Trading Card Spotlight - Stacy Burns
Our next Trading Card Spotlight features Stacy Burns who currently is displayed on card number 3463, from the Superstars of 2020 Collection. Stacy is a long-time gaming preservationist. He has been playing games since the beginning of the Pong days. He has a passion of finishing retro video games from start to finish. To this day he has completed over 4,000 video games. His collection is one to be jealous of with 10,000 games and 300 consoles. His home museum is where you can see his collection. His home museum is called the Console Purist Museum. His collection has been seen in Old School Gamer Magazine, various YouTube channels and Killer Features. You can also see Stacy on Facebook.
Who is your favorite video game character and what makes that character special?
I suppose Master Chief and Luigi. I like the color green first of all and Master Chief is just a fearless soldier, charging into battle selflessly, doing everything he can, to save as many as he can. For Luigi, his whimsical and comical personality just clicks with me.
If you can design your own game, what would it be about and who would be the main character?
I would have a racing game, where the entire map of the United States was available to traverse, using Google Maps information. Each residence, place of business, landmark, courthouse, etc. would be represented, and the character would be able to exit the car if they wanted to. It would be something akin to Test Drive Unlimited, but with the control of Forza Horizon 3. That game would be incredible, with thousands of races, with procedurally drawn and created races depending on where the player was. I hope to be able to play a game like that one day. Microsoft Simulator will hopefully whet my appetite, albeit the game is spent flying, rather than driving over the map, the concept is still there.
Do you remember your first video game / arcade you played and what do you remember about it?
Yes, it was the Atari Pong in my parents Living Room. I thought it was absolutely fantastic!
Do you prefer playing video games alone, against friends or online against the world and why?
It really depends on the game. I love to hunker down and play a great RPG on my own for hours at a time, whereas playing a game like Ghost Recon: Wildlands is a blast with friends.
Which company makes the best games and why?
Oh man. That is a very hard question. Capcom and Konami, as 3rd party developers knocked it out of the park during the 16bit era, as did Nintendo. I suppose those three, along with Sega would be among my favorite developers.
What games today do you play and what are your favorite genres of games?
I play most any game across a wide variety of platforms and genres. In any given week, I might play games from the Atari 2600 like Freeway, Pitfall Keystone Kapers, Galaxian, Phoenix, etc. or Super Mario World, Final Fight, UN Squadron, etc. on the SNES, Mercs, Sonic, Castlevania: Bloodlines on the Genesis, Wizards and Warriors on the NES, Baseball Stars on the Neo Geo AES, or Ghost Recon: Wildlands on the XBOX One, and Animal Crossing: New Horizons on the Switch. I keep all of my consoles (that aren't Pong clones) hooked up and ready to play. So, it is anyone's guess as to what I'll play next.
What are your opinions about today’s generation of video games? How do you compare them to older, classic games?
I see many of today's games as inferior and shallow imitations of the classics and masterpieces we once had, with only a few exceptions.
When did you first meet Walter Day and where was it at?
I've never had the distinct pleasure of meeting him. Hopefully one day, I can meet him in person.
If you could describe Walter Day in one word, what would that word be and why?
Classic
What is your favorite portable gaming device and why?
I don't care much for handheld gaming, but I do have every handheld console released in the US, except the Entex Adventurevision. The main reason is my eyesight has always been poor, so gaming on a TV is much easier for me.
Do you prefer PC or Console gaming and why?
I am a console gamer all the way, thus The Console Purist.
If you could own one arcade game or pinball game, what would it be and why?
Well, I was able to make that dream sort of possible with the Arcade1Up with Final Fight. But I guess the next one would be Cruis n' USA arcade machine.
Which console company is your favorite and why? Nintendo, Sony, Sega, or Microsoft?
The SNES is my absolute favorite console, followed by the NES and Genesis. There has never been a time in gaming when so many classics and masterpieces were made in such a short amount of time across these three consoles and several others of the same time period. However, the SNES has so many updated masterpieces that were already classics or masterpieces of their own on the NES that it is simply amazing. Games like Super Mario World, Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past, Super Metroid, are breathtaking. The ratio of great games out of 100 for the SNES is higher than most any console that has ever been released.
Did you ever think when you were younger you would be on a video game trading card?
I had no idea and certainly never even dreamed it could be a possibility.
Have you ever received any media coverage for your appearance on the trading card? If so, where?
I've been featured in the Old School Gamer Magazine, and Killer Features site. I was mentioned in XBOX Magazine, and I believe a photo of one of my game rooms was used in Retro Gamer magazine. My collection has also been featured a few times in my local newspaper, and on Brian's Man Cave Youtube Channel.
What does it take to be a video game journalist?
I don't write for a gaming magazine, but I am more or less the Editor in Chief of all content that is created by Console Purist Official Contributors, and that is a lot of content. I also host many features myself. I suppose the main thing is dedication and continuing to educate yourself on newer and older games. You can never know everything, and the more you learn, and experience, the better your ability to pass on knowledge will be.
How does video game music influence games past and present?
I believe that some of the music from the past is the best we've ever seen and probably ever will see. The limitations that were imposed on them, forced the composers to be incredibly creative. They were at that time, also just as excited to be a part of something special as gamers were. It was just something you could feel across the industry, the writer at Nintendo Power or EGM, to the programmer at Nintendo, to the gamer at home playing all of these wonderful creations. The energy was palpable and explosive, and that high energy cascaded over a generation of gamers, leaving them on a high that they have never in many ways came down from. That is in many ways why there are so many collectors of retro games today.
Are video games aimed mainly at children, adolescents or adults?
Video games, like movies, books, music and art are aimed at everyone.
Do you believe some Video Games are too violent and lead to violence in America today?
Absolutely not. Blaming something for someone's actions is just another way of not taking responsibility for their own actions.
Do you learn anything from playing video games?
I've learned quite a lot from playing video games, and sometimes, from just playing with my peers. Video games, like any other media, can be helpful in a myriad of ways.
Are video games good for relieving stress?
Yes, and they can also add stress. It really depends on the game.
Do you like it when Hollywood makes a movie from the video game?
Sometimes, but expectations for movies like that are usually pretty low.
What springs to mind when you hear the term ‘video games’?
Anything that you can interact with on the TV screen.
Of these five elements video games, which is the most important to you and why? Gameplay, Atmosphere, Music, Story, Art style
Gameplay.
Do you find boss battles to be the best part of a video game?
Sometimes, but with many games, they use that as a way to artificially increase the difficulty of their game based on the difficulty settings. If I am fighting a boss that is supposed to be human, he shouldn't be a bullet sponge that takes 50 hits to kill.
What is your favorite single player game and favorite multiplayer game?
My favorite single player and multiplayer game of all time is Halo: Combat Evolved.
Are you still involved with gaming today, and what role do you play?
I have studied and researched console video games for decades now, and have striven to keep consoles history intact, as much as possible. I created the group Console Purist as part of that pursuit, and host daily trivia each day on that group and several others. I also have sought to preserve console gaming as much as possible with my home museum, with over 10,000 games and 300 consoles, and hope to one day build a building to house all of these fantastic pieces of history, with free admission. I want future generations to have a firsthand experience with console gaming's history.
Where do you see Video gaming in the next 20 years?
That is a hard question. I know that Microsoft would like to unify consoles, with themselves being the dominant format, or at least co-existing with some partner as such. That is not a future I want, but if we continue to have console generations as they are now, I see VR becoming more of a reality, without gaudy headsets, and many innovations that will blow all of our minds. I can't wait to see what is next!