Mysterious postcard

[slapdash]

I've been meaning to post about this forever, and kept forgetting...

Back in January or so, I received a postcard with a reddish sunset of sorts, with a barcode looking series of bars across the upper middle, and an Atari joystick in the lower right corner. It was postmarked 22 Jan 2005 from Chicago IL 606.

On the back is the address "Post Office 490212 / Chicago IL 60649-0212", with another joystick and the caption "the history of future is in play...".

On the left side is the message: "They say that we are the last our kind... [sic] / To have wielded a hundred swords... / To have wandered a thousand lands... / To choose imagination over avarice... / To have eternal recall of a sea of promises that remain unfulfilled. / We Remember. Watch Us..."

On the lower left is a copyright "Egsa Corp. 2004". Egsa seems to have created a game called "Circuit Breaker" for PalmOS, but their web page is dead and gone, though bits of it are still cached on Google.

On the upper right is "Anthem v0.01/Within" in small print.

Did anyone else receive this postcard, and/or does anyone have any clue what it's about?

I'm only posting about it now; I still haven't tried writing to the address given, and possibly it's too late? Dunno...

[Queen Of The Felines]

I don't suppose it would have anything to do with the Game On exhibit, would it? Probably not, but that's the only thing I could come up with.

Kristine

[slapdash]

Mm, there's no REAL indication of that, though it's a possibility I guess. I might have expected a followup though.

I kind of think it might be some side project to somebody I know (and I really should look into that, grr), but have no idea what. I'm not sure why else I'd be on their mailing list.

[slapdash]

So nobody else got one of these? I haven't heard back from the guy I suspect COULD be involved...

[slapdash]

Heh, I should probably wait until tomorrow to post this, which would be the anniversary of my first post, but, "strike while the iron is hot"...

Since my first post, I've received more cards, starting with an identical one in Apr, and then a card with a different image but same text (copyright updated to 2006 though) at the beginning of May.

In late May I received a card with a Vectrex pictured, and new text:


When was the last time a video game made you laugh?

We remember. We remember when video games were fresh, new and different. We remember the promise of a new and wondrous digital future -- a promise yet unfulfilled.

We are the last gamers of the old code, the last rebel game designers in a synthetic world of greed, hostile takeovers and blandness. Our mission is to bring old school game play to new hardware platforms.

Can a hanful of dreamers take on the giants of the gaming world?

find out at www.egsa.com

Ah, finally an answer for sure, and when I last checked, the website was back up. Maybe it just took a while to get back up and running and the first card was a bit premature...

I recently received another card, the image this time having some 3D models shaped like the Coleco tabletop electronic games, and Space Invaders running down the right side. New (but somewhat similar, structurally) text again:


When was the last time a video game made you shout?

We remember. We remember when a great game could make you stand up and cheer. We remember the promise of a new and wondrous digital future -- a promise yet unfulfilled.

We are the last gamers of the old code. Our quest is to bring you edgy new games for Palm Pilots, Pocket PCs[,] Mobile Devices, Laptops and Desktops that are unlike what you've played before!

Can a renegade band of hardcore gamers change history?

find out at www.egsa.com

So, I suppose there may be more coming, but I thought I'd sort of "wrap up" this little mystery now that I know for sure who's behind it.

I'll leave dissection of their text for now, other than saying I think it's a little funny to harken back to classic gaming and then say "unlike what you've played before", heh.

[slapdash]

Heh, got another card...


When was the last time a video game made you cry?

We remember. We remember when video games were more than fighting games and sequels. We remember the promise of a new and wondrous digital future -- a promise yet unfulfilled.

We are the last gamers of the old code. We want to fulfill the promise of modern technology and make games that can make you laugh, that can make you shout and that can even make you cry.

Can a handful of outsiders shake up the establishment?

find out at www.egsa.com

[Cryomancer]

They seem to think there were no retrogamers until they released their palm game, after reading that blurb on the site. How long has DP been around? Before 2001 at least right?

[CartCollector]

For nearly five years the last gamers of the old code all but vanished.

They were gamers, like you, born to the golden age of arcades and consoles lost in a sea of sequels and soulless clones.

...Their monuments in ruin, their dreams turned to ash, their name kept alive only in the hearts of true gamers...

To most thought lost, their existence is now known by a select few. Gaming's greatest adventure is about to begin.


LOL

Does egsa make video games or Jedi? I wonder...

[Emuaust]

is it just me or does this ESGA have its s and e in the wrong
place? LOL

Maybe a new campaign for the DC2? LOL

[slapdash]

They seem to think there were no retrogamers until they released their palm game, after reading that blurb on the site.

They also don't give credit to other retro-like, or retro-clone, games and game creators that came before them. Hyperbole...


Russ, I think you're on every video game company's mailing list by now, by default

I wish. Heck, most companies just want to email you reminders to check out their websites rather than send actual ad sheets and the like. Blech.