Playstation Jumper & Coaster – Christmas review

Christmas is around the corner and Playstation (via our buddies at Numskull) comes bearing more gifts for the gamer in need! 


GAMER DEAL: GYL10 - 10% off at http://www.yellowbulldog.co.uk/collections/numskull

20 Years on - The Playstation is still looking cool for a another merchandise review for www.numskull.co.uk 

What we got.
Here on this review we're looking at the Sony Christmas Jumper and Playstation official coasters under the www.numskull.co.uk brand.

The range of gamerwear, clothing, gifts, merchandise and also Sony Official goodies www.numskull.co.uk now develop - goes further and wider than these items we've featured here too.

We'll be bringing alot more from www.numskull.co.uk Some goodies already available, plus new gaming merchandise concepts not even released over the coming months and weeks. 

www.numskull.co.uk specialises in creative, exciting concepts that it develops into products released to gamer fans the world over.

Gamers keep a look out for GYL news on this - which we'll be putting out via our social spaces on Facebook and Twitter, as well as this ongoing BLOG via www.gamesyouloved.com

This time it’s all about a nice cosy Christmas morning. What could be better than some cool coasters for your egg nog (or just a cup of tea / coffee / cocoa) to rest on – and a snazzy jumper to relax back in after a big Christmas dinner. 

The guys at Numskull have done Sony proud yet again with two cool quality products and a design that makes us wanting more! 

Gift One: The Playstation Coasters What can we say about these groovy additions to any game room. They are representing some seminal games from Playstation here. Not only that they look great all lined up together as a coaster ‘set’ Parappa the Rapper is a classic title and one of the best from this lot. Gran Turismo is smart and slick and for the petrolhead gamer in you it's a lovely design. Destruction Derby – probably our least favourite design of the four - but a great game and still its a pretty cool cover. 

To top it all however - is the legend of a game that is Wipeout – everything about the game and design of the graphic and imagery on the cover is late 90s coolness. The backs off the coaster also reflect the back of a typical case cover - a nice detail and touch. So show your gaming table or sideboard some love and get these spread out just as you’d display the real thing.

Gift Two: The Playstation Jumper Now it’s nearly Christmas and what would a day round the family dinner table be without a Christmas jumper?! 

This Playstation inspired one tops them all. It’s bright, fun and will make you stand out. 

The large is a pretty nice fit too if you’re a 42” chest – not too baggy or snug – a good fit. 

Medium comes up nice too for any gamer guy or girl wanting to do a Christmas jumper in style. 

A festive crowd pleaser for sure and you can’t not love what Numskull have done with the design here. Its all triangles, squares, exes and zeros with reindeers all mixed in along the way!



GAMER DEAL, Voucher code: GYL10 
10% off at http://www.yellowbulldog.co.uk/collections/numskull
Watch out for more GamesYouloved Merchandise reviews from www.numskull.co.uk 

Another World: The Phenomenon

As a kid I loved games. It didn't matter to me if they were good or not, I still loved playing them. Each was a different experience, with a distinct graphical style and unique music and that was what was important to me at the time.  

Even the not-so-good games were worth a quick blast every once in a while but most didn't hold my attention for too long; There were just too many other games to play and besides, completing a game was an insurmountable task which demanded the kind of dedication I couldn't commit to just one game given the glut available. In short I was a computer game tart, just out for quick and easy thrills.

Once in a while though, something comes along that's so unlike anything else that it's like being woken up with a frappuccino enema.  I can still remember my first glimpses of Another World, contained in this Amiga 600 TV advert:

I didn't know what it was at the time as it isn't mentioned by name within the advert, but it looked incredible and unlike anything I'd ever played before and I'd been an Amiga user for years.  With a bit of asking around in the playground, I soon discovered the title and then set out to acquire the game for myself.

On booting the game for the first of many, many times, I was immediately captivated by the visuals.  I'd seen much more detailed graphics before, but there was something about the style and accuracy of the animation which made it seem special.  

I was convinced that the lack of detail was an artistic decision rather than the result of technical limitation and it's uniqueness added immensely to the immersion and mystique of the game.  




While some other games were trying to make the graphics as realistic as possible, this game concentrated on accurately capturing movement and subtle gestures for it's realism and unlike the others, it succeeded.

