What started life in 1992 as a primitive Windows simulation game (“How primitive?” It looked like this!) put together by a virtually unknown Japanese developer called Masterpiece, is these days a multiformat, console-, handheld-, mobile- and computer-spanning series with nearly 1.5 million sales to its name and a dozen separate titles forming its lineage.
Game no. 9 in the series is The Conbini 200X, which was released as an Xbox 360 exclusive in 2006 and now finds itself restocked on the virtual (and therefore not much good for carrying eggs) shelves of XBLA’s Games on Demand. This is good news for people in Japan and kind of irrelevant for those who aren’t. The disc-based version was initially sold for something silly like 7,000 yen, but at 2,000 Microsoft Points (roughly 2,940 yen) even a game that looks this dry should be able to succeed:
Satoru Iwata Video Interview - the late Nintendo president spoke with Kikizo in 2004 as 'Nintendo Revolution' loomed.
Kaz Hirai Video Interview - the first of Kikizo's interviews with the man who went on to become global head of Sony.
Ed Fries Video Interview - one of Xbox's founders discusses an epic journey from Excel to Xbox.
Yu Suzuki, the Kikizo Interview - we spend time with one of gaming's most revered creators.
Tetris - The Making of an Icon: Alexey Pajitnov and Henk Rogers reveal the fascinating story behind Tetris
Rare founders, Chris and Tim Stamper - their only interview? Genuinely 'rare' sit down with founders of the legendary studio.
The History of First-Person Shooters - a retrospective, from Maze War to Modern Warfare