The Lair of the Monkey

This is the final part of the interview with Phorenzik.  Read this one, then this one if you haven’t already, then come back.  He has some ace games and a very interesting collection of retro games.
6. You’ve said that you have a huge retro collection - which systems do you own and what are you favourite games on each?

Before I start, I want to make it clear to any burglars that I have a great security system, and a vicious dog. Also, I keep a plank of wood with a nail in it beside my bed.
Right, here we go. Hope I don’t miss anything out. (All of the below are boxed and in immaculate condition)

Sega:
Master System Mark 1
Game Gear
Mega Drive
Mega CD
32X
Nomad
Saturn (Jap, White with 60Hz & Region switch)
Dreamcast (Jap, Day 1 machine)

Nintendo:
NES
SNES
Virtual Boy (Jap)
N64
Panasonic Q Gamecube (Jap/US Modded)
GBA (Gold Pokemon New York Nintendo Centre Edition)
GBA SP (Jap Charizard Limited edition)
GBA SP (Jap Kingdom Hearts Limited Edtion)
Gameboy Micro (Jap, Mario Famicom Edition)
DS Lite (Jap, Navy Blue)
Wii

Sony:
Psone (LCD screen Combo)
PS2 (USA, Black, Fat style)
PS2 (Jap, White, Fat style)
PS3 60 Gig (USA)
PSP (USA) (more…)

(This is the second part of an interview Phorenzik, the first part can be found elsewhere on this games blog)

4. We mentioned briefly in a chat that Nintendo seem to have forgotten their core audience, i.e. 20 somethings who grew up with their games. Do you think they’ll ever cater for this market or will they continue to focus on their ‘for all’ entertainment?

Nintendo will, (And I’m pretty confident in this) only ever cater to the casuals, girls, old people and first-time buyers from now on. They are making a huge amount of profit with the DS and the Wii by following this method. I personally don’t like where Nintendo are going. They have completely alienated me with the Wii. Zelda was good, but that doesn’t really count because it’s a Cube game. The only other game I’m interested in is Mario Galaxy, and that won’t be out before the back-end of this year. I like what they have done with the VC, but as I’m a retro gamer, I’ll be buggered if I’m going to pay £7 for a game I already own.

The Wii is a great console if you have never played on a ‘proper’ console before. After a hard day at work, I just want to relax when I play a game. The last thing I want to do is jump around my room like a daft twat. Nintendo don’t seem to care about the people who have made them what they are. The phrase ‘New customers only’ springs to mind. Maybe they should use it as a corporate slogan? I’m not going to write Nintendo off altogether though. The best thing for them to do would be to make a proper hardcore only game starring Reggie. I love Reggie, he’s a legend. If I ever met him, I’d kidnap him and keep him tied up in my house. I wouldn’t do anything rude to him…unless he wanted me to. I bet he’s great in bed though…sorry, went a bit off topic there.

5. In my opinion, this year could shape up to be pretty special for games. What are your top tips to look out for? (more…)

This is the first of a three part interview with the one, the only, Phorenzik.  He’s a very funny guy with his own blog who knows a heck of a lot about games and has an extensive collection of consoles to boot.  So without further ado, I’ll let the man himself take over and introduce himself:

Hello to you. I’ll give you a little background information about me before I jump in to the questions you have asked.
I’m 27 and go by the name of Stu.  I have been the Creative Director of a failed animation company in the past. I completed a film script, and animated about 25% of the movie. I have also created 2 animated sitcoms (This, again, involved scripting and full animation). I’m kind of glad that the business failed. I had to dumb-down a hell of a lot of my humour and jokes so that it would appeal mainly to the American market. For legal reasons I can’t divulge any more information about the company, or the projects that I worked on. None of them have been aired. I suspect that the main concepts have been sold on, so they could appear at some point, albeit in a bastardised form.
I enjoy music too, and I have been composing music for around 10 years now. My main ambition is be to become a games musician.

1. Phorenzik, you’re involved in the games retail sector.  Without giving the name, do you work for a large chain or an independent games store?  What has been the least likely game that has sold well?