I now know that these natural movements were captured by a technique known as 'Rotoscoping' whereby the actions of a real-world stand in - such as a toy Ferrari and cut-out pistol - are filmed and traced from a TV screen one frame at a time. 

This is the kind of painstaking attention to detail which really added to the experience. Some may question whether it would it have been a lesser game if swigging from that drinks can, or grabbing that pistol didn't look quite so realistic, but while the gameplay may have been the same, the experience over-all would have suffered tremendously. Those carefully crafted incidental moments anchored the game in actual reality, making the highly stylised visuals more striking but somehow more natural at the same time.

The visuals and clean sound effects of the lavish intro were exceptional and I was immediately hooked. I couldn't wait for the game to start and as it turned out, I hadn't realised that it actually had already and I got munched immediately. No start screen, no menus just straight in - sink or swim, quite literally as it turned out! 

Gamers of the time were accustomed to a noticeable change in quality of visuals between the into and game proper and it would be many years before we saw game engine driven cut-scenes becoming the norm. Already this was feeling like an interactive movie, and not the naff kind of poorly acted, grainy FMV tosh that become popular in the early days of CD-ROM. The game proper had been running for just a few seconds and it had already broken new ground almost all areas.  What was to lay in store on the next screen? And the screen after that? I needed to know, I was going to find out - the game world had beckoned me. How could I refuse such a rare invitation.

And what a world. How completely realised and sublimely rendered.  The lack of graphical detailing actually enhanced the visuals as it dared the imagination to complete the picture the that superb animations hinted at. Incidental details included to enhance the immersion; Distant, wondrous mountain ranges and dreamy vistas punctuated with strange and fearsome creatures.  

Strange, towering cityscapes archaic in appearance yet alive with futuristic technology and hostile natives.  And to complete the experience, sounds, dreamily reminiscent and startling realistic. Now this was a world worth exploring if you could survive. 

Being unceremoniously dumped into a completely foreign environment with no tutorial to explain the controls was yet another bold move, but it was a challenge I relished.  

Again and again as new challenges arose, the player is forced to adapt and learn, or die.  The pistol for instance; once acquired, only by the careful observation of others wielding this versatile weapon will you unlock it's full potential.  

Fail to pick up on the clues and you'll die. You'll be eaten, mauled, have your head gnawed off, you legs chewed through, fall to your death, drown, be pummeled by rocks, be beaten to a pulp or have your moist flesh zapped off leaving only a carbonised skeleton unable to support it's own structure. 

Back at my school on Earth, an informal support group spontaneously developed amongst us Amiga owners. 

Problems and potential solutions to each of the puzzles could be discussed, theories and anecdotes about the world were exchanged and achievements applauded. 

This helped lend gravitas to the actual game as kudos was up for grabs if you were the first to figure out how to pass a certain point.

What unfolded was to be an epic journey of exploration, adventure and even companionship.  A glorious, balanced mix of desperate combat and devious puzzle solving; each as tricky as the other.

There were furious firefights where the air was livid with crisp, sizzling laser beams.  These encounters required cunning tactics as well as a quick trigger, using all available resources and exploiting the environment to gain the advantage.

To juxtapose this furious pace, there were liberal amounts of logic puzzles where only fiendish lateral thinking could see you safely through.  Many's the time I'd get that light-bulb moment, a potential solution to the puzzle that I couldn't wait to get home to try.  If it worked I was were elated, earned bragging rights for the next day and I saw the next section first.  If the gambit failed, I was crushed, frustrated but not deterred.

Having invested so much into this journey, it was with mixed emotions that I neared the conclusion. It was a relief to have completed such a grueling journey, but I knew my life would be emptier without the game to explore and I felt a genuine kinship for my alien companion, with whom I'd relied on and been through so much. It was partly due to my personal investment and partly due to the wonderful cinematics, that the bitter-sweet ending sequence evoked real emotion in me and, I must confess, the final sequence brought a tear to my eye - something no other game has managed before or since.

It's possible to play the game right through in 25 minutes, but going in blind with none of the solutions it took weeks of evenings.  The game, also known in America as Out of This World, was such a hit it was ported to the other 16-bit systems around at the time, but the console publishers, concerned about re-playability demand some minor changes: an extra baddie here and there which added little to the length of the game to the game.  Nintendo in particular were keen on having the length of female alien bum cleavage reduced in one scene as it was thought to be too provocative.  



