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THIS MONTH at

FEATURE GAMING

STACK’s ROVING REPORTER

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

BEST SELLERS at

My all-time favourite series would have to be Assassin’s Creed, with my favourite in the series being Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag . There was just something about them that resonated with me.

MARCH 2023

CAMRON MOORE @ JB Hi-Fi Ipswich, QLD

1 RESIDENT EVIL 4

What have you been playing lately?

2 HOGWARTS LEGACY

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

The game that I’ve been playing the most lately would have to be either FIFA 23 or NBA 2K23 . I haven’t really found anything after Elden Ring to grasp my attention.

3 METROID PRIME REMASTERED

The best thing is being able to talk about something I’m passionate about myself, so half the time it doesn’t even feel like I’m actually working!

4 MARIO KART 8 DELUXE

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

5 WWE 2K23

What’s your earliest video gaming memory?

I would have to say a PlayStation 2, because it was the console that I had growing up and I just have so many memories with it. I still have my PS2 to this day and occasionally go back to play some of the games that haven’t been remastered or re released that I loved as a child.

6 KIRBY’S RETURN TO DREAM LAND

One of my earliest memories would be getting a Game Boy Color for my sixth birthday, alongside Pokémon Blue . I played through that game so many times I lost count. I still have the Game Boy to this day.

7 CALL OF DUTY: MODERN WARFARE II

MERCH MONTH of the

Super Mario Bros. Magnets

8 NINTENDO SWITCH SPORTS

9 MINECRAFT

Super Mario Pencil Case

Mario’s at the movies this month, so what better time to get in on some fab Mushroom Kingdom merch?!

10 FIFA 23

Super Mario Pencils & Toppers

Super Mario Piranha Plant Posable Lamp

2005

GAME CHANGERS! A YEAR IN GAMING Xbox unleashed their second console, the Xbox 360, the world got to clap eyes - and hands - on Sony’s nifty PlayStation Portable, and wannabe rock stars (and cupboards) the world over began to learn the many joys of plastic guitars…

Having nabbed a taste of the console market with the Xbox, it only took four years for Microsoft to unleash their follow-up, the Xbox 360 – although eager Aussies didn’t get hands-on until early 2006. Beating eventual competitors in the PlayStation 3 and NintendoWii to market by a year, it quickly gained a loyal following. The Xbox 360 established Xbox Live as a thriving online community and also served as a powerful media

When gaming accessories

For many years, Nintendo had pretty much held a monopoly on handheld gaming systems, and Sony wanted their slice of the lucrative pie. Enter the PlayStation Portable, which boasted impressive graphics, a top selection of innovative exclusives, and one of the more peculiar disc formats that gamers would ever see, the proprietary Universal Media Disc (UMD). This sizeable storage could house entire movies, making the PSP more than just a powerhouse little gaming monster – Sony aimed for it to be “the Walkman of 21st century”. It may not have become that ubiquitous, but through various designs and

company RedOctane noted how well their gear was selling for

games from other companies, they decided to get in on the action themselves, teaming with rhythm game maestros Harmonix. And what action Guitar Hero was, unleashing the chance for wannabe rock stars the world over to shred away at a reasonable facsimile of a guitar to legendary rock hits, without all that needing to gain actual musical talent stuff that hinders so many. For several years the franchise dominated, clocking up over US$1 billion in sales and, eventually, once competition in Harmonix’s own Rock Band hit, expanded to add drums, bass, and vocals. Rock on!

hub. But it was the games that were the main draw, and with the system’s powerful innards, along with such innovations as the introduction of rewarding gaming achievements, it went on to sell north of 84 million units, and established Xbox as a household name.

colours over 80 million eager gamers added a PSP to their arsenal.

3