Gabbin’ with Gamers is proud to introduce Robin, a.k.a. Retro Game Collector Sweden, from Instagram. So without further ado, let’s learn more about this collector!

Rob, thank you for giving us this interview. I came upon your Instagram page and I see that you're a big collector. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

Hey guys, my name is Robin and I’m a 31 year old retro game collector from Sweden! I live in a house on the countryside with my wife and 4 year old daughter, Ofelia. Apart from my normal job, I do a lot of buying and selling old video games, as well as travel to different retro exhibitions as a seller J.

Can you tell us about how you got into gaming and collecting?

Gaming was a big part of my childhood and every birthday &Christmas, me and my brother always wished for the newest games! We got the NES back in ‘86 and from there it went on to Game Boy, SNES, Sega Mega drive, Game boy Advance, Sega Saturn and Nintendo 64. 

What was the first console and game that you owned?

The first console we got was an NES, with about 20 games about 3 months after the release! The first game I remember playing was Balloon Fight, still to this day one of my favorite games for the system!

Do you have any fond childhood memories based around gaming?

I have a lot of fond memories, playing with friends and talking about secrets, tricks at school, beating hard bosses, etc. However, my best memories were playing with my 3 year older brother. I remember thinking he was invincible; he knew every trick, he never got lost in The Legend of Zelda, and he could pick up a new game and immediately figure out what to do!

Were any of your family members enthusiastic about gaming?

My parents were pretty into gaming back then and could stay up all night playing Bubble Bobble or Super Mario Bros. on the NES! I guess my interest in video games could not be avoided J.

Let's jump forward a bit. Here's one to get you thinking. If you weren't collecting games, what would be your hobby?

I would probably collect Whiskey or old toys from my childhood (He-Man!!).

As you're aware, technology continues to advance the gaming industry. Have you been a fan of these changes?

If it´s about the graphics, I’m not a big fan. I prefer pixel perfection over 3D any day of the week.

Where do you think technology will bring us in the future?

I think we will see a lot more VR in terms of "VR with friends" (a la multiplayer), and augmented reality like Pokémon GO. I also think and HOPE that we will see a lot more Indie studios, and preferably a lot more games with the retro look and feel to it!

We at The Switch Effect are obviously big fans of Nintendo's new console. What are your impressions of the Switch?

It’s a solid, well made console with great controls and great feel to it. The only thing it really lacks is enough really good games.

Which new games are you looking forward to the most?

For the Switch, it would be Rocket League and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild expansions!

We came across your Instagram account and loved seeing your collections. What interested you in starting a social media account?

Thanks a bunch! My main reason for starting the Instagram account was for insurance purposes. It was a good way of keeping track of my collection, as well as share it with my fellow co-collectors! What surprised me was the amount of nostalgic people who just want to drop by to say hello or tell me that they love that game or tell a cool memory from their childhood. Video games really connect people all over the world - pretty amazing stuff J.

What is the best way for our readers/followers to keep up with you?

Join me on instagram @RetroGameCollectorSweden and say hello J.

Last question now that I've run you through the gauntlet. Is there anything else you'd like to share?

Thank you for the interview guys! The best game of all times is probably Earthbound on the SNES, tightly followed by Final Fantasy III (VI) and Chrono Trigger J. Haters gonna hate. Peace out Game On!

Thank you again for taking the time to speak with The Switch Effect and for our readers to learn more about your gaming passion. 

To follow Retro Game Collector Sweden, make sure to click below:

Niels, thank you for speaking with us. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

Well, I’m a writer who’s always been very interested in videogames. I haven’t looked back since I saw Super Mario Bros. for the 8-bit NES at a friend’s party when I was eleven or twelve. Actually I can’t remember much of my life before that! I started a Zelda website called ZHQ.com when I was 15, which some people still remember. In my adult life I wrote some novels, did a lot of games journalism, and have been working with Two Tribes since translating the first Toki Tori from English to our native language Dutch. Which is about a decade ago.

