 A shocking encounter in the Philippines
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November 2010
Apologies for the delay in updating - when starting this section I didn't realise the amount of work needed for coding up all the HTML. Furthermore, the new section didn't seem to generate much interest from readers.
We've only one new on-site addition, which is a 6 page PDF article on gaming in China courtesy of PiQ magazine. I'm sure you'll agree it was worth the wait. The rest of this update is actually linking to other articles found online over the past few months. Most are old, but I wanted GOTW to be a source of reference for all such information. The following are all EXTERNAL. There's Keving Gifford's Mag Weaseling piece on Russian magazines. A fascinating link on the history of Poland's C64 scene during the 80s and 90s. A link to TIGSource's entry on Chinese doujin RPG Rainblood: Town of Death, which I really should have linked to back in June. I'm going to get flak for linking to them, but Kotaku says consoles are banned in China. Also, Vietnam regulates online gaming, which is such an old news report, there's probably been a follow-up since then. As for HG101's blog, we've had numerous Korean entries by our international man of mystery Derboo - far too many to list individually. So instead here's a search of recent Korean entries.
And finally, I want to talk about Tim Hull's website, Global Timoto, which covers not videogames, but games in general from around the world. Tim was formerly of British game developor M4, which developed Resident Evil Gaiden, he was also a co-founder of TIGA. Currently he's riding his motorbike around the world, covering the various games people play in different countries. This is a truly magnificent website full of photos and videos, which I feel is very much in the same spirit as GOTW. Whether it's a board game in Saharan Africa or children building their own bamboo toy cars to race, every entry is fascinating and details with sincerity aspects of life in foreign countries; it does a fine job of documenting human 'play culture' from around the around and is part of a worthwhile registered charity. Although it's not about videogames, I like to think that anyone who enjoys this GOTW page, will find much to marvel at on Tim's website. It really is something quite special.
June 2010
Welcome to another update. We can finally unveil the first part of Derboo's History of Korea. Although a little daunting, what with so much information and imagery, please take the time to sample some of it. As gaming progresses onwards, this slice of history is in danger of being forgotten.
Next we’ve got a lengthy Q&A session with two gamers from Russia, Alex and Fabien, which gives a fascinating explanation of English-loanwords in Russia. Despite having native words for RPG terms like quest, mage, and so on, which are derived from medieval Russian folklore, localised games continue to use foreign vocabulary - which is now commonly accepted.
I’ve also added a short page on Lithuania, with links to a local developer. Plus there’s the first instalment of stuff on Brazil and Tec Toy (the biggest ever feature on Tec Toy themselves is due for the future). And finally, there’s a brief entry on Scotland - since unbeknownst to many, Scotland has contributed quite a bit to the gaming world. Oh, and I added a Congo gallery page, and an entry for China, linking to our fan-translation article which covers Chinese RPGs.
May 2010
I first covered foreign gaming sometime around 2005, when a forum post I made on videogame scenes in Africa and the Middle East caught the interest of GamesTM's then Retro Editor Darran Jones. He asked if I could double the number of entries in order to run it as a printed feature. I did this, which started my long and sometimes arduous journey as a games journalist. When I started freelancing for Retro Gamer, then under Live Publishing, I pitched a regular column called Global Gaming.
Viewing comments from people across the internet, it appears there's still a strong interest in what our cousins in far-flung places of the world are playing. For a long time Insert Credit covered Korean gaming, and there were foreign pieces on websites like WayoftheRodent and people's blogs. But there's never been anything dedicated specifically to Games of the World.
Some of the content here is my leftover notes, some of it is stuff found elsewhere on the internet, and some of it - such as Derboo's Korean coverage - has been researched specifically for HG101. With it already being the second decade of the millenium, my big question is: what were a lot of these countries like in the 1980s and 1990s? If we don't document them now, pieces of gaming history will be lost forever.
- John "Sketcz" Szczepaniak, Hardcore Gaming 101's Games of the World editor
Afghanistan /
Albania /
Algeria /
Andorra /
Angola /
Argentina /
Armenia /
Kosovo /
Chasing the Gorbunok
Two men from Moscow
COUNTRIES OF THE WORLD
AUSTRALIA
Images from Australia
Random images from Australia by Gabe McGrath - a variety of arcades, plus the Dick Smith Wizzard!
Austria /
Azerbaijan /
Bahamas /
Bahrain /
Bangladesh /
Barbados /
Belarus /
Belgium /
Belize /
Benin /
Bhutan /
Bolivia /
Bosnia Herz /
Botswana /
BRAZIL
Upscale Brazil
The supremacy of Sega's Master System, the need to play RPGs with an English-Portuguese dictionary, plus some exclusive games based on Brazilian comics.
Games in the Favela (external link)
A fascinating Way of the Rodent article by Romanista, looking at how street violence and videogames exist side-by-side in Brazil's poorest shantytowns. "It's City Of God with videogames in it," as he puts it.
