Pete Skerritt
@peteskerritt
Video game player since 1976. Likes to talk about video games from arcades to modern day. Specializes in sports video games from the past. Probably quote-posts a bit too much.
I miss the blue light, too. Getting messages from Nintendo via WiiConnect24 was a treat, and you’d know because the light told you there was a message waiting. It’s the little things, built on bigger things that sadly had to be killed off, that get lost and erase parts of the Wii’s identity.
It’s the Fly Swatter game for me. The creative side of Mario Paint had only short-fused appeal to me, but using the mouse to knock down flies and other stuff was quickly addictive. SFX & music still stand out to me.
This has been my biggest waste of money in 2026. I was all hyped for it until I played it, then realized that I stunk at it and shelved it. Unlike the original Star Fox for SNES, which I played a ton of, I never got into Star Fox 64 as much… so the muscle memory isn’t there & I get pounded. Nah.
Here’s what I picked up today. Kinda neat finding a factory-sealed Wii Nunchuk controller. Looks like early packaging. No, I didn’t have Link to the Past yet. That’s fixed. And Lufia is a nostalgic get for me. When I saw Rambo III, I thought of @gamesack.net episodes that mentioned it.
“But, Pete,” someone will counter. “It’s not that hard. All you have to do is…” Me:
This was one of my favorite parts of the FunSpot/ACAM visit. I had not seen an Us vs. Them cabinet in decades. I’ve referenced it on socials before, as I saw/played it in mall arcades 40 years ago & love me some Laserdisc-era coin-ops… but to see it again, and in working order? Very, very cool.
Translated for realism: “We thought we could get away with it this time, but even our influencers complained… so you win for now. We’ll try something else to regain access to your wallets next season.”
Played some Track & Field. Felt like home, though the buttons were understandably spongy and hard to generate speed with.
It was nice visiting the American Classic Arcade Museum today. The ambience alone was comforting— the sounds of so many attract screens and players playing mixing with the music playing. I didn’t shoot much video as there were other people there and recording others (even incidentally) isn’t cool.
I’m here at FunSpot. I’m having a good time— but this place is also kind of reminding me of how much of a relic I am. There’s only so much restoration Gary and the crew here can do. As these machines have aged, more and more break down and are difficult (if not impossible) to fix.
Wii wasn’t always about playing video games. Checking the latest weather and news, then taking part in polls with other Wii users was part of the fun for me.
I have two of these, both manufactured in the late 1990s (~30 years ago). Both still work well. I’ve got multiple video game consoles manufactured before these TVs that also work well. Conversely: I’ve had multiple newer video game consoles (3x PS2, 2x X360) and TVs (2x Samsung) fail within 5yrs.