Can you tell us about how you got into the gaming industry?

Here's a funny story. My first interview with a REAL game developer was with two guys called Martijn and Collin, who had just founded Two Tribes. I was pretty nervous, but it turned out to be a great conversation. We had a lot of the same ideas about games. Years later they told me they were very nervous too, because they were going to do their very first interview with a REAL games journalist! Anyway, as I wrote more about games, I got interested in working on the development side as well, and Two Tribes was nice enough to ask me to create a ‘story without words’ for Toki Tori 2, and then when that worked out quite well, to create an ‘optional storyline' for RIVE.

How did Two Tribes come to be?

The company has it beginnings in a puzzle game for the MSX called Eggbert, made by our co-founder Collin when he was a teenager. A few years later he decided to turn it into a Game Boy Color game, together with Martijn. The game was picked up to be published by Capcom, and the name was changed into Toki Tori. It came out a day after 9/11, bizarrely. The company went through many phases after that, making dozens of games for equally as many platforms, with quite a bunch of employees who are now almost all at other Dutch studios. Currently we’ve taken a very lean shape, with a virtual office and only the co-founders, a few partners, and me working on things.

For those who have yet to play RIVE, can you provide some background as to what type of game they can expect to experience?

We have a few different ways of describing RIVE:

1.      It’s a metal wrecking, robot hacking shooter

2.      It’s a hard, fast & hilarious action game with insanely spectacular battles

3.      It’s a modern ode to classic shooters

We tried to make something that FEELS like the games we grew up with in the eighties and nineties, that’s actually much better in practice.

Personally, I took a lot of care adding two memorable characters, funny dialog and a quirky story to the mix. So that’s where space scavenger Roughshot comes in, who thinks he enters a deserted starship looking for loot, but then meets the passive-aggressive robot butler DLL. In the end, it’s a buddy story as they have to escape together.

So. Much. Destruction!

As stated in previous announcements, RIVE: Ultimate Edition will be exclusive to the Nintendo Switch. Can you share with us the additions to the game not previously available in the original release?

The short version is that the Ultimate Edition is the best version of RIVE ever, and it's only available on Nintendo Switch! Here’s a quick rundown of what we changed or added:

1.      Copilot Mode, a new addition that lets you play the game with a friend, controlling the spider tank with two Joy-Cons.

2.      HD Rumble support, letting you truly feel the action

3.      In-game achievements on Switch, with some new ones added in: 48 and counting;

4.      We went back into the game to tweak it, both tech and content wise. So it loads faster & plays smoother. It’s polished to perfection!

What was the process like for creating a game for the Nintendo Switch?

RIVE was built on top of the custom game engine we created for Toki Tori 2, so it took some time to get it up and running on Switch. But ultimately we were able to create the fastest, smoothest version of the game so far. It runs deliciously! We originally wanted to release RIVE on Wii U, which didn’t work out for both technical and commercial reasons, so we’re obviously super happy that we’re finally able to bring RIVE to a Nintendo console. Especially in such an awesome version.

As you're aware, technology continues to advance the gaming industry. Have you been a fan of these changes? Where do you think technology will bring us in the future?

It feels to me like it has less of an impact these days. I haven’t been as excited about a console in years as I'm with the Switch, which is less powerful than the latest PlayStation and Xbox iterations. However, I don’t notice any of this when playing Super Mario Odyssey or Axiom Verge. Also, my new iPhone is extremely powerful, but I haven’t really found any guilty-pleasure type time-wasting games that have really hooked me. VR and AR don’t seem to take off as quickly as some had expected, and I’m not hearing any talk about must-play games on these platforms. I guess it’s really about the games now. But hasn’t it always been that way?

Double Kill points!

We at The Switch Effect are obviously big fans of Nintendo's new console. What are your impressions of the Switch?

