Basically, you find the game you have and want to trade, find out how many points it is worth. If you find the amount acceptable, you offer it online. In my case, the game I wanted to trade was worth 1000 points, enough for Fallout New Vegas, so I figured I should do it. Worst case scenario, I’ll get screwed and have something to post on this site. They have a feedback system like ebay and they act as intermediary for all transactions, so it made me feel safer. Their fee is also pretty decent (1$ for every time you buy a game with your trade points).

The game I wanted to trade already had people waiting for it, so I was ready to trade the game right away! I went to the post office to ship the game (you pay the shipping for the games you trade). I was really excited about getting fallout or maybe buff up my NES or SNES collection (I saw Earthbound in the list so I was already dreaming of a second copy!)

Unfortunately, when I got back from the post office, I noticed none of the games I wanted were actually available, and that most of them had huge queue of people waiting for it. I then started looking at the available games (the ones that could ship right away) and I noticed that the selection was less than stellar. There is still some good games in there so I’ll see what I’ll do with my points once they are unlocked (when the delivery of my trade is confirmed).

Anyway, stay tuned for part 2… Once my points are unlocked and I actually buy something with them!

I just wanted to take a moment to introduce you to one of the coolest event to be happening soon to the internet. Pat The NES Punk, one of my favorite internet reviewer, will be hosting a live event to raise funds for the Child’s Play foundation. In case you don’t know what Child’s Play is, check out their website! They are dedicated to buying toys and videogames for hospital to brighten the days of the kids there. I used to have many health problems causing me to be hospitalized often as a kid. I don’t have a lot of memories of these days, but I do remember that one of the the only things that would cheer me up was when they brought me to the toy room.

The event will start on Saturday October 16th 3PM EST (12PM PST). It will be hosted on USTREAM but will be accessible through Pat’s website, as well as Screwattack.com, RetrowareTV and NintendoAge.com.

If you don’t know Pat The NES Punk, you should head over to his website, he his a great reviewer. His videos are a bit long so plan ahead before heading there! However, they are well worth the time.

Here’s a few of my favorite videos from the guy:

Panic Restaurant (NES) Review: I don’t know why but it’s my favorite one so far… I guess it’s the random quotes at the dinner table!

Flea Market Madness: Not a Review, but he tells us a bit about retro games collecting and the type of video games merchants in the flea markets.

Here’s the Press Release for the event:

San Diego, CA, October 5, 2010:

The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) marks its 25th Anniversary in North America on October 18th, 2010. To celebrate the occasion, game reviewer “Pat the NES Punk” will play every game in the 8-bit NES game library (750 games) in a row during a 24 hour marathon. The event will be streamed live via the internet to raise money for the charity Child’s Play, an organization that provides hospitals with toys, books and games for sick children.

Released in the autumn of 1985, the Nintendo Entertainment System greatly helped to revitalize the dying home video game market in the U.S., and was largely responsible for helping to re-grow the industry into the multi-billion dollar mammoth it is today.

“The 25th anniversary of the NES is an historic day not just for video game history, but for popular culture in general,” said Pat Contri. “The NES had a significant impact on society, as both children and adults today still enjoy the games and characters that lived and breathed during that time. Playing every game that was released for this beloved game system will be a great opportunity to pay homage, educate the public, and have fun while raising money for a great cause. Also, I have nothing else planned that weekend, so it seems like a good idea.”

The NES 25th Anniversary Marathon is sponsored by NintendoAge.com, RetrowareTV.com, and ScrewAttack.com. The charity Child’s Play has existed since 2003, and has collected over 5 million dollars in donations of toys, games, books, and cash for sick kids in 70 children’s hospitals across North America. Their website is located at childsplaycharity.org.

The marathon’s live coverage will begin on Saturday, October 16th at 3PM EST and will carry over into the following Sunday evening. Sponsors NintendoAge.com, RetrowareTV.com, and ScrewAttack.com will all be live-streaming the event, which will be powered by Ustream.com.

