So, I started another blog ...

... and--surprise, surprise--it's devoted to the PC Engine.

Don't worry, it's not going to take the place of this blog. There's just so much I want to say about my new little (literally) toy and I don't think all of those things need to be (or should be) posted here.

Anyway, I'm pretty happy with the name I came up with for the blog: I Was a Teenage PC Engine Fan.



It's pretty fitting when you consider I've been obsessed with the system since I first read about it in the pages of Electronic Gaming Monthly (or Video Games and Computer Entertainment--you've heard the story before, right?).

As of now, the site consists of a single, solitary, introductory post. The next few additions are likely to be rehashes of posts found here, but after that it should come into its own. (I plan on sharing impressions and photos of PC Engine games and scans of old magazines, among other things.)

Now that I've gotten that off my chest, I think it's about time this blog returned to its regularly scheduled programming, don't you?

See also: 'I'm pretty sure this means I can die a happy man'

PC Engine porn

Now that I've finally gotten my hands on a PC Engine, all I want to do is play it. Well, that and take photos of it.

Also, here are some Glamour Shots® of a few of the games I purchased alongside the system.

See also: 'I'm pretty sure this means I can die a happy man' and 'It's not all fun and games'

I'm pretty sure this means I can die a happy man

Guess what I just grabbed off of our doorstep? If you guessed "a PC Engine," give yourself a pat on the back.

Yep, I (finally) bought NEC's little white wonder. I've wanted one ever since I first read about--and saw pictures of--the system in the first issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly. (Or was it the first issue of Video Games and Computer Entertainment? It doesn't really matter, does it?)

Anyway, here's a photo of the system's--my system's--surprisingly pristine box:

The system came with six games--Barunba, Cyber Dodge, F1 Circus, Fire Pro Wrestling 2nd Bout, Street Fighter II' Champion Edition and Wonder Momo--though, honestly, the only one I give a hoot about is Street Fighter II.

I also picked up, separately, copies of PC Genjin, PC Genjin 2 and Pro Tennis World Court. (Yes, I'm one of the few people in the world who enjoys playing Namco's "tennis RPG.")

Now if I could just find an AV Booster--or an inexpensive-but-still-in-working-order CD-ROM² system--on eBay...

This makes me love Jennifer Saunders (and tinycartridge.com) even more

The following photo, posted first on sophieloveslondon.tumblr.com and then on tinycartridge.com, seems to be from an old issue of the British glossy Tatler.

The focus of said photo is, of course, Jennifer Saunders, the 51-year-old actress and screenwriter who is partially responsible for two of the funniest TV shows of all time, Absolutely Fabulous and French & Saunders.

That's nice, I'm sure many of you are thinking, but why in the hell are you posting it on your gay gaming blog? Well, take a gander at the bottom of the photo, near Saunder's right knee. Yep, it's a GameBoy!

In my oh-so-gay opinion: The five most iconic cartridge designs of all time

What makes a cartridge design iconic? Well, it has to have some character, for starters--i.e., it can't just be a gray hunk of plastic. (I'm looking at you, Mr. Nintendo 64 Cartridge.) Also, it has to have captured at least a portion of the public's attention and imagination during in its lifetime.

In my oh-so-gay-but-not-so-humble opinion, only a handful of cartridge designs (five, actually) have checked both of those boxes and, as such, deserve to be called iconic. Here they are:

Atari 2600--I probably should add an asterisk to this entry, as the colorful labels affixed to Atari 2600 cartridges are chiefly responsible for them earning a spot on this list. Without them, they'd be little more than black rectangles. Taken as a whole, though, the carts are undoubtedly, unquestionably iconic.

Famicom Disk System--Admittedly, Nintendo's shockingly yellow disks aren't all that well known outside of Japan, but that shouldn't keep them from achieving iconic status, should it? Of course, the opposite could be said of the similarly iconic NES cartridge design, below, which is likely to be unknown among the people of Nintendo's home country.

NES--Bow down to what may be the most iconic (among Western gamers, at least) cartridge design of all time. After all, any American (of a certain age) worth his or her salt can identify these gray, ridged and textured hunks of plastic as Nintendo Entertainment System games.

PC Engine--Say what you will about the PC Engine's catalog (or, more likely, the anemic catalog of its criminally ignored American counterpart, the TurboGrafx-16), but you can't fault the sleek, sexy (yes, sexy) cartridges--or, rather, HuCards--that housed the system's games.

GameBoy--Is it just me or do the GameBoy's boxy, gray cartridges look like miniature versions of their NES counterparts? I guess that's why I consider them similarly iconic. Anyway, just between you and me: I prefer the GameBoy cart design thanks to the oval indentation at the top and the larger label space.

See also: 'In my oh-so-gay opinion: The five most iconic controller designs of all time'