Shock of the old
Dave Cook revels in the joys of retro technology
it some \\';l}\ .laek Blaek and Mos l)el"s new film lie Kim! Rt'lt‘lllt/ (see our t‘eVieu on page 40) highlights the end ol‘ an era for old teeltnology such as the VHS. Today it's hard to imagine l)\'l) disappearing eompletel} and being replaeed b) Blu-Ray and Ill) l)\t'l).s. but the sad fact is that it has to happen sometime. You just ne\ er know how soon. l)espite advanees in leehnolog}. many people leel nostalgie tor the good old da_\s ol‘ elunk} \ ideo reeorders and eomputer games on eassette tltal took a dayand-a-hall to load. Who doesn't retnember \Vatehing \ ideos of Alien or ('tiiitli'mun underage \\hile round at their mates house \shile their parents were asleep'.’ It \\Ll\ just so mueh more User l't'iendl} land serateh resistant) than DVD. There were no 'this l‘unetion is not aeeessible at this point’ \xarnings and )UU eould skip the pirae} blurb by simpl) pressing last l’orxsard. And. ot~ eourse. reeording \\ as so mueh simpler on VHS. Remember the exeitement _\ou l'elt \\ hen _\ou bought _\our lirst e\ er ‘album' on eass‘ette‘.’ .-\nd \‘in_\'l‘.’ It still sounds better than any other musie format in e\istenee.
For those who ret'use to let go ol‘
the past. it ean be difficult traeking down these teehnolog} gone by.
Major 12 THE LIST 31—34 Let‘ ;.\‘5
‘artet‘aets‘ Oi.
stoekists ha\e gixen old \in}l and game eonsoles the l‘tltll \\ hile lllttll} eonsumers toda_\ are eonlent \\llll their i'l'unes and l’la}Station Some \ltlL'lxl\l\ are deliant and hold onto these items beeause there is still a demand for them. .’\\alanehe (34 l)tmdas Street. (ilasgtm and (i3 (‘oekburn Street. lidinburghl 23rd l’reeinet (23 Bath Street. (ilasgtml and \'iti)l Villains 15 lilm Ron. lidinburghl are just the tip ol‘ the ieeberg l'or musie rarities. pieture dises and nostalgia.
li\ en retro games are eoming baek into st}le. 'l‘alxe dounload suelt as “it l’i/‘Iutil (ill/[\lllt' tilltl .\'/H).\ I.I.\’(’ :ll't'tlt/t’l these are ehoek—l‘ull ol‘ elassie titles that. tor a small tee lustiall} if» {8). let _\ou purehase the kinds til~ titles llltlt set the l‘tltlntlatitllls litlt’ prett} mueh e\er_\ platl'orm game that has e\ er e\isted unaltered and
\L‘IW ICL'\
just as _\ou remember them. from
Super Mario l))l'()\ to Sou/t Illt'
‘REMEMBER THE EXCITEMENT YOU FELT WHEN YOU BOUGHT YOUR FIRST EVER "ALBUM" ON CASSETTE'
Ht't/g‘t'lmg'. llouexer. litll' the purist \\ ho prefers to hax e an aetual ph_\sieal eop} ol' a game rather than
a dounload. there are man}
independent \ttll'es and smaller
ehains that are hand} when looking l’or that e\asi\e eop} ol' Uta/t HIUH on the \liS. ('llil’S l Ht) Nietilstitt Street. lidinburgh. \\ \\ \\ .ehips \\(ll'ltl.L'U.lll\l is a great plaee to stall but their priees ol'ten rel'leet lltm rare a title is; it‘s not one to \ isit on a tight budget. (i-l"oree 177 l'nion Street. (ilasgtml tlabbles ill retro and imported goodies and e\er} so olten a lien real gems \\ill appear on the shell.
The best retro gaming site on the web tor Atari \Hltlltl ha\ e to be \\\\ u.i'eti‘ogaiites.etLtik lsee right). :\s tor that \enerable old elassie. the \xalkman. .\laplin still deal in them online at \ut\\.maplin.eo.ul\. \'(‘R\ ean be traelsed tltmn till the net l\\\\\\. pi\mania.eo.uk stoek a range ol~ eombined l)\'l)/\'llS reeorders and \\ \\ \t.teseo.eom sell their littnai 29-8250 \'('R at itist £.‘~|.t\’t\’i. .-\s for VHS eassettes. most seetiitdltand stores l('asli (ienerator and their ilkl aitd eharity shops sell them eheapl}. and it _\ou lseep )our e_\ es peeled )ou ean piek tip a text gems that still haxen‘t made the leap to DVD.
.-\nd it" )ou \\ ant something more speeil‘ie there‘s alua_\s eBa). Happ} hunting.
www.2iquarterof.com
From Anglo Bubbly and Wham! bars to foiled chocolate cups and Space Dust, this website is a joy to behold for those of us nostalgic for long-forgotten treats. Oh, to return to the days when a two pence Highland toffee was the size of your head and you could get your mitts on a bumper bag of e- number-packed goodies for less than 10p. With over 600 sweets to choose from, this is as much a visual delight as it is a treat for the tastebuds.
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www.retrogames.co.uk
Boasting the largest collection of hard to find games and consoles on the net, this website has a forum where viewers can swap unwanted games, links to its official E-bay store, and regular updates on the retro-gaming world. Prices vary, with most boxed games costing 215—5230, and consoles going for around £45. For the more dedicated among you, the website has a healthy collection of memorabilia such as the Nintendo Mario toothbrush holder.
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www.803cartoons.net
Not only did the 805 introduce us to some of the best ever sweets, games and toys, it also gave us some of the greatest cartoon shows like The Raccoons, Jetsons, Gummi Bears, Fraggle Rock, Duck Tales, Denver the Last Dinosaur, Count Duckula and Bananaman to name but a few. Sit back and relax with a stash of retro sweets and shout out loud and proud: ‘ThunderCats are go!’