What have you PLAYED weekly tracker 2024 (ALL GENERATIONS)

[Keir]

Week of 3/18/24 - 3/24/24

Even less gaming time last week, but at least this time it was because I was having fun at a 3-day metal festival!

 

Atari 2600

Solaris - 10

 

iOS

Duolingo - 24

Jumbline 2 - 17

 

Total time = 51 minutes

[+wongojack]

PC 

Dagon 60 

Dicey Dungeons 144 

Neverout 60 

Race The Sun 35 

Slinger VR 48 

Stunt Kite Masters VR 15 

 

SMS 

Ghostbusters 17 

Rambo 102

[oyamafamily]

ATARI 8-BIT COMPUTERS:

Asteroids - 70 minutes

Galactic Chase - 50 minutes

Marinus - 100 minutes

Pac-Man Arcade [tep392] - 160 minutes

Space Invaders - 75 minutes

Time Pilot - 30 minutes

Edited March 26 by oyamafamily

[Skippy B. Coyote]

Not a whole lot of gaming for me this week, mostly just several games of Monopoly while I watched TV or worked on random tasks. For better or worse though I did learn the limits of my new Retroid Pocket 4 Pro handheld this week though. What I've come to find out is emulating GameCube and PlayStation 2 games is not like emulating Dreamcast, N64, original PlayStation, Sega Saturn, or any earlier generation systems. 

 

When emulating Dreamcast and below you simply load up the games you want to play and they work just like on original hardware. No need to mess around with settings or worry about glitches or crashes, everything just works providing you have powerful enough hardware to run the emulators. GameCube and PS2 emulation however is very much a work in progress, and only 70% or so of the game libraries for those systems will play without issue; and many of the games that do play will require a fair bit of tweaking settings I barely comprehend to get them to run without graphical glitches or slowdown.

 

This was the case with one of my favorite GameCube games, Star Fox Adventures, which is unfortunately among the 30% or so of GameCube games that still don't work terribly well in emulation. I spent several hours messing around with settings in the Dolphin emulator trying to get it into a playable state where it wasn't having lots of graphical glitches, freezing, and crashing, but alas I could not in spite of having more than powerful hardware to run it on.

 

So, for the time being at least, I think I'll stick to Dreamcast and below for emulation. I've had some good success emulating a few GameCube and Wii games like Alien Hominid and Dead Space: Extraction, but GameCube, Wii, and PS2 emulation still have a long way to go before they're the simple plug-and-play experience you get with emulating earlier consoles where everything just works the same as it would on original hardware and you don't have to tinker with settings.

 

Anyway, here's my times for the week...

 

 

Game Boy Advance

Max Payne - 45 minutes

 

Game Boy Color

Monopoly - 262 minutes

 

GameCube

Star Fox Adventures - 68 minutes

 

[TheGameCollector]

This last week I played:

 

Super Mario Bros.: Level-Headed for NES - 116 minutes

 

X-Men Legends for PS2 - 488 minutes

 

Progress:

 

Super Mario Bros. Level-Headed: I played through 6 more games from my 3rd set and completed all of them.

 

X-Men Legends: I played until reaching The Lost Passages which is IMO the best place to level up other than the Danger Room by defeating the endless enemies that try to protect the crystal that has Professor X trapped. Just don't try to defeat too many at once at their spawn point with Beast's pinball attack or you get the green screen glitch that crashes the game.

[Hwlngmad]

Yesterday's (3/25) totals:

 

TI99/4a

1) Bigfoot - 20 minutes

2) Meteor Belt - 10 minutes

 

Android

1) Retro Bowl - 35 minutes

 

Game Boy

1) Donkey Kong - 20 minutes

[agb]

Only two games this week. 
 

Solar Fox 96

Solaris 6

[carlsson]

Week 12 Summary

 

For the week March 18 - 24, we logged 4933 minutes of gaming, playing 58 games (of which 15 new) on a total of 23 systems.

