Back in elementary school, history was one of the classes that made me enter a battle to the death with sleep. Although I always had great teachers(at least those teaching history), keeping in mind so many dates, events, and names was kind of confusing. Today, I can say history is one of my passions, although I am not a walking history manual. Usually, I go hunting for military history info, but this time we're going to talk about something different - the two decades of history left behind by the Sega Genesis console and its impact on today's gaming world.

As you can easily figure out by visiting the link above, the history is far from being over, since the Sega Genesis console turned into a valuable collector's item, although I think the prices are pretty decent. After all, sometimes we're talking about more than just money, and those playing Sonic the Hedgehog or Streets of Rage almost two decades ago surely know what I mean, because some things can't be described with words. Now, let's go through a little history class for the young ones reading this, shall we?

Back in 1988, Sega started the 16-bit era, introducing the first console powered by a CPU as powerful as those in personal computers of that time, the Sega Mega Drive having inside it the Motorola 68000 CPU, the same one as those under the hood of the Apple Macintosh, Commodore Amiga, and Atari ST personal computers.

While the Mega Drive was released in 1988 in Japan, here you have the complete specs of the Sega Genesis console,<-250x250 Square - right-> released one year later in the US(we're talking about the same thing, marketed in Japan and Europe as the Mega Drive, and Genesis, only in the US):

- Retail Price at Launch: $189.99
- Media Type: Cartridges
- Processor: Motorola 68000 (16-bit)
- Processor Speed: 7.67 MHz
- Memory: 64K RAM, 64K Video RAM
- Resolution: 320 x 224
- Colors: 512
- Colors on screen: 64
- Max sprites: 80
- Sprites size: 32x32
- Sound: 6-channel Stereo
- Cartridge size: 256kb - 4meg

Looking back, today we will probably find amusing that the 7.67MHz processor of the Sega Genesis console totally owned Super NES's 3.58MHz one, but back in those days, this made a huge difference, and helped Sega endanger Nintendo's domination of the market.

When talking about strong characters to be associated with the console, Nintendo had Mario, and so Sega thought about coming up with something fast, cool, and edgy, Sonic the Hedgehog being everything that Mario wasn't.

Although Sega got out of the console market a few years ago, it is worth remembering that the Sega Genesis console was the one to bring game consoles to the masses, and then they managed to disappear in the shadows not because their enemies, but because their own internal problems. Anyway, talking about Sega's fall is not what I have in mind now, so I'll leave this topic for another time.

At last, instead of more history(I told you that the fall of this great company on the console market is not what I have in mind, so I'll stay away of telling you more than you need to know now), I will give you the names of those games that I will always remember(I never had a Sega console at home, but I was fortunate enough to have access to one): Alladin(think about it as the ancestor of today's Prince of Persia), Mortal Kombat(a classic that will never be forgotten), and Vectorman.

These being said, I only have one thing left to add - if you have one of these golden oldies lying somewhere, get it back on its feet and let the good times roll again. Speaking for myself, I guess I'll have to find some software emulator, because none of my friends still has a Sega Genesis console in working state available...

There's something in the air... Can you smell it? It's near, and some may overlook it but, in the end, nobody will escape! Wrath of the Lich King, World of Warcraft's second expansion pack, is only two weeks away, but that doesn't mean Blizzard's massive "millionplayer" online game's growth has come to a halt, waiting for the new content to arrive. In fact, we're talking about a new milestone reached by world's most popular MMORPG...



...since World of Warcraft's worldwide subscriber base has just exceeded the 11 million mark! A funny fact is that, even if we consider the chance of having a few percent of those 11 million accounts belonging to users creating multiple accounts, the World of Warcraft crowd is largen than the population of countries like Belgium or Portugal.

Just as a reminder, the 10 million subscribers mark was left behind back in January, and with the release of the new expansion pack, <-125x125 Button - right->the 12 million subscribers barrier could be overrun faster than most of us are expecting now. Next March? September? Who can tell?

Speaking for myself, I must confess I was crazy about the Warcraft series, and since World of Warcraft was released, I tried to avoid it. After finally getting a trial account last month, I only played the game for a few hours, but it didn't quite reach my inner core the way Warcraft 2 did.

So...what about you? Are you one of those 11 million subscribers, one of the former World of Warcraft players, or...

