STACK #228 October 2023

THIS MONTH at

FEATURE GAMING

STACK’s ROVING REPORTER

BEST SELLERS at

What’s your all-time favourite game or game series?

Jak and Daxter needs to make a comeback! I need a remastered trilogy on PS5 for sure!

SEPTEMBER 2023

RYAN OXFORD @ JB Hi-Fi Coomera, QLD

1 EA SPORTS FC 24

What have you been playing lately?

What’s the best thing about working in games at JB?

I’ve been playing an incredible amount of Valorant recently. I played a bunch when it first launched, then I dropped off, but I just recently got back into it and the VCT matches.

2 NBA 2K24

Getting the chance to talk to people from so many different walks of life. Everyone has their own genre preference and personal taste in hardware; I enjoy hearing everyone’s experiences.

3 MORTAL KOMBAT 1

4 STARFIELD

You can only have one games console from any era – what would it be and why?

5 MARIO KART 8 DELUXE

What’s your earliest video gaming memory?

Definitely a Nintendo 64! A few friends had them when we were growing up, but I never had one. My parents were awesomely OK with my gaming hobbies, so I had handheld Nintendo systems and Sony PlayStations (which I was very thankful for, and I still have them!), but never a Nintendo home console.

I remember when I was really little, Dad owned an IT business specialising in Macintosh. We had an old iMac as the family computer, and I would play Future Cop: LAPD all the time. Pokémon Blue was earlier, so I probably played that way beforehand!

6 THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: TEARS OF THE KINGDOM

7 HOGWARTS LEGACY

Super Mario – Mushroom Plush

8 NINTENDO SWITCH SPORTS

MERCH MONT H M H of the

9 GRAN TURISMO 7

Sonic the Hedgehog Plush

Super Mario – Goomba Plush

10 STAR WARS JEDI: SURVIVOR

Cuddle your favourite game characters with these fab SEGA and Nintendo plushies!

Super Mario – Chomp Plush

Kirby Mega Heart Plush

2011

GAME CHANGERS! A YEAR IN GAMING It was an exciting new handheld time, as Nintendo stuck with their successful two-screen formula, while PlayStation kept with one. Meanwhile, there was a new type of game in town that brought a whole lot of toys to our gaming spaces…

Nintendo’s first foray into 3D in the Virtual Boy may have flopped, but they certainly got it right with the handheld 3DS. Hitting Aussie shores – and stores – in March, only a month after its native Japan, it took all that was great with the twin-screen DS and enhanced it. The most obvious addition was, of course, stereoscopic 3D, which worked without the need for special glasses. This was engaged via a slider, so could be completely turned off, which meant

Skylanders, which went on to become the most successful “toys to life” franchise, launched with a familiar face. Reportedly created with an aim to inject new life into the Spyro the Dragon franchise, Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure combined a classic 3D good vs. evil action platformer game with a “Portal of Power” – a physical, USB-powered base – upon which any of 32 real-world figurines and accessories could be

As the successor to the PlayStation Portable, the PS Vita launched in Japan just in time for Christmas – and we only had to wait until February 2012 to get our eager paws on it. Bigger than its predecessor without being unwieldy, the Vita boasted a crisp, five-inch OLED touchscreen, and connectivity options included Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and even 3G. Many high-profile PlayStation properties made their way onto the system, and indie developers took to it with gusto. Ultimately, however, Sony weren’t happy with sales, although it has since

placed, at which time they’d burst into life in-game. A smash at launch, many sequels – and extra figurines – followed before it sadly all petered out a few years later.

anybody could use it as their portable games machine of choice. A huge success, over 75 million 3DS units were sold.

become a cult favourite with gamers.

5