 

Individual Top 20

 

1. Fortnite (PS5) - 820 min.
2. X-Men Legends (PS2) - 488 min. (#3)
3. Monopoly (Game Boy Color) - 262 min. (#4)
4. Solaris (Atari 2600) - 205 min.
5. Kaboom! (Atari 2600) - 188 min.
6. Pac-Man Arcade (tep392) (Atari 8-bit) - 160 min.
7. Dicey Dungeons (PC Modern) - 144 min.
8. Retro Bowl (Android) - 140 min.
9. Boreal Tenebrae (Switch) - 135 min.
9. Chain Reaction (Magical Drop) (Arcade) - 135 min.
9. Top Gear 2 (JP: Top Racer 2) (SNES) - 135 min. (#6)
12. Retro Bowl College (Android) - 126 min.
13. Elevator Action (Arcade) - 116 min.
13. Super Mario Bros: Level-Headed (NES/Famicom) - 116 min.
15. Sly Spy (Secret Agent) (Arcade) - 115 min.
16. Solar Fox (Atari 2600) - 113 min. (#12)
17. Rambo: First Blood Part II (aka Secret Command) (Sega Master System) - 102 min. (#5)
18. Marinus (Atari 8-bit) - 100 min.
18. Marvel vs. Capcom (Dreamcast) - 100 min. (#13)
20. Space Invaders (Atari 8-bit) - 75 min. (#20)

 

Pre-NES Top 10

 

1. Solaris (Atari 2600) - 205 min.
2. Kaboom! (Atari 2600) - 188 min.
3. Pac-Man Arcade (tep392) (Atari 8-bit) - 160 min.
4. Elevator Action (Arcade) - 116 min. (PN#8)
5. Solar Fox (Atari 2600) - 113 min. (PN#3)
6. Marinus (Atari 8-bit) - 100 min. (PN#10)
7. Space Invaders (Atari 8-bit) - 75 min. (PN#6)
8. Asteroids (Atari 8-bit) - 70 min.
9. Galactic Chase (Atari 8-bit) - 50 min.
10. Red Sea Crossing (Atari 2600) - 38 min.

 

Systems Top 20

 

1. PS5 (1 game) - 820 min.
2. Atari 2600 (4 games) - 544 min. (#2)
3. PS2 (1 game) - 488 min. (#3)
4. PC Modern (12 games) - 487 min. (#1)
5. Atari 8-bit (6 games) - 485 min. (#9)
6. Arcade (5 games) - 416 min. (#4)
7. Game Boy Color (2 games) - 277 min. (#8)
8. Android (2 games) - 266 min. (#13)
9. Switch (3 games) - 170 min.
10. SNES (1 game) - 135 min. (#10)
11. Sega Master System (2 games) - 119 min. (#7)
12. NES/Famicom (1 game) - 116 min. (#6)
13. Nintendo 3DS (3 games) - 102 min.
14. Dreamcast (1 game) - 100 min. (#5)
15. Game Boy Advance (2 games) - 90 min. (#20)
16. Apple iOS (3 games) - 71 min. (#17)
17. Gamecube (1 game) - 68 min.
18. Neo Geo Pocket Color (2 games) - 45 min.
19. Game Boy (1 game) - 40 min. (#11)
20. TI-99/4A (2 games) - 30 min.

 

Fortnite dances into first place, 5.5 hours ahead of X-Men Legends. The top pre-NES game this week begins with Sol, but rather than Solar Fox it is Solaris which has the honors in an almost Atari dedicated top list. While the PS5 is unchallenged in the systems list, the difference between #2 and #6 is just over two hours.

 

Top Gear 2 (Top Racer 2) for the SNES becomes member #557 in the 1000 Minute Club with a total of 1069 minutes.