Despite the publisher's concerns about it's length, it offered such a unique experience that it was ported to just about every machine of the day, with some creative tweaking required in by the game's creator, Éric Chahi, in some cases to get the required performance from machines. The game, a triumph of quality over quantity, continues to be ported to this day to modern systems, including iPhone and PS4.  

This release for the 20th anniversary features the options of high res graphics, re-drawn backgrounds, high quality music and remastered sound.  

The 20th Anniversary Edition really is the ultimate version (so far) and I was delighted to play it through again recently with one of the original playground partisans. Being armed with many of the solutions, it took us around 1.5 hours as our memory had faded a little and some sections needed figuring out from scratch.  It was immensely enjoyable to revisit that unusual place once more and it's highly recommended for first times too.

GYL Guest Review - by Andy Pryer

Follow Andy on Twitter @clammylizard

Every Day is Play. The Celebration of the Video Game - Review

This isn't just a book about gaming...it's a life story

When Matt Keynon set upon a journey of the discovery of gaming - he didn't realise at the beginning it would take him through so many adventures to get to his end goal - a somewhat similar experience to a video game.

Every day is play: The celebration of the Video Game is one of the greatest books we've ever read and reviewed. Let's just get that out there first of all. And we'll tell you why...

This bible of gaming is about Matt's dedication to the spirit of gaming - its art and design and the play and fun associated with what is a passion and obsession for many gamers - including ourselves here at GamesYouLoved. This isn't just a 'hobby'  - it's a way of life.

We did know a little bit about Matt and his homage to gaming previously - having seen some of the Mega Drive Exploded Series and graphic gaming art imagery released a few years back. 

But his story goes back even further than this. In fact it starts when Matt was just 6, having inherited his Uncle's Atari MVS and a batch of games. This initial spark set him on a path of play, discovery and investigation. His intro piece to this in the book describes it beautifully (no spoilers further!).

And this book is a result of his hard work..from the time in 2005 when the idea of producing a book first came to Matt - to now, when we can all enjoy the fruits of his labour.  
With Nolan Bushnell the founding father of Atari and video games writing the foreword - this could only get better. And it does. Visually stunning artwork and design stretches from cover to cover and we love the mix of and variety entries, which for us sums up gaming over the years. It has no limits - to our imagination as gamers and the people who make and develop video games.

From Mario to Sonic, Pac Man to Space Invaders, all the popular characters are here. But even they are not just in typical form as you often see in popular media. Artists, publishers and game developers re-enact these gaming characters in different forms in captivating artwork. You will be surprised, engaged and interrupted (in a good way) with every page turn. And this is no comic or lightweight read. Weighing in at over 300 pages this is heavyweight in every sense of the word. And the print and finishing quality...Well - judge for yourself from these pictures. Anyone into having quality books on their gaming shelf will appreciate what we have here.

In terms of specific content - there are many many entries and contributors to the project. Including Darren Wall's Rom Alerts - showing off the 16-BIT work in 2005 to the Sensible Software book just recently. Edge Magazine has an array of interesting cover artworks that hit you from the beginning too.

Art is a key factor and the likes of Atomike Studio use Mario to great effect, as well as some impressive console art. 

We could go on. 

The imagery here should do the talking. And over the next few weeks we will be releasing more on our Instagram and social channels on Facebook and Twitter.

Finally lets not forget - this book could not have been made without you...the community. As a Kickstarter success this project was successfully delivered by Matt with his massive effort, skill, dedication and determination - and you believed in him.  

Well done - you have a fantastic book to show for it!

Get yours here:

www.fangamer.com

Matt's links:

www.gamepaused.net

@matthewdkenyon

HD Retrovision - A Kickstarter Interview

We spoke to HD Retrovision about their now 'Live' Kickstarter project - its goals and expectations, and why its so important to support retro gaming systems of days gone by.

Tell us why you choose to work on a Sega & Nintendo retro gaming product - rather than a new generation console accessory?

We grew up on these consoles and they're the reason we're gamers today. It saddened us to see them threatened by the lack of support on modern TVs. 

Who are the products designed for?
The products are really designed for anyone who wants a simple, affordable, yet high quality solution to playing their old consoles on new TVs. It's true other solutions exist, but they can be expensive and messy, or require people to have hardware skills they don't have.

What was is about the Genesis and SNES that makes it so special?
The games on those consoles represent the pinnacle of gaming to us in a lot of ways.

