Sony Playstation - You wear it well!

20 Years on - The Playstation is still looking cool for a new merchandise review for www.numskull.co.uk 
NOW AVAILABLE using code: GYL - 5% off at www.funstock.co.uk

More great Playstation goodies were on the way from our friends at  www.numskull.co.uk and with Christmas just around the corner now we needed some inspiration for gamer friends and family - as well as ourselves here at GamesYouLoved.

More importantly now with the 20th Anniversary of the Playstation on the 3rd December 2014 this was seriously good timing too. It was time to celebrate this great gaming brand and what else did we need but some cool accessories when we were about to Party like it was 1994!

www.numskull.co.uk has some seriously cool goodies and from our time before with the wallet review we waited with eagerness as the parcel arrived. 

What we got.
Here on this review we're looking at the Sony Cufflinks range, Street Fighter socks by Capcom and Sony Sock range,  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

Packaging
As before www.numskull.co.uk  have done an amazing production and design job in the quality of their outer packaging. As a gift this is really key as you want the item to not only to be well protected, but to look good too in presentation. The boxes are really nicely finished in a solid cufflink box with imagery from the official Sony Playstation branding.  The socks are nicely packed in plastic with care and they are wrapped with official imagery with an outer card holder - with both the Playstation and Street Fighter versions.

The cufflinks
Three cufflink styles were received. All in Sony Playstation design and styling. The quality of these are much better than you get in the high street for this price so as a set of cufflinks they are actually very good value. Aside from that they are totally geared for the gamer in your life or simply as a treat for yourself so the fact they are well built is an added bonus. Against a white shirt the black Playstation cufflinks look really smart. The silver links also look cool with a dark shirt and stand out without being too gimiky.

The designs are based on a PS1 PS2 and PS3 styling - no PS4 just yet - but who knows! Anyway for us retrogaming types these work just fine for us.

The socks

These are really cool - especially with Christmas on it's way there is nothing better than having a stylish pair of socks to go to parties, or put put on during xmas dinner with a bit of gaming afterwards. Both the Street Fighter socks and Playstation socks come in a pack of 3 and are made to a high quality on both occasions. 

For Street Fighter fans you can choose from the 3 designs in the pack depending on your mood. Select Ken, Ryu or Blanka - all 3 have a very bright colourful top to the sock and elegant black bottom. You'll stand out wearing these for all the right reasons! 

The Playstation Socks are equally memorable - with some very cool designs to them. These really evoke the style of the advertising and design of the original Playstation imagery. From the cool grey controller type, to colourful rainbow like playstation styling and the festive blue. These are socks to be seen in!

 
Watch out for more GamesYouloved Merchandise reviews from www.numskull.co.uk 

SONY MERCHANDISE  
NOW AVAILABLE using code: GYL - 5% off at www.funstock.co.uk

Also available from: 

www.yellowbulldog.co.uk

www.game.co.uk

A Playstation gift isn't just for Christmas...its for life!

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

When we got alerted to the fact we could be getting some Playstation goodies we were pretty excited.  

With the 20th Anniversary of the Playstation coming up on 3rd December 2014 this was seriously good timing.

There is a lot of gaming merchandise out there - lets face it. 
But official merchandise like we were promised by www.numskull.co.uk had some seriously cool packaging to it as we opened the parcel we were excited up to see what was inside.

What we got.
Here on this review we're looking at the Sony Playstation Wallet range. 

The range of gamerwear, gifts merchandise and also Sony Official goodies www.numskull.co.uk now develop goes alot further and wider than the wallets. 

So 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

Packaging
Lets start with the packaging. All official - all in keeping with the branding and identity of Sony. Looks great on the shelf and pretty damn sexy if you were to give this to any gamer boy or girl as a gift for Christmas, or just any time you wanted!

The outer packaging is tough, well built and does not scrimp in terms of colour reproduction and finishing.  The graphic design of the packaging is well balanced too - using the Sony Playstation blue hued background imagery. This is a gamer gift, but a gift you could happily feel like you are getting some real merchandise quality to it.  Let's face it there's some crap out there in our world - this is not that! The design is smart and well placed for any avid Playstation fan or someone just looking for a quality wallet with a personality.

