - Arguing With Myself

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I almost bought a Switch last week. Amazon had both the grey version and the Mario Odyssey bundle in-stock, and only ¥1000 above SRP. I decided to mull it over and waited for the following morning, by which time my interest had subsided and both versions had increased in price by 25%. Fuck that, then. History suggests that I'll eventually end up with a Switch. Back in 2012, I was agonising over pre-ordering a PS Vita . I eventually went for it, and I'm happy that I did. Two years later, I was unsure about picking up a discounted Wii U . Predictably, I ended up with one. I didn't particularly enjoy my Wii U, but without it I wouldn't have played two hundred hours of Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate with my wife, so it wasn't all bad. This time last year, I was umming and ahhing about the Xbox One . I eventually bought one, which is a decision that I deeply regret. Anyone want to swap an Xbox One for a Switch? If Switches were easier to find here in Japan, I'd p