The games had enjoyable story lines without hours of cutscenes, and designers were focused more on awesome gameplay than making the game have movie-quality graphics. They also feature some of our favorite video game music of all time. I still hear the Desert Strike theme in my head regularly.

How important are playing games for you when you making a product like this?
Very important. We've tested our cables across on many many games to make sure we don't run into anything unexpected. It's really the only way to know if you're going to run any issues if someone plugs a Sonic 3 into a Sonic & Knuckles into a Game Genie.

How has your background and experience contributed to the development of this Kickstarter?

Besides being avid gamers, we're both electrical engineers and mathematicians by training. This has contributed to us being very precise and methodical in our development of the cables. 

Tell us a bit about the technical details to feature in the product?

The concept behind our cables is not new, but the implementation is radically different. Through careful engineering, we are able to fit our custom electronics into a tight, enclosed space without an additional power source. This approach lowers the cost and headache compared with competing solutions, which we hope will give more people access to high-quality retro-gaming.

Left - composite video, Right with component from HD Retrovision cables

What are your favourite 5 Genesis games of all time?
Streets of Rage, NBA Jam, Kid Chameleon, Toejam & Earl, Earthworm Jim

What are your favourite 5 SNES games of all time?Megaman X, Chrono Trigger, Super Castlevania IV, Shadowrun, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past 

What does retrogaming /gaming mean to you?

It's the a link back to our childhood. Retro-gaming brings us back to an era where some of our best memories were formed, often while playing these games with a good friend or sibling.

Back the Kickstarter here: 

Grandmother buys old building in Japan, finds 55 classic arcade cabinets

Grandmother buys old building in Japan, finds 55 classic arcade cabinets

If you wanted to experience arcade games any time over the last forty years then you had to visit the Far East!. The game centers are still there lit up with neon lights all very attractive and Blade Runner like! But you have to go back 20 years to see them at their prime. Now one very lucky arcade fan is experiencing just that right now due to a surprise purchase by his girlfriend’s grandmother.

The grandmother agreed to purchase an old building in Chiba, which is just outside of Tokyo. When they arrived to check out their  building they found out that the first two floors used to be a game center in the 1980's!!. Whoever ran the arcade back then left all the cabs behind when it closed, and it is full of classic and now highly sort after games!

In total there are 55 arcade cabinets, most of which are the upright Aero Cities cabs, but it’s the game boards that they contain that’s the most exciting discovery. The list of game includes the following:

• Columns
• Donkey Kong
• Galaxian
• Magical Tetris Challenge
• Metal Slug X
• Pengo
• Raiden 2
• Super Puzzle Fighters 2 X
• Street Fighter 2 Championship Edition
• Street Fighter Alpha 2 (Zero 2)
• Street Fighter EX 2

There’s sure to be more games discovered as not all of the cabinets are in working order, with monitor damage being the main fault but whatever they find, this lucky gamer has just cashed in his extra credit!!

When Retrogaming meets modern technology

The retro-bit Super Retro Trio arrived in the post this morning. Sick of the delays with the RetroN5, I cancelled my preorder at the weekend after the word got out that the console would not be reaching the UK before September and found this alternative in stock at funstock.co.uk at the very tempting price of £69.99 a full £50 cheaper than its competitor.

The cheaper price tag, however does mean less in the way of features. No save states or built-in cheat systems, no HDMI output. I wasn't interested in the former, and I can live with AV/S-video through my SCART connector. So what do you get for your money? Here's what the official blurb says:

Supports NES/SNES/MEGADRIVE/GENESIS

Compatible with original and third party controllers

Includes 2 controllers

AV / S-Video connectors

AC Adapter

PAL / NTSC / PF / NJ Region Switch

What you get is quite a nice looking console, it feels a bit light and cheap but hey – it was cheap! I have the silver and black model, there is also a red and black version. The top of the unit sports 3 cartridge slots from the back coming forward – NES, SNES and Megadrive/Genesis, in front of these are a reset switch and a power/slot selection switch.

On the front a push releases the cover for the controller ports, here you can plug in original controllers 2xNES, 2xSNES and 2xMegadrive/Genesis. The 2 included controllers plug into the 9 pin Megadrive ports but are shaped like SNES controllers just to keep you on your toes! ;)

The bundled controllers are actually very decent and for that reason will probably see a fair amount of use, the buttons and d-pad give a very similar feel to those on my original controllers. Also behind this front cover is a selector switch for the controllers in use and a region switch for Megadrive/Genesis games for those with region protection. As mentioned there is a cover/door so you can unplug your controllers and close it up to keep things looking all neat and tidy when not in use.

