Year 4: February Update

It's Saturday and I don't have a new ads post because I finished the publisher albums last week! Actually, I do have more ads to post as I need to backtrack and post some non-publisher groups of ads but after three years I've primarily completed what I set out to do. My Video Games 2020 YouTube channel has been keeping me busy with a lot of game releases lately and quite a few upcoming in March before it slows. The uploads can be painfully slow too; the one I'm currently uploading as I write this has been going for more than 12 hours and still has a few hours to go. It's around 90 minutes long which is more than most as I try to keep them under a hour. Of course, since I'm recording clips for nearly all physical releases this year I'm playing a lot of games, just not for very long. This month I've played 13 releases, some are bundles so the total is actually 21 individual games and I'll try Dreams later today. I'm also putting something together for Sid Meier's Pirates! which is challenging as I have 10+ hours of footage that I need to edit down to something more easily watchable.

At the end of January Intellivision Entertainment launched pre-orders for the Amico Founder's Edition and it sold out rather quickly. I'm a bit surprised considering it costs $299. It required a $100 deposit and does include more than the system, such as a $50 credit for games, digital soundtracks, poster, pin, and patch. New takes on Astrosmash and Night Stalker have been shown in brief videos and, not surprisingly, both have added multiplayer options.

The New York toy fair begins today and runs through the 25th. Last year I tried to do a summary of that though I don't think I'll have time this year so let me mention a few things here that have already been unveiled. Hasbro is making 6" G.I. Joe figures! They do look nice but being that big means they can't be used with the old vehicles. Thus far Scarlett, Snake Eyes, and Roadblock have been shown, and Snake Eyes has a deluxe release only available through the Hasbro Pulse store for $39.99 which seems expensive. Hasbro has also announced the new Transformers animated series will debut on Netflix this June. There is plenty of new Star Wars merchandise as well with a strong focus on The Mandalorian's "Baby Yoda" character. Known more accurately as "The Child," it will have an animatronic toy, act as a Bluetooth speaker, have a Build-a-Bear doll, appear in its own version of the Operation board game, and be featured on many other products.

I've got a couple TurboGrafx-16 articles ready to post next month that tie into the release of the mini console launching on March 19th. It's almost baseball season and I always try to put something together for opening day but as I keep saying, I've been busy so finding the time to get anything else done will be tough. I knew that would be a problem which is why I started scanning TurboGrafx magazine articles and reviews last year in preparation. It certainly helps to think about these things months in advance but I don't have anything else planned right now. Oh well, I better get back to work!

Thanks for stopping by,

Jonathan