Armchair Arcade TV is now in high definition (720p) and available at a wide range of locations, with a wide range of subscription options, and in a wide range of formats, including YouTube, iTunes, RSS, and many more via blip.tv!

The eighth of nine free online bonus chapters that are in addition to the 25 chapters found in our book, Vintage Games: An Insider Look at the History of Grand Theft Auto, Super Mario, and the Most Influential Games of All Time, available at booksellers worldwide, including Amazon.com, is now available. Head on over to Gamasutra to read Robotron: 2084 (1982): Running Away While Defending Humanoids. The remaining online bonus chapter, released next month, will be Star Raiders, which will form the complete set of 34 chapters between the book and online. Don't forget there are well over 100 bonus images not found in the book or in the online bonus chapters, available here. Want to know what others' think of the book? Check it out here and don't forget to get yourself a copy!

The seventh of nine free online bonus chapters that are in addition to the 25 chapters found in our book, Vintage Games: An Insider Look at the History of Grand Theft Auto, Super Mario, and the Most Influential Games of All Time, available at booksellers worldwide, including Amazon.com, is now available. Head on over to Gamasutra to read Defender (1980): The Joys of Difficult Games. The remaining two online bonus chapters, released one each over the next two months, will be Robotron: 2084 and Star Raiders, which will form the complete set of 34 chapters between the book and online. Don't forget there are well over 100 bonus images not found in the book or in the online bonus chapters, available here. Want to know what others' think of the book? Check it out here and don't forget to get yourself a copy!

PS: For those looking, the bonus images not used in the Defender article can be found here.

As you may remember, I had gotten a Midway TouchMaster 4000 off of eBay for a steal of a deal about two months back. It ended up being only around $200 shipped from http://shop.ebay.com/merchant/mandramusements. Unfortunately, when it arrived, it received damaged during shipping and had to be sent back. After a long process and a generous offer of replacing the 4000 with a 5000, which is detailed here in this nifty flyer, I'm happy to report that the second time was the charm as the arcade unit was in wonderful condition, even after shipping. While I can't guarantee you'll luck out and get the same type of deal, I can guarantee that the gentleman who runs the place is a great, great seller, and well worth checking out if you're looking for something similar.

Photos:

I received it today (I first blogged about it here). The shipping carton was beat up, but it appeared to be OK on the palette. I plugged it in and it worked fine for a few minutes, but then something inside popped and now the screen has a purple rolling hue and you can't see anything but the purple. The touch screen still responds to touch and it still makes noise. Any thoughts on what might have blown? I left it on a bit and it sounded like something else might have blown and it has a more reddish hue now. I turned it off.

I have some photos here of it with the purple hue:

Well, file this one under possibly too-good-to-be-true, but I apparently just bought on eBay a used - but seemingly in great shape - Midway TouchMaster 4000 Countertop Touch Screen Arcade Machine for about $200 shipped (it has no bill acceptor - this is set to free play). While I was reserving the space on one of my end tables for a real skill stop slot machine, for what is ultimately less than that would have cost shipped, I have this: http://www.arcadeflyers.com/?db=videodb&id=5735&page=thumbs . Stunning. The seller has 100% feedback (it's an arcade supplier) and I conducted the purchase through eBay and Paypal, so I'm 100% protected as well just in case. Hopefully this is not only a win-win, but a win-win-win. Between this and the joy I'm getting out of my new (refurb, arrived yesterday) white iPhone Touch 16GB - which itself is almost a total pleasure after much tweaking (with some still left) - I've been on a personal technology roll. I'll try to blog about the machine after it comes. I'll also leave open the possibility that my wife will be upset with me, as I didn't get a chance to get her approval on this before pulling the trigger, but the plus side is we could easily sell this for much more than we paid if she insisted (we have to get new garage doors, family dental work, etc., so I'd certainly understand).

Leonie Manshanden - marketing director at Midway - has announced they will be producing the classic adventure game Myst for the popular dual screen portable console by Nintendo. Now this is a favorite of mine. I wonder if the other 'episodes' will also become available.

I was picking up the kids' Christmas pictures (aka our Christmas cards) at JCPenney the other day, when I came across the Midway Arcade. The baby fell asleep in the stroller, and this arcade machine intrigued me more than shopping for Christmas presents. (Giving is cool, it's the shopping part that can be a nuisance.) Anyway the last player had been playing Defender, so I tried that out first. The controls were stiff, but the old games are much better played with a joystick than with your corporate-issue Sony Playstation controller. I tried Wizard of Wor next. I hadn't played that one since my Atari 800XL days, so that was a real treat, untril I got treated to a beat down after about three levels. Nowhere near "The Arena" (level 8), but they say those reflexes slow down with age, so I guess its downhill afte age 11.