We love that Nintendo really made the concept of a hybrid console work. It’s great as a handheld, great as a TV console, and switching between these modes is super smooth. It also helps that the suspend feature works without a hitch. In my experience, this makes it so much easier to play a game for a bit, and pick it up again later. You just don’t have to worry about the console booting, or your game loading.

Which new games are you looking forward to the most (besides yours of course, haha)?

I was really looking forward to Super Mario Galaxy, and am loving every second of it. I can’t wait to see what projects Nintendo’s internal studios tackle next. If Zelda and Mario are any indication, it’ll be amazing. I also can’t wait to see what indie developers will come up with. I’ve been having a lot of fun with metroidvanias like Steamworld Dig 2 and Axiom Verge recently, and would love to see more like that on the platform.

Sadly, it was announced that RIVE: Ultimate Edition would be the last title produced by Two Tribes. What’s next for you and the other members of Two Tribes?

Indeed, even before finishing the initial PS4/Steam version of RIVE, we announced that we wouldn’t start any new projects after RIVE. But we also said immediately that we'd keep supporting our existing games and our existing fans! RIVE: Ultimate Edition for Switch is the result of that strategy, and it wouldn’t surprise me if we decided to bring more of our existing games to new platforms.

As said before, we do this with a very lean setup with just a few people and partners. Our co-founder Collin is actually traveling the world (and has been for over a year), Martijn is working out of his home, and so am I. We meet up for coffee and bagels regularly, though! Everyone is planning to eventually move onto other companies or projects, but we’re not in a hurry.

Last question now that I've run you through the gauntlet. Is there anything else you'd like to share?

I just hope everyone will check out RIVE: Ultimate Edition and enjoy themselves J.

Thank you Phillip for giving us this interview. I came upon your Instagram and YouTube page and I see that you're a lover of games and anime! Can you tell us a little bit about how you got into gaming and collecting?

My first console was the Sega Mega Drive and my first game was Sonic the Hedgehog.

Do you have any fond childhood memories based around gaming?

When I first laid eyes on The Legend of Zelda on the Game Boy Color. Link’s Awakening - that’s what really got me into the franchise and how I became a fan.

Were any of your family members enthusiastic about gaming?

Yes, some of my cousins , which was good because anytime we got together that’s all we would talk about.

Let's jump forward a bit. Here's one to get you thinking. If you weren't collecting games, what would be your hobby?

I’ll be drawing cartoons/manga characters.

As you're aware, technology continues to advance the gaming industry. Have you been a fan of these changes?

Yes, I’ve been a fan of change because I believe in growth for better or worse. For example, the Nintendo Switch is a prime example of advancement.

Where do you think technology will bring us in the future?

More enhanced graphics and virtual gameplay.

We at The Switch Effect are obviously big fans of Nintendo's new console. What are your impressions of the Switch?

First off, very impressive from the feel of it even down to the weight. It’s a massive game changer down to the Joy cons where you’ve got instant 2 player mode. My favorite part is playing my favorite franchises in handheld mode. I am incredibly excited to see what else the system has to offer.

Which new games are you looking forward to the most?

I’m looking forward to Super Mario Odyssey, Pokémon, and Dragon Quest Builders.

We came across your Instagram and YouTube account and loved seeing your collections. What interested you in starting social media accounts?

Personally, I enjoy taking photos and sharing them on social media. What interested me was the community and content on YouTube and on Instagram was that you instantly have something in common with the people you choose to follow. 

What is the best way for our readers to keep up with you?

Instagram @phills_lifestyle or YouTube Phillslifestyle. See the links below.

Last question now that we’ve run you through the gauntlet. Is there anything else you'd like to share?

Just keep the violence and killing in the games and we all should just keep gaming on and keeping on loving.

Thank you again for allowing our readers to learn more about a fellow gamer and collector! We look forward to your future postings.

To follow phills_lifestyle, click on the links below: