Whether it’s the high score tables, challenges or just forming friendships, Antstream Arcade is all about community and bringing gamers both young and old together. With our carefully-curated selection of retro classics the starting point, there’s a whole new virtual neighbourhood at the heart of what we do.
For our latest gamer profile, we present Shaun Campbell, known as DidSomebodySayRetro? on Antstream Arcade, YouTube and social media. Why not friend him up, and throw a challenge his way – if you dare!
Bio Name: Shaun Campbell
Age: 32
Antstream Arcade Handle: DidSomebodySayRetro?
Instagram: Didsomebodysayretro
YouTube: Did somebody say retro?
First Gaming Love: NES
Favourite Games on Antstream: Metal Slug, Metal Slug X, Earthworm Jim, Pac-Man
Favourite Challenge on Antstream: Any of the Metal Slug challenges
The Mario Lad
Given his love of the Nintendo Entertainment System, it’s entirely appropriate that this month’s Antstream Arcade gamer is a big fan of a certain Italian plumber. “When I was a kid I remember playing Super Mario Bros 3 for hours at a time with my next door neighbour,” Shaun recalls wistfully. “The excitement of reaching a new world, only having to pause the game and run down for tea and eat it as quick as you can so you could back to it – those were the days!” Additionally, the absence of any sort of save function in many NES games is another yearning memory. “Today I feel that element is quite special, and makes playing it as an adult just as fun!” Despite the classic Nintendo platform game, Shaun’s age betrays the fact that there’s an even greater era for him than the Eighties.
The PlayStation Man
And that era was the Nineties. “For me, that was the golden age of gaming,” grins Shaun, “particularly home videogame consoles. As a kid, I sported a NES and Gameboy – as I got older, I was rocking a PlayStation one!” After posting on Instagram about his childhood Pokemon cards, Shaun recently stumbled upon another photo from his youth. “Out dropped a photograph of me on Christmas Day holding my PlayStation with Soul Blade and Destruction Derby 2 – genuinely one of the happiest days of my life!” In fairness, that does sound a great day.
The Game Boy
Shaun likes to collect games, particularly the famous Nintendo handheld, the Gameboy, and he’s taken it a stage further with his modding hobby. “I always wanted to open up a Gameboy and have a look inside,” he explains. “And the idea of giving one a new shell and lens and making it look new again really appealed to me.” A fan of the original incarnation of the handheld, Shaun quickly realised that a popular mod was the insertion of a backlit screen. “But having never even held a soldering iron before, I thought it would be impossible for me to do. Then one day I had a burst of confidence and went to Maplins, bought a cheap soldering iron, some Gameboys, and got to work!” Since this epiphany, Shaun has constructed his own modding station, upgraded his equipment and regularly tackles more complicated procedures. “I just do them for myself, for the fun of it,” he adds.
The Party Guy
In addition to a solid social media presence and his modding, Shaun also runs a retro gaming party business. “Basically, I wanted to take my collection to the public and show them why I love gaming so much,” he explains. “I saved up the revenue I’d made from modding Gameboys and put all of that into buying all of my consoles again.” With a bundle of CRT televisions in tow, Shaun began hosting his own events before also hiring out his collection for birthday parties and corporate events. “There was one incredibly exciting booking that was confirmed, but unfortunately cancelled due to Covid,” he says. “It was a shame, but I’m looking forward to getting back out there and doing some more events soon, as I love meeting new people and making people happy.”
The CRT Chap
As with any retro hardware fan worth their salt, Shaun loves a vintage CRT, especially the Sony PVM. “I absolutely love the aesthetic and how it was made to such a high quality,” he says. “They also provide an RGB output which is second to none; playing on a console that outputs to this level of quality makes the gaming experience that much better.” As with Gameboys and other consoles, Shaun hopes to mod monitors and televisions too. “I also collect them faulty, and I hope to very soon be able to troubleshoot issues and fix them myself – that is a goal of mine!”
The Antstream Arcade Fan
While Shaun missed out on Antstream Arcade’s Kickstarter run, he says he certainly would have backed it had he caught it at the time. “There’s an incredible amount of games to choose from and the challenges and tournaments just make it much more exciting!” he declares. “It all works flawlessly, and there’s not much that could be improved – except perhaps get Tetris on there. I think I’d have a good chance of taking the top spot!”
For more information on Shaun, his modding and retro party business, head over to https://www.didsomebodysayretro.co.uk/.