Finally round back there are the DC in socket, S-video and A/V ports. The provided power adaptor has a US plug but does not require a step down converter and an UK adapter was provided for me.

My TV had some issues with the video signal through the A/V (this is not exclusive to the SR3 – I've had this issue in the past) so I use a cheap A/V+S-Video to SCART adapter and it works fine for me.

Now, the big question – compatibility! I don't have a huge pile of carts to test especially on the Nintendo side of things so here's what I have tried all work unless otherwise specified.

Megadrive:

M6 cart (Sega Soccer, Columns, Super Monaco GP, Revenge of Shinobi, Sonic, Streets of Rage) so far played Sonic, Revenge of Shinobi and Super Monaco GP

World Class Leaderboard

T2 The Arcade Game

Golden Axe

Streetfighter 2 Special Champion Edition

Genesis:

Lemmings

NES:

Track and Field 2 (PAL version)

SNES:

PGA Tour Golf (PAL)

Starwing (PAL) 

That's all I've tested on it so far I'm afraid, I need to acquire some more NES and SNES games to try out but it seems to be fine with every Megadrive game I've thrown at it. There is also a Super Retro Advance Adapter (sold seperately) that allows you to play GBA games as well.

In conclusion I'd say it's really good value for what you pay, it looks nice and doesn't look out of place under the TV, the controllers are decent, it might not have all those fancy features or HDMI but it is available now and cheap enough  to be worth a shot.

You can buy your own RetroTrio console here at Funstock.co.uk

Thank you too Jamie Gunn (@highlandboarder) for his time and review! 

A New Retro Gaming Movie - FIZZ! The Surge of Video Games

Fizz! The Surge of Video Games is a unique 90 minute retro video gaming documentary movie made with lost and unseen archive footage which was filmed between 1989 & 1998.

All of the video had been originally shot to TV broadcast standard and the tapes have been carefully kept,restored and enhanced for maximum ouput quality. All of the broadcast formats which the footage has been kept on are now obsolete.Sony Betacam SP,Panasonic MII and Sony BVU SP were all broacast high quality recording video formats for TV in the last 1980's and early to mid 1990's.These were all analogue tapes, the cameras and recorders were all 4:3 aspect ratio and there was no digital recording available anywhere on computers.

This was an era before widescreen TV,16:9,HD,DVD.computer editing and the Internet.The only storage device for video at the time was on a VHS video cassette.

Fizz! The Surge Of Video Games is pure retro.The stories are told using 22 interviews filmed between 1989 & 1998 with key people who were working in the business back then.Games developers,marketing people,console manufacturers,retailers,Games chart research,trade bodies,games publishers.The big names in games back then are all included.Sony,Sega,Electronic Arts,Philips,3DO,Virgin Games,Mindscape,Interplay,Codemasters,Psygnosis,David Perry,HMV.Plus many notable video and audio appearances from some very familiar household names.

Fizz! The Surge Of Video Games tells the story exactly as it was because it was filmed as the marketplace and business evolved over a nine year timeline.

Beginning with momentum in the established 8 and 16 Bit era with a strong presence from the Commodore 64,Spectrum,NES,Sega Megadrive-Genesis, Atari ST,Amiga & SNES.This was a console and home computer gaming sector when titles were published on cartridge and floppy disk.Using interviews & footage filmed at the time,the documentary discusses how it all grew and then the problems which lead to the eventual decline.

As the 1990's wore on,new CD-Rom formats began to arrive, and an almighty hardware & console battle began to escalate.Established names such as Sega & Nintendo now faced competition from hardware heavy weights Panasonic,Sony and Philips who were all looking for a slice of the action.

It was also an era of progress and change as games developers who'd established 2D games and genres now faced a challenging prospect in a new world which would be three dimensional.

CD-ROM also saw the arrival of 'Edutainment'.A whole new genre where the vastly improved storage capacity of Compact Disc meant that people could play games and learn at the same time.

Watch Sony's first ever game launch filmed in 1993,two years before Playstation. There's a host of unseen promotional videos with celebrity appearances and a theatrical party event showcasing a now massive game franchise. 