I work for an indie store. We are situated in the middle of the country. We are only 1 shop. Times are very hard for indies at the moment, and I don’t hold out much hope for the future. I’ve been working for them for nearly 5 years now. I started as a part-time nobody, and worked my way up the unappreciated, & constantly taken for granted ‘Manager’s position’ within 2 and a half years. The least likely game that has sold well within my time there has probably been Animal Crossing on the DS. Bear with me, I’ll explain. Animal Crossing is a good game, that’s why it’s unbelievable that it actually sold well. It still sells well now. People these days generally don’t look twice at a game unless it has car-modding, violence, swearing, a BBFC 18 logo an EA logo, or all of the previously mentioned. You probably expected me to pick out more of an obscure game didn’t you? Zoo Tycoon - DS for some unknown reason suddenly had a surge in sales. We had already discounted it because it didn’t sell. Customers kept asking for it, so we re-stocked it, and put the price up. It sold a fair amount, for a game that got panned by the press. (more…)

This is kind of a pre-interview and a bit of a plug.  I was over at Idiottoys and I noticed a fairly frequent commenter who at times offered some fantastic sartorial wit and other times gave well-observed humour about the gadgets on display.  This being the case, I strove to find out more.  May I present Phorenzik’s blog.  He’s a man of words - in fact words that are totally unsuitable for kids.

That being the case, unless you’re a minor or prone to taking offence at one man’s (okay at times sweary but always hilarious) opinion then don’t click.  For the rest of you who like to have a good moan at customers, please do click (there’s a second chance to do so).  Anyway, I’ll be interviewing Phorenzik in the next couple of days.  He’s around the same age as me, and to give you a snippet (I’m sure he won’t mind) he has already said “I love retro gaming” so I know you’ll love him.  Interview as and when Phorenzik gifts me with some hilarious insights - I’ll try to send it to him tomorrow, as tonight it’s a bit late and I need to revise.

Malfurious has been a computer and video games player for a long time, and he’s pretty damn good at it. Recently, due to other commitments, he’s changed his gaming habits - however I’d still say he’s hardcore. So, lets get down to the questions.

Malfurious - until recently you were a pretty hardcore player of World of Warcraft. How easy was it to give that up?
To be honest it was extremely hard. If I had my own way I’d still be playing now lol, there’s nothing worse than having to delete characters you’ve spent a good deal of the past year and a half of your life building up, I guess I could say I was proud of them in a way.

Could you see yourself playing an MMORPG again? What do you think the attraction is for these games?
Like I said, I would be playing it now if I had the choice. I’ve switched to Guild Wars now since there are no monthly costs and at the minute this system is working for me. I’d say the biggest attraction is the social side of it. I’m sure everyone will agree playing games by yourself is fun……..but there’s nothing better than playing with other people it just adds a whole new level to the game play, and of course you’ve got someone to gloat at .

Do you play any games online now?
I play Guild Wars but not as much as I did WoW, other games I play online at the minute are Warcraft 3: The Frozen Throne, Command and Conquer Generals: Zero Hour and the Warhammer 40,000 games as you can tell I’m a bit of a RTS nut online . I don’t play console games online yet because of all the extra costs and so on, but I think I’ll probably try it out in the near future especially when the Wii comes out.

You recently purchased an Xbox 360. What do you think of it so far?
I think it’s a great machine, but I can’t really comment much at the minute since I’ve only got one game lol, the £50 price tags on the games is pretty steep so I haven’t had a chance yet to get anymore, that’s the one thing I would change for the system. I like the idea of the achievements [on games] it’s a good idea and I’m sure for online console players it’s a big talking point in the forums and a way to show off your skills! (more…)

Recently, I had the pleasure of interviewing Mack and Mesh.  For those of you who don’t know, they run the cult (although not cult anymore because it’s too popular - ed) games site MackandMesh.com.  On said site, you can see various videos, but mostly of Mesh playing various first person shooters and being very scared indeed.  Frankly I think they should put this on TV, and I’m sure alot of you guys and gals would agree - not sure if Mack and Mesh would though!  Anyway, they are two top notch guys from the North of England much like myself, so I simply had to get them on here.  Well, without further ado here we are:

First, would you like to say a little about yourselves as an introduction?
 
We have both been playing games now for a very long time, especially Mack as his gaming dates back to the Atari console days.  We are very easy going people that can usually get a laugh out of anything, our sense of humour is almost identical which is why we get along I suppose. 
 
1) When did you start Mack and Mesh, and did you think the concept would be as popular as it has turned out to be?
 
We started M&M when Doom III came out.  Mack had the game and found it to be quite scary and knowing how much of a pussy I was in scary games he invited me over to have a go. It was so funny that Mack decided to video it and then put together the first Doom video.  The video was put on the forums for a laugh and within 2 days it had over 25k viewsand by the end of the week it was over a million, we were shocked
 
2) Did you guys enjoy watching others play?  Obviously the concept of Mack and Mesh is a little different as you are watching someone play as well as watching the game.
 
No not really
 
3) How does it feel to be somewhat gaming celebrities? (more…)