We have an exclusive interview with the Editor of Retro Gamer Magazine, the magazine is a MUST READ every issue, a big thank you to Darren and Retro Gamer Magazine for this. Here it goes(edit: Thanks to Greg Richmond for the idea to interview Darran)

Tell retrozoid.net a bit about yourself

My name’s Darran Jones and I’m the editor of Retro Gamer. I’m 34 years old and have lived in the Bournemouth/Poole area all my life.

Tell us about your job role at Retro Ramer

I’m the editor, so ultimately I’m responsible for quality control within the magazine, its actual content and I even write the odd article or two. It’s an incredibly hectic job, but also one that’s amazingly rewarding.

How long have you worked at Retro Gamer and do you enjoy your job?

I’ve been in charge of the magazine ever since it relaunched in December 2007. I absolutely adore my job, as it’s challenging, enjoyable and there’s always something new to do. There’s nothing more satisfying that holding a magazine you’ve helped create at the end of a long, hard month.

Do you think that the retro games market is growing?

There’s certainly a huge interest in certain aspects of the retro market but I can’t see it going mainstream any time soon. While services like the Virtual Console and Xbox Live arcade have proven extremely popular you only have to look at the number of downloads compared to actual sold machines (particularly on the Wii) to release that for many people it’s still just a market to casually dip in and out of. Not having commercial shops like GameStation supporting the market doesn’t help either.

Is the XBLA,Wii console and PSN bringing a new demographic to Retro games from the past?

As I’ve just said, it helps, but I don’t think it’s become the huge kickstart that everyone was expecting. You’ve only got to look at most recent downloads on Live Arcade to see that they’re continually staying away from most of the old games now. Granted, it’s great to see titles like Rez, Sin & Punishment and Triggerheart Exelica (I’m a huge shmups fan) reaching a new audience, but the lack of 60 Hertz support or memory updates on most VC game suggests that it’s never going to give old titles a huge boost. After all, if the companies themselves don’t show their games in the very best light then people won’t buy them.

If there is one retro game from the past, which would be your ultimate game and why?

Capcom’s Strider. It’s far from the perfect game, but it does feature some stunningly inventive bosses, a great soundtrack and its second level is easily the best level in any game ever. Oh and it was the first arcade game that I was able to complete on a single credit.

Do you own any of the next gen consoles?

All of the them including a PSP and DS. Whilst I love retro games, I tend to stay away from them in the evenings (with the exceptions of PSP, compilations and Xbox Live Arcade, PSN and VC downloads. Last christmas was an incredible time for gaming and I’m certainly not planning on missing out on a host a great titles.

Which games do you play on them?

Everybody’s Golf 2 and Disgea eat up all my handheld time, while I’ve recently become addicted to Rock Band on the 360. I’ve just got hold of Metal Gear Solid 4 as well, so I’ll probably be giving that a whirl when I get the chance. Most of my spare time though is spent watching HD DVDs and Blu-Rays.

What are your favourite games at the moment?

I’m a huge fan of shoot-em-ups so I’m constantly playing the likes of Borderdown or bangai’o on my Dreamcast at home and Radiant Silvergun, 1945 and Cho Aniki at work (it’s for research purposes, honest). I just feel that shoot-em-ups are the essence of gaming in its purest form and I try and get several games in a day, just to keep the reflexes sharp. I’m not getting any younger you know.

What game are you most looking foward to playing?

Resident Evil 5 without a doubt. Resi 4 was arguably one of the greatest games ever made, and providing Capcom suitably expand on the gameplay and don’t just make it look nice and shiny, it could be something very special indeed. I’m also praying that the various companies involved can come to a peaceful agreement so I can play GoldenEye on Xbox Live Arcade.

If there is one thing you would improve in the current Online gaming, what would it be? and Why?

The ability to give 1,000 volt shocks to those annoying players who think that great sportmanship is all about shouting at the top of your voice and calling people biatch! In fact, I very rarely play online games unless its with friends, it’s just too damned depressing otherwise.