Brunei /
Bulgaria /
Burkina /
Burma /
Burundi /
Cambodia /
Cameroon /
Canada /
Cape Verde /
Cent Afr Rep /
Chad /
Chile /
CHINA
The Yin and Yang of Chinese gaming
A fascinatting 6 page article by Derrick Sobodash on videogames in China, for the now sadly defunct PiQ magazine. Article is in PDF format, and we were given permission by both Derrick and PiQ's Kevin Gifford to make it freely available. Essential reading.
Rainblood: Town of Death (external)
A Chinese doujin RPG, as reported by TIGSource back in June. There are other websites and forums which cover the game, but TIGS gives a concise overview. I'm sure you'll agree, the game looks gorgeous.
Kotaku says China bans consoles (external)
Kotaku has an interesting (albeit poorly researched) feature on why consoles are apparently banned in China. As pointed out by several comments after the feature, it's actually something of a misconception. But I still found the entry interesting enough to warrant listing it here (and they've got some nice pics taken from HERE).
Fan-translations and Chinese RPGs
Part 3 of HG101's article on fan-translations focuses on Chinese RPGs, with coverage of Xian Jian Qi Xia Zhuan (aka: Chinese Paladin: The Legend of Sword and Fairy), its TV dramatisation, plus Heroine Anthem: The Elect of Wassernixie and more.
Colombia /
Comoros /
CONGO
Images from the Congo
Just one image, taken from Flickr - more to follow.
Costa Rica /
Croatia /
Cuba /
Cyprus /
Czech Rep /
Denmark /
Djibouti /
Dominica /
Dominican Rep /
East Timor /
Ecuador /
EGYPT
Videogames of Cairo
An HG101 entry documenting the videogame scene in Cairo, circa January 2010. Strong retro focus, with direct links to Youtube videos shot in Cairo's markets.
El Salvador /
Equat Guinea /
Eritrea /
Estonia /
Ethiopia /
Fiji /
Finland
FRANCE
French games magazines
An HG101 blog entry covering France's diverse selection of videogame magazines, including two dedicated solely to RPGs.
French retro stores
A follow-up entry looking at one of France's retro stores.
Multilingual PS3 games
An HG101 entry on why the French and European versions of Heavy Rain and other PS3 games are multilingual, whereas the UK versions are intentionally cut.
Gabon /
Gambia /
Georgia /
Germany /
Ghana /
Greece /
Grenada /
Guatemala /
Guinea /
Guinea-Bissau /
Guyana /
Haiti /
Honduras /
Hungary /
Iceland
INDIA
Images from India
Selection of images relating to India, including makeshift arcades, a PS2 room, and the fabled, unreleased version of Clayfighters on the PS1.
Indonesia /
IRAN
MSX gaming in Iran
A personal account from Amir Asghari (aka: KidEinstein) on life and gaming in Iran during the war with Iraq. Now resident in Sweden, he has fond recollections of Metal Gear.
Iraq /
Ireland /
Israel /
Italy /
Ivory Coast /
Jamaica /
Japan /
Jordan /
Kazakhstan /
Kenya /
Kiribati /
KOREA - NORTH
An arcade / Songdowon Games Room / News piece by Insert Credit (external links)
Three non-HG101 entries, the first on an arcade in North Korea, and the second two on a games room at Songdowon International Children's Camp (both by Eric Lafforgue)
KOREA - SOUTH
ULTIMATE KOREAN HISTORY
It's taken a while, but HG101 is proud to introduce Derboo's gargantuan effort to document absolutely everything about Korea's history of videogames. There's interview snippets, a hardware glossary, a crazy-long index of exclusive games, and more screenshots than you will ever find on the internet. Incredible.
Korean games magazines - Part 1 / Part 2 /
Part 3
A trio of entries by HG101's Derboo, on the history of videogame magazines in Korea, including a visit to a reference library to view magazines not meant for the public.
What are Super Power System cards? / The answer revealed!
Two entries looking at a series of mysterious Street Fighter-themed Super Power System cards from Korea. The answer as to what they are, may surprise you.
Newspaper adverts and more SPS cards
A look at Korean mags reporting on Japanese newspaper adverts for Street Fighter, plus more SPS card photos!
How the Korean MSX game Devil Zone ripped off a rip-off.
The boldness of Korean pirates.
Eojjeonji Joheun Il-i Saenggil Geot Gateun Jeonyeok
A look at a 2D Korean brawler on the PC, and its semi-sequel Storm
Jim Rossignol in Korea (external link)
A fascinating examination of modern Korean gaming, which goes way bayond Starcraft. Essential reading.
Tim does Rossignol / Cenix handheld system / Byulbram interview / Return of doujin group Wildcat / Korea makes Eyetoy game (external links)
A random selection of old (some very old) news posts from Insert Credit. Mainly because I have fond memories of IC being the only English-language website which tried to regularly cover Korea and other unusual places. Good use of Google should yield more.