[Hwlngmad]

Yesterday's (3/26) totals:

 

Android

1) Retro Bowl - 20 minutes

 

PC

1) Atari 50 - 10 minutes

2) Castle Crashers - 30 minutes

3) What the Golf? - 5 minutes

[Hwlngmad]

Yesterday's (3/27) totals:

 

Android

1) Retro Bowl - 25 minutes

 

PC

1) Atari 50 - 25 minutes

2) Balatro - 85 minutes

3) Castle Crashers - 10 minutes

4) What the Golf? - 5 minutes

[Hwlngmad]

Yesterday's (3/28) totals:

 

Android

1) Retro Bowl - 45 minutes

 

PC

1) Atari 50 - 25 minutes

2) Balatro - 120 minutes

3) Super Mega Baseball 3 (demo) - 25 minutes

4) What the Golf? - 5 minutes

[carlsson]

On 3/13/2024 at 1:13 AM, jgkspsx said:

I would be eager to kick in towards an upgrade!

I just placed an order for a new PC! After deductions for existing gift cards, I will spend nearly $50 for the computer (AMD Ryzen 4600G (*), 16GB, 500GB SSD, chassis). I was planning to buy only parts and upgrade myself, but after I realized Windows 11 itself costs $150 and there are no crazy deductions for own upgrades, I figured I might as well buy a ready built computer for $40 more than the parts would cost, and it would include both the operating system, a suitable case and PSU and I don't have to install anything.

 

(*) It has a CPU mark of 16000, compared to my current CPU which scores 2300 on the same test. While not extreme by any means, it should be noteworthy for me.

Edited March 29 by carlsson

[carlsson]

Despite an extended weekend, again I haven't been up to playing any qualified video games this week, though I've had two decent retro game programming sessions.

[TampaBay]

@carlsson For a game like "Asteroids: Recharged" which was developed for many consoles, what do you think should be the system / console listed?

[carlsson]

Generally the one you played it on. As of the time of writing, we have the following Recharged entries:

 

Atari VCS:

Black Widow: Recharged

Breakout: Recharged

Caverns of Mars: Recharged

Centipede: Recharged

Gravitar: Recharged

Missile Command: Recharged

 

PC Modern:
Breakout: Recharged

Missile Command: Recharged

 

Switch:

Asteroids: Recharged

Berzerk: Recharged

Black Widow: Recharged

Breakout: Recharged

Caverns of Mars: Recharged

Centipede: Recharged

Gravitar: Recharged

Missile Command: Recharged (2020 version)

Missile Command: Recharged (2022 version)

Quantum: Recharged

Yars' Revenge: Recharged

[TampaBay]

16 minutes ago, carlsson said:

Generally the one you played it on. As of the time of writing, we have the following Recharged entries:

 

Atari VCS:

Black Widow: Recharged

Breakout: Recharged

Caverns of Mars: Recharged

Centipede: Recharged

Gravitar: Recharged

Missile Command: Recharged

 

PC Modern:
Breakout: Recharged

Missile Command: Recharged

 

Switch:

Asteroids: Recharged

Berzerk: Recharged

Black Widow: Recharged

Breakout: Recharged

Caverns of Mars: Recharged

Centipede: Recharged

Gravitar: Recharged

Missile Command: Recharged (2020 version)

Missile Command: Recharged (2022 version)

Quantum: Recharged

Yars' Revenge: Recharged

OK great, thanks.   When I list it, I'll include it as Nintendo Switch. 

[carlsson]

Generally, only in the case of strict backwards compatibility or certain emulation layer, we list games under a different system than what you play them on. For instance a PS1 game played on PS2, or an arcade compilation for post-2000 systems which tends to include full emulation and original ROMs, unlike arcade compilations for 1990s systems where those games tended to have been rewritten for the target system instead of emulated.

[TampaBay]

4 minutes ago, carlsson said:

Generally, only in the case of strict backwards compatibility or certain emulation layer, we list games under a different system than what you play them on. For instance a PS1 game played on PS2, or an arcade compilation for post-2000 systems which tends to include full emulation and original ROMs, unlike arcade compilations for 1990s systems where those games tended to have been rewritten for the target system instead of emulated.

