This week we rewind to February 16, 2016 where I interviewed Dan Iacovelli of Westchester, IL.    Dan is the creator and co-promotor of the Video Game Summit which is July 29th, 2017 at the Odeum in Villa Park, IL.  For more information, visit the website.    

Our next Trading Card Spotlight features Dan Iacovelli, who currently is displayed on card number 247, from the Superstars of 2012 Collection.  He is also featured on cards 1142 and 1267.  Dan has devoted the last 11 years promoting and running the Video Game Summit in the Chicagoland area.   Over the years, many vendors, gamers and people of all ages have attended VGS and it grows bigger each year.   Dan also has created his own video games such as Laserman ‘88 and Laserman 2K3 Keystone Kappers hack for the Atari 2600.    

What are your opinions about today’s generation of video games?How do you compare them to older, classic games?

I prefer the classics to today generation, the classic have the fun factor with no blood or guts most of today games are about fighting or combat, I’m not much into that.

Our next Trading Card Spotlight features Michael Thomasson who is displayed on card number 531, from the Twin Galaxies Superstars Collection of 2013. Michael is also featured on card number 670.  Michael is one of the most widely respected videogame historians in the field today. He has written books, published games, helped with other creators on game development and has had articles published in the newspaper.  Michael is also the founder and creator of the company “Good Deal Games”.   He has been a classic gamer since the beginning and in 2014 became the Guinness Book of World Records as the person with the most collected video games at over 11,000.  

What was the first game you ever purchased?

It was Lady Bug for the Colecovision. I saved up money from mowing neighbor’s lawns and dispatched my father to pick it up for me from Gold Circle on his way home from work. I specifically remember him having me call all the local stores to find the best deal. One of many life lessons taught to by my father as a result of the videogames.

Our next Trading Card Spotlight features Frankie Cardulla who is displayed on card number 201, from the Twin Galaxies Superstars Collection of 2012.  When it comes to Atari, Frankie is one of the best.   Back in the 1980s, Frankie competed in major Atari tournaments such as Space Invaders and Asteroids.   At one time Frankie played Asteroids in the arcade for 40 hours straight.   You can see some of his Atari world records on the Twin Galaxies scoreboard.  Some of the games he holds world records on are Pole Position, Atlantis, Defender, and Freeway.  

Do you remember the first coin-operated video game you ever played? 

Back in 1979, I inserted a quarter into Space Invaders at Dog Ear Records, which was located in Northbrook, Illinois. That one game, that I played on that day, would have a tremendous impact of my teenage years. 

Our next Trading Card Spotlight features Richard Booth, who currently is displayed on card number 704 from the Superstars of 2014 Collection.  Richard has devoted the last 7 years to Twin Galaxies and is determined to keep Walters vision he had in 1981 alive.   Richard is more of a fan than a gamer to beat world records.   He enjoys being behind the scenes and spreading the word of Walter and Twin Galaxies in the gaming community.   If he plans to submit a score one day it may be on his favorite game Tetris,  but with the Nintendo Switch out and his favorite system, we may see some of those records come out from Richard.  

Which company makes the best games and why?

Nintendo, and it’s not even close. Nobody makes a game with as much love and craftsmanship like Nintendo. The smallest example I have of this is that the games are finished when they release. There’s no need for a day one patch, and that’s huge to me. It makes the price point seem worth it. Secondly, the level of detail they put in their games is incredible. Think about it, who would have ever thought that wearing metal on your person in a thunderstorm in Breath of the Wild would could result in electrocution?