KUWAIT
Yousef's Kuwait (external link)
A fascinating blog detailing life and videogames in Kuwait. Lots and lots of entries, including one on the local GameStop franchise, and an entire database dedicated to arcade culture, with an emphasis on beat-em-ups.
Kyrgyzstan /
Laos /
Latvia /
Lebanon /
Lesotho /
Liberia /
Libya /
Liechtenstein /
LITHUANIA
First to independence
The story of a young Lithuanian gamer, as he witnessed his country's independence from Soviet rule in the 1990s.
Luxembourg /
Macedonia /
Madagascar /
Malawi /
MALAYSIA
Computers and Tea
Mark Wong describes the rise in popularity of computers in Malaysia, and why arcade winners prefer to celebrate with a nice cup of tea.
Maldives /
Mali /
Malta /
Marshall Isl /
Mauritania /
Mauritius /
Mexico /
Micronesia /
Moldova /
Monaco /
Mongolia /
Montenegro /
Morocco /
Mozambique /
Namibia /
Nauru /
Nepal /
Netherlands /
New Zealand /
Nicaragua /
Niger /
Nigeria /
Norway /
Oman /
PAKISTAN
Images from Pakistan
Currently just one image - that of an arcade. More to follow.
Palau /
Palestine /
Panama /
PN Guinea /
Paraguay /
Peru /
PHILIPPINES
Gaming in the Malls of the Philippines
A look at arcade culture, bootleg machines, legitimate shops, and an arcade game where a giant gorilla tries to electrocute you.
POLAND
Waldemar, King of All Polish Game Pirates (external)
An examination of Poland's C64 history, featuring an interview with Waldemar Czajkowski, Poland's biggest distributor of C64 cassettes during the 1980s and 90s. Sourced from Magweasel. In case the site goes down, here's One Photo, and Another Photo.
Portugal /
Qatar /
Romania
RUSSIA
Russian magazines (external link)
Kevin Gifford has acquired a collection of Russian Dendy magazine scans, giving a fascinating report on the history of Russian Dendy clones and magazines. He also reveals the origin's of the Dendy elephant mascot.
Sergei Servianov's essay on his childhood in Russia, including games based on Russian folklore.
Interview covering early Soviet arcades, the Dendy, ZX Spectrum clones and, rather sadly, the abandonment of Russian folklore in favour of a more western vocabulary.
Rwanda /
Samoa /
San Marino /
SAUDI ARABIA
The Persian Gulf
An essay by Soliman AlWahid on growing up in Saudi Arabia.
SCOTLAND
Heavy Hitters
Scotland isn't all haggis and kilts - they're responsible for some of the world's most important videogames too!
Senegal /
Serbia /
Seychelles /
Sierra Leone /
Singapore /
Slovakia /
Slovenia /
Solomon Islands /
Somalia /
SOUTH AFRICA
Christmas in South Africa
An article reprinted with permission from The Escapist, on Christmas and games in South Africa during the early 1990s
Games room in KwaThema township (external link)
Link to Ovi video by ecachucho (Eduardo), showing a makeshift games room at the KwaThema Chess Academy for young chess champions.
Arcade Hall - The Magic Company (external link)
Youtube video by hanzieWTF, showing an arcade in Nelspruit, South Africa, 2009.
Spain /
Sri Lanka /
Sudan /
Suriname /
Swaziland /
Sweden /
Switzerland /
Syria /
TAIWAN
Taipei Game Show (Insert Credit) (external link)
A massive report by Insert Credit for the 2003 Taipei Game Show. Seven years old, but still a glorious thing to behold, if only because no one else dared cover such a thing in the West. RIP Insert Credit.
The Taipei Game Show in Taiwan is the largest games expo in all of Asia, yet usually receives remarkably little coverage outside of China and it's neighbors. Naturally we love to change those sorts of things. Held in the Taiwanese World Trade Center from February 21-24, Josh Hsieh is our man in the streets (as it were) at the TGS.
Tajikistan /
Tanzania /
Thailand /
Togo /
Tonga /
Trinidad /
Tunisia /
Turkey /
Turkmenistan /
Tuvalu /
Uganda /
Ukraine /
Utd Arab Emirates /
United Kingdom /
United States /
Uruguay /
Uzbekistan /
Vanuatu /
Vatican City /
Venezuela /
VIETNAM
Vietnam regulates online gaming (external)
GamePolitics back in June 2010 reported on some strict measures by the Vietnamese government regarding online gaming.
Yemen /
Zambia /
Zimbabwe /
Head Editor: Kurt Kalata
Contributing Editors: Sotenga, Vyse the Bold, Pat R., Neo Rasa, CJ Iwakura, Daijoubu and John Szczepaniak.
Awesome Copy Editors: Jorpho, Paul Acevedo "EastX"
Catalog Administrator: Derboo
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