Makes sense.   In my head I was wondering how statistics are reported.  If three people each play Missile Command: Recharged for 30 minutes, and one person plays on Nintendo Switch, one person plays on Atari VCS, and one person plays on a PC, does it count as three separate entries of 30 minutes each, or are they added up to show 90 minutes total for Missile Command: Recharged?  Personally I think it should show a single entry of 90 mins.  It's the same game. 

[carlsson]

Those are three separate entries, just like if you play Donkey Kong on arcade, Atari 8-bit and NES in the same week. As you noticed, sometimes we nitpick even among different releases of the same game (though sometimes we just merge them together if the differences appear small).

[TampaBay]

Just now, carlsson said:

Those are three separate entries, just like if you play Donkey Kong on arcade, Atari 8-bit and NES in the same week. As you noticed, sometimes we nitpick even among different releases of the same game (though sometimes we just merge them together if the differences appear small).

I agree about Donkey Kong.  Those are three completely different games.   Though for the Recharged series, those are identical games.   I see the Recharged example the same as playing arcade Space Invaders in two different MAME versions and counting them separately because the MAME version was different.   If a Recharged game suddenly became popular and its total minutes had it enter the weekly Top 10 chart, it might not actually make it on the chart if it was segmented over multiple platforms.  

 

It doesn't really matter to me.   Up to you.   I'm a stats guy and was just thinking about it.   It's just my opinion that it's not accurate if the platforms for Recharged aren't summed.   But I'm good however you prefer.

[carlsson]

I suppose it depends where to draw the line between identical game on multiple systems, and different ports of the same game. Take for instance Stardew Valley or Pinball FX3, which both have been tracked for PC (modern), Switch, Xbox One and Xbox Series S/X so far. Are those games also identical between those systems?

[TampaBay]

3 minutes ago, carlsson said:

I suppose it depends where to draw the line between identical game on multiple systems, and different ports of the same game. Take for instance Stardew Valley or Pinball FX3, which both have been tracked for PC (modern), Switch, Xbox One and Xbox Series S/X so far. Are those games also identical between those systems?

Hmmm, unfortunately I'm not familiar with either of those games so I can't answer with those examples! 😀😀

 

In general, I'd say if the average person watched a YouTube video of gameplay on each platform and they all look the same and you can't tell them apart, they're the same game.

 

For the Donkey Kong example, you could tell the difference instantly.  Less than one second. 

 

For Asteroids: Recharged, I imagine it would be nearly impossible to tell them apart. 

[TampaBay]

@carlsson The only reason I've even mentioned it is because I actually love this thread and find it extremely useful for spotting trends and finding new ideas of games to play and hearing what is currently popular. And my thought about the Recharged series is that if the minutes are segmented by platform it might not show up as a trend, when it might have otherwise. That's all. All good. I appreciate all of your effort in keeping and tracking these statistics!

[+jgkspsx]

As a counter example, it would be difficult for most people to spot the differences between many C64 and Atari 8-bit games. Not to mention the 5200 games that are the same as their 8-bit equivalents...

 

It also opens up a bigger box of worms when it comes to when remasters count as different games. Is Doom on the Switch the same game? It's not running the same source code as the 1993 game is on DOS.

[TampaBay]

33 minutes ago, jgkspsx said:

As a counter example, it would be difficult for most people to spot the differences between many C64 and Atari 8-bit games. Not to mention the 5200 games that are the same as their 8-bit equivalents...

 

It also opens up a bigger box of worms when it comes to when remasters count as different games. Is Doom on the Switch the same game? It's not running the same source code as the 1993 game is on DOS.

I hear ya.   I think it's up to each individual's preference as to what they're trying to get out of these statistics.  Does someone lean that it's more important to get a feel for what are the most popular / used systems and consoles, or what are the most popular games.  Both stats have merit.  Personally I'm more interested in seeing trends in game popularity.  The system it's played on is less important to me,  especially in the case of games like the Recharged series where the console has absolutely zero relevance.  I just watched YouTube videos of Asteroids: Recharged on Nintendo Switch and then PC.  They are 100% identical.   So in that case, for me personally, I'd prefer to see the play times added.   I see both sides of the coin though, so in the end I'm fine either way.