Author: James Matson

When I turned 12, a kindly soul pointed out to me that I’d already become a rabid, caustic, borderline fanatic Amiga fan boy. They said I was someone who lived only to trample the opinions of Atari ST users. I told them I’d grow out of it one day. 20 years later, it’s worth pointing out I lied through my teeth.

It’s a Pirate’s life.

James Matson

Arrrrrrrr! Ahoy maties! Weigh anchor and hoist the mizzen! James Matson discovers  ye don’t need to cleave a scurvy dog to the brisket in order to be a Pirate. You just have to copy from disk A, to disk B. Ya scallywag! (okay, that’s enough – Ed). 

Repair Log: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Arcade

James Matson

Heroes in a half-shell! With the impending release of the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film in Cinemas this September, we figured it’d be a perfect time to coax our friend Womble into sharing his circuit whispering with none other than Komani’s fine arcade bash of the same name. It’s all kinds of missing sprites and active […]

Repair Log – Bubble Bobble

James Matson

As any seasoned retro gamer knows, our hobby of choice often involves hardware that can be considered well and truly at end of life.  Old consoles, old computers and old arcade PCBs adorn our collections and possess a special place in our hearts. But what happens when stuff starts to break? With warranties having run out […]

RD Interview: David Pleasance

James Matson

The Commodore Amiga was heralded by many as a machine before its time. A multimedia, multi-tasking powerhouse that had few rivals in the 16 bit era, the platform was responsible for an entire generation of gamers, programmers and productivity users. Some of the hallmark software developers and publishers in today’s market cut their teeth on the mighty […]

The last (and first) of us

James Matson

James Matson found himself at an interesting (and unlikely) point in his quest to own all the Amiga computers ever released: acquiring both the first and last Amiga models ever to be produced by Commodore.  That strange accident seemed altogether too awesome not to write about…

Parting is such sweet sorrow

James Matson

James Matson examines one of the hardest, most emotionally tumultuous things a retro gamer can do in their lifetime – parting with their gaming collection. It’s a journey of ups, downs and empty shelves that has left more than a few souls misty eyed and deeply reflective (though seemingly far better off financially…..)