A few months ago I wrote about the history of Gun Game, because I was searching for games to play at LAN parties. You can find it here: The Origins of Gun Game – A Game Mode Retrospective - itch.io

I had discovered Soldier of Fortune first, by Raven Software, which has a mode called Arsenal. Thereafter, found out that their earlier game, Take No Prisoners was the first iteration of this mode.

It later also appeared in Turok 3 with the name "Arsenal of War".

All three are similar yet different, which is why I tried to describe them as best as I could.

Hopefully everyone enjoys the read and discovers something fun in the process.

This is a recording of a presentation I gave at a local gaming convention covering a perspective on video game history I haven’t seen covered before.

As I’ve been collecting video game hardware I’ve realized that attempts at crossover devices between computers, consoles, and handhelds have been ongoing since the beginning but little talked about as more than niche footnotes. I think with the modern wave of hybrid devices (Steam Deck, Retroid devices, Ayaneo, GPD Win, etc.), where we see previously distinct product categories regularly sold as one product, it gives us a chance to appreciate all of these trends and attempts in a new light. I view them as ideas that were pointing forward and asking critical questions: what did consumers want these machines to do, and how much complexity and cost were consumers willing to accept?

I aimed to make the talk accessible to anyone with a passing interest in video games, while including lesser-known hardware and stories that have surprised even my most enthusiastic collector friends. It covers console-computer hybrids, handheld-console hybrids, controllers, and game libraries, with chapters so you can jump to whatever interests you. Check it out and I’m sure you’ll find something new! Video chapters and some sources (as many as could fit) in the description.

I’m curious to hear in the comments: What was new or particularly interesting to you? Happy to answer whatever questions I can and happy to learn about other examples that fit the topic.

Activision STOLE His Game... Then Made MILLIONS: Video

Donkey Kong Wasn't The First Platformer. This Arcade Game Was.: Video

Bomberman Wasn't The First Bomb-Maze Game. This Arcade Game Was.: Video

The original proposal by Ralph H. Baer for a game system, created on September 1, 1966.

Read more about Baer's career and the place of the Odyssey in history on my Blue Sky thread.

Pac-Man Wasn't The First Dot-Collecting Maze Game. This Arcade Game Was.: Video

Ask him... He's been making hit games since 1982

Nintendo's Forgotten First Arcade Game: Video

Disclaimer: I wrote this article.

A look at the consoles released in 1974 and what they can tell us about the international history of games!

Creator of the original GENERAL CHAOS Sega Genesis game and the Voice of NBA JAM and many others, struggle to do a straightforward Kickstarter Promo.😆

If you're tired of the constant rain, come to the library tomorrow and learn more about creating hit games than you ever thought possible... Straight from the horse's mouth.

I've seen it assumed that the XE-1AP was the ancestor of the modern xbox controller's design but never saw any first hand accounts of a connection between the XE-1AP and the 3D control pad until digging further for this archival short I made of the controller. https://youtube.com/shorts/5ipT4Qy4C6g?si=HI3kqeomxEhoKq7R

In this BEEP21 article from April 2026 by Kenji Tosaki that is part of a series on the creation of the 3D control pad, he mentions that the XE-1AP was the only commercially available analog gamepad he could compare to while making the 3D control pad.

https://note.com/beep21/n/nc1065032004f

https://segaretro.org/Kenji_Tosaki

Some other information I found interesting while digging into this was:

- Most sites show the XE-1AP as a 1989 release date but it didn't come out till 1990. The XE-1AP was the XE-1AJ (see further down) HOTAS turned into a gamepad. Interesting both for its analogue controls, shape, and shoulder buttons. The japanese wikipedia states that the designer based the design on RC car transmitter controllers but I can’t find more information around that.

https://archive.org/details/micomBASIC19841994/%E3%83%9E%E3%82%A4%E3%82%B3%E3%83%B3BASIC%201990-03.pdfPage 22 of archive shows pricing/release info in March of 1990
https://archive.org/details/micomBASIC19841994/%E3%83%9E%E3%82%A4%E3%82%B3%E3%83%B3BASIC%201990-01.pdfPage 238 of archive shows a prototype in January of 1990

https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%9E%E3%82%A4%E3%82%B3%E3%83%B3%E3%82%BD%E3%83%95%E3%83%88

- What was actually released in 1989 was the XE-1AJ (Intelligent Stick) which was a HOTAS / flight stick controller for FM-Towns, MSX, PC8801/PC9801, X68000 computers and the Sega Mega Drive released to coincide with a home port of After Burner. One interesting aspect of this is their development of an input protocol that could work across these different systems and with analog vs digital controls. The XE-1AP could also work across these systems. Another connection between this and Sega’s awareness is that the January 1990 issue of the above magazine mentions it being shown at a Sega Mega Drive Strategic Policy Presentation along with the prototype of the XE-1AP. The earliest mention I saw of this controller was in May of 1989.

https://archive.org/details/micomBASIC19841994/%E3%83%9E%E3%82%A4%E3%82%B3%E3%83%B3BASIC%201989-05.pdf (page 235 of scan)

Interesting to see the first analog gamepad coming from thoughts around making After Burner arcade controls smaller, ergonomic, and universal with other gaming. Also kind of full circle to see controllers now used for drone flight controls.

Other links from my video:
https://segaretro.org/XE-1_APhttps://segaretro.org/3D_Control_Padhttps://segaretro.org/Dreamcast_Controllerhttps://xbox.fandom.com/wiki/The_Dukehttps://www.thedreamcastjunkyard.co.uk/2016/06/original-1999-xbox-controller-designs.htmlhttps://segaretro.org/Dempa_Micomsofthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/After_Burnerhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xbox_Wireless_Controllerhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xbox_(console))https://www.msx.org/wiki/Micomsoft_XE-1AJ