Online Bingo

What's the ultimate fashion accessory for winter 2008? No, it's no a leather jacket – it's online bingo! In fact, with literally thousands of gamers predicted to join every week between now and the start of 2009 – web bingo really is the place to be the put a little sparkle in you life. Check out the new-look power of the classic game..........

Bingo fashion

If you believe the glossy mags, bingo is the coolest game on the planet right now – and that's not far from the truth! Everyone seems to be playing (including high profile celebs), and once you've tried it out, there's a good chance you'll fall for it's fun charms.

Social sparkle

The big reason for the growing popularity of bingo gaming, has to be its unique social element. Essentially, by offering free forums, profile pages and chat screens – bingo lets you make new chums – and literally delivers a new social avenue – come day or night! Since the smoking ban and the credit crunch took hold in the UK – thousands of people have made bingo their chill out destination.

Cool games – cool affordability, big rewards!

The chat features are all 100% free – and while you have to shell out to get gaming, it doesn't cost a small fortune. In fact, it's affordable for virtually everyone, costing pennies per card (5-10 pence, or less during bonus specials!). So – a quick rummage on old pockets and behind the sofa – and you're set to game! The games are frantic fun, with both US 75 and UK 90 Ball style bingo gaming available – often with cool graphics and themed games. The deluxe parlours also contain mini casino games and progressive slots – offering you even more chances to win. Basic bingo payouts can range from 0.10 to 50.00 – with jackpots toppling 10,000.00 in big jackpot games! What's more – with free-play sign-up credits, free chat games and endless freebie competitions, bingo is just what's needed to boost your mood.

As I walk through the dense jungle, I suddenly hear them joking. "How could they be so careless? Well, we're at least 50 miles away from our nearest base, so they shouldn't expect an attack. They surely won't even know what hit them," I say to myself, as I silently check my silencer. "Only 4 of them, and plenty of bullets available. I only need one shot for one kill, especially from this distance," but as I get closer... I see it, and I just can't believe my eyes! "Is this really the enemy, or just some civilians deep in the jungle, wearing Coca-Cola shirts???"

All the above could be the thoughts of a hero from the latest shooter you bought for Christmas, since Google is making its move by entering the gaming advertising market! Just read this - AdSense for Games, and you'll probably be able to imagine how is the future going to look like. I can only laugh when I think about how far this could get one day, but its refreshing to find out that, for now, the Google In-Game Advertising program is limited to Web-based games. Pheeew...<-125x125 Button - right->

For now, AdSense for Games is targeting Web-based Flash games, but Android titles may follow pretty soon, as the games market for that platform grows. The list of advertisers who signed up already includes Sprint and Sony Pictures Entertainment, while ad network operators Demand Media, Boonty and Mochi Media became Google partners in providing AdSense for Games ads.

Double Fusion's CEO, Jonathan Epstein, said that this move from Google is "further proof that in-game advertising is becoming the mainstream multi-million dollar ad medium the industry has been predicting for some time."

I fully agree with him, and I only hope one thing - as I usually find Google Ads bearable, I hope that gaming industry won't turn into such an annoyance as TV, where ads are sometimes eating more of your time than actually useful content.

I don't know if I recall it well, but I think Microsoft said a few months ago they have no plans to bring the Xbox 360 and a Blu-Ray drive together. Correct me if I'm wrong, nobody knows everything...but let's see what's happening with the Xbox 360+Blu-Ray combo, because things are changing a lot these days for everyone, it seems. I don't know if Microsoft finally decided to listen closely to its customers, or there's another reason behind this, but...

...the latest rumors are saying this: Microsoft got in touch with Toshiba-Samsung Storage Technology Corp, asking them to help with the Blu-Ray unit missing in action for the Xbox 360 users. Well, the rumor goes even one step further,<-125x125 Button - right-> saying that the price of the device is somewhere between $100 and $150. I don't know how much is this going to affect the price of the Xbox 360, but I am surely happy to hear that Toshiba is going to be in charge - if you ever had one Toshiba optical drive, I am sure you know what am I talking about here!

For now, there's no official confirmation of these rumors, but nobody denied them, either, so I guess the Xbox 360 & Blu-Ray are not very far. Maybe we'll have them together for Christmas? I can't tell yet, but I really hope to see this coming true...