List of stuff you can’t find online:

• - A detailed list of all the garage sales canceled due to rain in Australia in 1993.
• - Instructions on how to help squirrel fight cavities.
• - Quality Ascii Porn.
• - Easy to understand instructions on how to open a laptop without breaking all the pieces inside for an old Toshiba Satellite A100.
• - Some good hard core rap lyrics written by sir Anthony Hopkins.
• - A detailed list of all the garage sales canceled due to rain in Australia in 1998.
• - A copy of Magentaman: The Movie.
• - A website that can make nails grow out of your keyboard so that you hurt yourself by accident.
• - A Myspace profile with no spam in the comments.

I’m pretty sure that’s the entire list of things you can’t find on the internet. Did I forget anything?

10:00 — My All-in-One-CD-player-radio-alarm-clock is waking me up… not with an agressive alarm, but with the beautiful Beethoven’s 19th piano sonata. I enjoy listening to it.

10:48 — Must wake up. I stretch one last time and I get out of bed. I’m looking outside. Autumn wind is slowly giving me some inspiration, which I need for my work.

11:02 — I go into the bathroom and take a shower. I let the warm water flowing on me, like a million fingers massaging my neck. I just feel good.

11:34 — Get out of the shower. Hot water tank is empty, like usual.

11:47 — I’m hungry. I’ts too late for breakfast, I guess. I’m thinking about lunch. What do I have here? Whole spelt pastas and my home made sauce. . . made with fresh canned tomatoes. Seems good, I never tried spelt pastas.

11:59 — Water is boiling. I put the pastas into the cauldron. Nine to eleven minutes, they say. I let them 15 minutes, I like soft pastas.

12:14 — I drain out the pastas, add the sauce and mix.

12:22 — These pastas are good, I think I’m going to take another plate.

12:31 — That was a good dinner, but I feel full. Time to go to work. Oh no, not yet. This afternoon. That’s let me 30 minutes. I’m going on Facebook to see what my friends are doing right now.

14:33 — I shouldn’t have eaten so much pasta, it just feels so bad in my belly…

14:34 — brb

I try not to think about it, but it’s hard! I was wondering how the character would evolve in time.  They did in a sense, but not as I expected.  I supposed I’m just crazy to wonder about such trivial things, but I do remember how weird I felt on my 12th birthday, knowing I was the same age as Bart.  The next year was even weirder, I outlived a “living” character.  In a few years, it seems that I’ll live the same thing with Homer.

Can you imagine if they did the same thing with a non-animated show? I know they sort of did, but not for a show featuring kids, running over 20 seasons! The only way it could work is if the show featured Martin Short.

Awesome 8bit Web Cartoon: 8-Bit Pwny Club

This is probably one of the coolest and goodlooking 8 bit cartoon I have seen in a while. And it’s really original to… I never thought I would watch a top 5 toilets in videogames countdown and be interested in it. The videos are pretty short at around 5 minutes each and are definately worth a watch!

• 8 Bit Pwny Club 1 (Youtube)
• 8 Bit Pwny Club 2 (Youtube)
• 8 Bit Pwny Club 3 (Youtube)
• Creators’ website

Awesome 8bit Clothing Accessory: The ThinkGeek 8-Bit Tie

Perfect if you need to dress nice and look stupid (or cool, depending on the environment).

• Get it in blue or in red on the ThinkGeek Website.

Coolest 8 Bit Related Store EVER: NESReproductions.com

I don’t think it’s a secret to anyone who knows me that my favorite videogame franchise is the Mother series (EarthBound). When I heard I could put my hand on a NES copy, in English, of the unreleased EarthBound 0 (Mother 1 in Japan), I did not hesitate and it was definately worth it. He can copy any unreleased, fan-made or fan-modified NES game.

The way it works is that you supply a compatible NES cart (depends on the game you want) and 25USD and this guy will do the work for you. I had my cart for a few years now and and still plays perfectly. The sticker quality is really good too. Check out his website if you still own a working NES!

• NESReproduction.com