9: The Summer of '99

Christina Warren and Casey Liss join Moisés to relive their mutual past in video game retail. Back in the days of VMUs, GD-ROMs, Product Protection Plans, and pre-internet consoles, it was the Wild West. Part 1 of 2Pictured: FuncoLand #23 in Mesquite, TX."The Society of the Shrinked Wrap" will return in Part 2, "The Key Holder" (Thank You For Calling! #10).An "extended cut" combination of both episodes will appear in the Master Feed (iTunes) as "Trouble in Pikachu City". Let us know if you like that sort of thing.SPONSORSHover: get 10% your purchase when signing up at Hover.com using offer code GLENGARRYDrobo: mass storage for the masses. Use offer code MOISES for $50 off Drobo 5D or 5NIgloo: an intranet you'll actually like and use. Visit the link to learn more and support the show. It's free for up to 10 users!PANELISTSChristina Warren is the Senior Tech Analyst at Mashable. She's also a big-time film nerd. Big. Time.Casey Liss writes software and is one-third of Accidental Tech Podcast (ATP if you're nasty).SHOW NOTESMoisés sings an acapella, truncated version of his new take on a Bionic theme song at the end of Bionic 94.Even for novelty value, the Virtual Boy, CD-i, and Jaguar aren't worth it. Well, maybe the Jaguar edition of Aliens vs. Predator.Babbage's, Electronics Boutique, and FuncoLand used to exist, I swear. Now there is only Zuul (Gamestop).Charles BabbageBabbage's has no Wikipedia page, so here's a great Ars Technica piece about the chain.Want to know FuncoLand? Learn the G.A.M.E.S. process before proceeding (part 1 and part 2). Moisés remembers this hilarious ripoff of Tron or Captain N: The Game Master or (probably) both vivdly...from his nightmares.This guy is an example of the sort of EB employee Moisés used to hate and still does. The Christina-type were always awesome. ThisGuy-type were the worst, even though he points out some of the FuncoLand-patented sales tactics and procedures.The Funcoland uniform was those green polo shirts and khakis you see in the video. If you came to work in jeans three times, you could actually be fired.This is "FuncoLand #23", where Moisés worked for most of his high school years. It has since become "GameStop #543".If you didn't experience the Dreamcast, you haven't lived. It won't die.The Neo Geo Pocket Color was a great idea, horrendously mis-marketed and had very little worthwhile software.Fingerboards were the bomb diggity, bro! Check these STUNTZ MOVEZ. and practice your movez anywhere!Seriously, Power Stone (and Power Stone 2) and Ecco: Tides of Time and Chu Chu Rocket and Crazy Taxi and Shenmue and...lots of Dreamcast games are really great, but forgotten.A fun story about Dreamcast launch, which involves a creepy guy in a van.Final Fantasy VIII had a Collectible Card Game (CCG) called Triple Triad built into the game, and yes, they actually made physical cards. There is a Flash adaptation of the game!Superman 64 was bad. Very, very bad.Star Wars: Episode One RACER was an awful game.