The Wallets.
Three wallet styles were received. All in Sony Playstation design.
First off - the classic grey style mimics that of the Playstation controller. The iconic X O ▲ ◼ are used on one side of the wallet in full colour and so close to the original controller graphics. Sat next to a controller they fit together so well. On the reverse side of this 'Controller' wallet is the D pad - again completely in line with the original Playstation design. If you're a big fan of the controller product design this is a great version to have.

The other 2 designs come in the same styling but with a colour variation. Based on the actual classic Playstation console design they mimic the front and back of the console. 

The variation is with the black, which is pretty slick on the inside and outside. The Playstation logo adorns the inside with no other branding. Which is something we really like. Its not overkill and as an older gamer who likes gamer-gear, you'd be proud to own one of these rather than it looking too kid-like.

In the more conventional yet desirable original grey - sat right next to your original Playstation this looks like it's little brother - but in wallet style!  The front of the wallet is a like for like replication of the original console top - official Sony this is! Flip the wallet over - just like the console and you have the vents and detailing. The material used is pretty tough and will take a beating out there which you need. Stitching and print reproduction is great too - we'll be putting this through its paces more but on original test - bending it and rubbing the material, it's holding up nicely.

We can't wait to get out and use these more now when we're out and about. Shopping, down the pub or buying retro games at events or stores we come across. This will be a cool addition to have.

Watch out for more GamesYouloved Merchandise reviews from www.numskull.co.uk 

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

Evolution of an Arcade Junkie - Part one of two

By David Campbell

I was born in Scotland, in 1975. Some people may think that makes me old, but 1975 was a great year to be born. Let me explain why.

Portobello Beach Arcade - Edinburgh

Video gaming was in its infancy. There were a few primitive games out there, but the explosion of fast paced, vibrant games that made you forget where you were was still to come. Most younger people probably cannot comprehend what a magical time this was.

If you ask a teenager today what the first console game they ever played was, I would bet that the vast majority of them wouldn’t be able to tell you. 

Now, that may be because home video games are commonplace now, and part of everyday life. Back when I was a kid, however, home video games consisted of variants of Pong, generously labelled as “Sports” games. Sure, Atari and a few other companies would change all that, but arcades.. nothing could rival an arcade experience.

The sights, the sounds, the colourful images, the transition as your eyes adjusted from normal outside life to the darkened digital sanctuary, revealing the delights within. That moment where you scan the arcade, looking for your favourite game, or maybe a new game.. deciding which coin slot would earn the right to your hard earned pocket money.

I remember the first arcade game I ever played. It was at Haggerston Castle holiday park in Northumberland. On our first explorative walk around the camp site, my mum, dad and I discovered a large white building, with what appeared to be a TV sitting outside on a large box. As we approached, we noticed a steering wheel

I ran forward, curious and excited by this neon coloured delight. I deliriously pushed the pedal, rocked the wheel, moved the  gear lever up and down. My mum examined this strange beast, and did something that changed my life forever. She gave me 10p to put in the machine. It was Atari’s “Night Driver”. It was the stand up version, with a black and white screen. Rudimentary would be a generous description of the graphics, but to my four year old overloaded brain, I was there - I was in a car, racing along at breakneck speed, in the dead of night. I crashed lots. I got another 10p.. and my addiction was born.

Onto the 80s

My arcade addiction grew almost in parallel with the exponential explosion of the arcade industry after my experience with Night Driver in 1979.

We used to visit Portobello beach in Edinburgh for a treat day. I would make a beeline for the arcades, which were now plentiful. New games seemed to turn up every time I visited.