Meanwhile on the PC there was the arrival of WIndows 95 which promised the end of DOS and the dawn of a stable platform backed by Microsoft.Hardware technology powered ahead with faster processors and 3D graphics cards fuelling high end games to rival any console.

This is a piece of modern history using 100% brilliantly shot,lit & edited archive footage with an excellent voice-over. 

Fizz! The Surge Of Video Games will be produced in English,French,German, Italian, Spanish, Japanese, Portugese, Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish & Danish languages.Worldwide release Summer 2014.  

A KickStarter campaign will be announced very soon.

Press email contact: media@fizzmovie.com 

The Funstock Classic Gaming Championships - Replay Events

'Seeing retro gamers play collectively in one place - competitively'

When was the last time you can say that  happened in the public? It was actually more during the 80s & 90s themselves!

Well not now - thanks to Eurogamer events like REZZED and also EUROGAMER EXPO in September and also  Replay Events and sponsors Funstock - the Classic Gaming Championships give gamers the opportunity to be the No1 Retro Gamer in the land. To be the top of the top...top of the list in the UK!

There are a whole host of heats held throughout the UK across many months - culminating with the Grand Final in Manchester at Play Expo in October.

We recently attended EGX Rezzed in Birmingham and alongside the awesome New Gen offer there from Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony they had RETRO!!

We were delighted as GamesYouLoved was asked to be a Partner of the CGC events http://classicgamingchampionships.com/partners/ and will be fully supporting the activity over social media and our website www.gamesyouloved.com up to the Grand Final in Manchester - Play Expo 2014. This mammoth event in October was already set to be an amazing event based on our last years experience.

Take a look here of some the 2013 highlights:

Not only that Showmasters being part of the Replay Events / Play Expo line up also promises some exciting exclusives too. This will increase the presence of video gaming publishers,  developers and peripheral manufacturers attending Showmasters events in the future. On the flip-side this means Hollywood movie star meet-and-greets,  photo opportunities with the celebrities, film props and movie cars will draw in even bigger crowds to the already successful event at Play Expo. Showmasters plan to bring film and TV related guests that cross over with the video gaming industry, making Play Expo 2014 and other Replay Events a fuller experience. Watch this space as they say!

For the CGC's at EGX REZZED at the Birmingham NEC we were witnessing the retro gaming action first hand and see the great job the organisers, Replay Events were putting on in a cool space dedicated to this at the event. Apart from the range of  retro gaming setups on the Replay Stand the CGC's offers people who love playing retro games a real focus at an event. 

Whether you are an expert gameplayer or just want to have a go for fun the atmosphere on the stand caters for you. You can take it seriously sure - but also with some of the games (list below) that you might not have even played before - its a case of trying it out. Then you can better yourself!

The array of titles in the CGC are worth pointing out - they have been compiled carefully by the Replay Team to test your very wit and dexterity with a controller. And many a different controller you'll have.  But it's all well and good picking up a unknown controller - what do you do with it?  Again the Replay lads are on had to help and young gamers benefited from this instruction and support as well as the older ones!

The next event up is Blackpool - www.playblackpool.com - perhaps next time we'll have a go to - can't wait!

Also the BIG EVENTS to look out for are:

- Eurogamer - Sept 2014
- Play Expo Manchester - Oct 2014

For more information go to:

http://classicgamingchampionships.com/

See our REZZED CGC Video overview:

The list of games on at the CGC's

Pot A - 1st to 3rd Generation (e.g. Atari VCS, NES, SEGA Master System), Kaboom (Atari 2600 VCS), Balloon Fight (Nintendo Entertainment System), Bank Panic (Sega Master System)

Pot B - 4th Generation (e.g. PC Engine, Neo Geo AES), R-Type II (PC Engine), NAM: 1975 (Neo Geo), Tetris (Gameboy - played via Gameboy Player on Gamecube)

Pot C - 5th Generation (e.g. Sega Saturn, Playstation, Nintendo 64), Super Puzzle Fighter 2 (Playstation), Sega Rally (Sega Saturn), Tempest 2000 (Atari Jaguar)

Pot D - Megadrive, Sonic the Hedgehog 3, Paperboy, Psycho Pinball, Pot E - Super Nintendo, Super Mario Kart, Super Pang, Super Smash TV

Heats will include one game from each pot, selected at random and will not be announced until the first day of the heat.