Chris Chapman

Oops, made a video! Hey, remember that Blizzard scandal?

No, not that one.
Not that either.
Or that.

I’m talking about the Windows 95 registry snooping, obviously! If you’re drawing a blank, I’ve got just the video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLFRaV_ua4Q

I’ve adopted the technique of remembering very late in the process that videos need thumbnails, feeling wholly uninspired, and then rapidly throwing together whatever panicked half-shitposty idea has come to mind ten minutes later.

New scan: MCV from October 7, 2005:

• Microsoft hypes the Xbox 360, due out in mere weeks. 160 games announced. Seems like a lot!
• At the same event, the Halo movie, due in 2007, is announced. Obviously that project died, but I didn't realise it turned into District 9, which even included Halo props.
• Jimmy Carr to host 2005's Golden Joysticks. Would have searched for it, but then I might have ended up seeing Jimmy Carr.
• Do weblogs mean the end of game journalism? No. Capitalism did.

When I heard the allegation this morning I delisted a 2019 video. I’ve now privated it. Regrettably, it’ll remain offline since I no longer have the software to open that project and replace the VO.

First time removing a video, but I don’t believe there’s any good reason to leave it up. Sorry.

Two pieces of related news:

1. There’ll be a new video landing this weekend; the first since 2022.
2. Patrons already got to see it, and you too could be in that wonderful group.

https://www.patreon.com/savestatesite/

Really want to make a ’no generative AI was used in the making of this video’ graphic anyone can use, but I’m pushing deadlines and I’ll just have to use the text tool in this one

Next month maybe

TBH, the writing was on the wall when they stopped making Entertainment Packs.

Over the last few weeks I’ve sent messages to a few artists on Bandcamp asking for permission to use a track, but I’ve never received a response. Am I just unlucky/bad at asking, or is there some weird antipattern on the creator side where people don’t see incoming messages or something?

New scan: MCV 355, Sep 2005!

• Nintendo took the wraps off the Revolution controller/Wiimote. Industry response is favourable, but not everyone's convinced.
• Reports suggest that Capcom and Konami are next in line for a merger. The source isn't credited, but I assume it was somebody's fan fiction?
• Digital distribution: will Apple will be the first to crack it? No mention of Steam, but that was still Valve-only... for another three weeks.
• Top of the sales chart: The Sims 2: Nightlife.

👇

I switched away from Creative Suite earlier this year for financial reasons and to spread the pain of figuring out an alternate toolset that’ll survive the switch to Linux, but discovering that Adobe’s stopped supporting Windows 10 — before Microsoft, even — has provided another retroactive reason.

It’s 7/7, Bungie Day! All the upcoming announcements from the Destiny team today:

Nintendo’s official Star Fox 64 site; the earliest Wayback Machine capture (February 1998) and today.

Checking in on 2026 bingo progress. Going to have to make up lost ground on at least one square to be in with a chance of a line by year’s end. (Ironically, Microsoft adding another year of support to Win10 kind of screwed me on the top row, since I can now defer that until I have more time.) But it’s looking better than last year’s card, at least.

“Nintendo’s the future and will be for a long time, along with the M2”

Tired of Big Allergy profiting from my misery.

New scan: MCV 354, Sep 2005!

• Actual headline: "Nintendo loves Sony PSP". Hard to imagine them doing that today.
• Sega signs an unannounced game from Bizarre. That would be The Club. RIP PGR.
• Top of the sales chart: Ubisoft continue to monetise Tom Clancy's corpse with Rainbow Six: Lockdown.

👇

Browsing the Christmas 1982 issue of the TV Times on the Internet Archive; got chills when I saw this ad and realised what I was looking at.

Source: https://archive.org/details/1982-12-24-1983-01-07-thames-lwt/page/110/mode/2up

Contemplating the last 24 years of incredible advances in silicon, emulation and product design, and how it’s led to this: the ability to play GBA games anywhere we want.

It’s that time again: another month, another recap. A new addition to the site, some new gear, and a promise of a new video soon.

https://savestate.site/stage-clear-july-2026/

CDKeys/Loaded are selling Steam codes for the first three Etrian Odysseys for £1 apiece!

They aren’t the best version (none of the Untold improvements, and these games were really made for a touchscreen and stylus) but they’re the best currently available, and a no-brainer at that price.

It appears I’m not getting any more sleep tonight.

New Sporcle quiz: how many of the top 20 global-bestselling GameCube games can you name?

https://www.sporcle.com/games/savestate/top-20-gamecube-bestsellers

New on the blog: the monthly wrap-up: https://savestate.site/stage-clear-september-2026/

Uploaded eight years ago today: the odd tale of a celebrity, a trading card, a lawsuit, and 20 years of lasting consequences for a beloved franchise.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQALpc6IZ_A

Been listening to someone’s UK Top 20 Hits of 1982 playlist lately. And between all the Human League and Bucks Fizz, an incredibly Japanese-sounding jazz fusion track showed up.

I assumed either the playlist had run out and started something else, or the playlister accidentally added some city pop?