By 1983, we were in what has now become known as the “Golden Age” of the arcade.  Classics such as Asteroids and Space Invaders which people had swarmed around had grown into full colour, polyphonic coin swallowers. Pac-Man, Joust, Defender, Robotron, Galaxian, Donkey Kong, Gorf, Pole Position and Spy Hunter were the regulars in most arcades. Vast rooms filled with the sonic and visual cacophony of coins rattling, buttons being thumped, teaser sounds, laser blasts, explosions, jingles; “noise” to our parents, but a delightful symphony to my young ears. 

1983 would also be the year that created a fusion of two things that have defined me - video games and Star Wars. Atari released the seminal game of the film and allowed youngsters to fulfill their fantasies across the globe. Stepping into the large cockpit for the first time; settling on the gloss black wooden bench, hands gently cradling the flight yoke of the X-Wing... the anticipation was incredible. Putting the coin in the slot, almost in slow motion; it was sensory overload. To hear the Star Wars them pumped into the speakers, the crawling text, then BOOM! you are part of the Rebel Alliance, and you are flying an X-Wing in space. Obi Wan provides encouragement as your ship swoops and swerves, shields dropping with each TIE Fighter hit, then you nosedive straight into the Death Star trench. Get those Photon torpedoes on target, and you are rewarded with shards of the destroyed space station flying across the screen.

You emerge slowly from that cockpit, and it takes you a few seconds to realise you aren’t in space, but in an arcade. You look back at what you've just experienced. The game may only have lasted a few moments, but the smile on your face and the memories you’ve just created will last an awful lot longer.

David Campbell's story continues soon....

Jason Cooper - CEO of BLAZE - Exclusive GamesYouLoved Interview

- Who are you and what do you do?
Jason Cooper
CEO of BLAZE

- What video games and arcade games did you grow up with?
First console was Atari 2600. First Computer ZX Spectrum.
I was also fortunate enough to own a SNK NEOGEO
Loved GORF in the Arcades and Donkey Kong junior. Also spent hours on N.A.R.C

- Whats are your favourite video games of all time?
Galaxians
Super Smash Tennis (SNES)
NEO GEO Super Sidekicks
NEO GEO Art of Fighting

- what is gaming all about for you?
A relaxing way to spend time. I like the simpler games and I like the way that gaming is turning into a more casual event on smartphones and that the audience is now so much broader. So Call of Duty is a none starter for me as it is too complex. Though I do like the latest Hitman game, that is pretty cool.

- have you ever been overseas (US and Japan) and if so whats the gaming scene over there like?
The best place by far is the Akhibara district of Tokyo that is dedicated to electronics. I have bought so many video gaming gadgets there, like a Super Famicom TV by Sharp and a combined Gamecube and DVD player by Panasonic. I also loved my white GameGear!

- What item would you like to have for most in your collection but don't have
My friend made a Street Fighter 2 , two player arcade stick for SNES from the original arcade cabinet. It was super cool. I waited nearly 20 years for it and he finally sold it to me last month! So I am not entirely answering the question, but I have waited an age for it!



- Who has motivated you in the past to become what you are today
No single person. I have been fortunate enough to work with some incredibly able people and they have all motivated me in different ways.

- What do you see for your company in the future - 5, 10 and say 20 years?
We will still focus on retro but continue to develop our mobile games. We launched our first title, Fluid Football last August and it became one of the leading sports games last year – it has been downloaded nearly 3 million times now. It has been the number one sports game in over 30 countries including Brazil, Germany, Italy, France, UK and China!

Our ultimate future in video games is developing and publishing games for mobile handsets.

- How have the consoles and games changed for you over the years?
They have become far more complex and in doing so, a lot of the fun has been taken out of the experience. Mobile is stealing this space.

- Where do you see the future of retrogaming in the UK and the world
On mobiles....

- How can retro gaming be part of the the New Gen scene
By Nintendo, Sony, Sega, Activision, Capcom and other leading developers of the original games, licensing to BLAZE their software back catalogue....

We would light a fire under the whole video gaming sector if such a deal could be done...
Thanks for the call!

Jason

Pics: Top Picture - Jason holding the NEO GEO X at Finningley Airport near their UK offices
Below pic: Street Fighter 2 , two player arcade stick for SNES from the original arcade cabinet.

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