Here at Nerd Bacon (NB), we’re all about letting creativity shine in whichever form our contributors please. For those who don’t know, we let our writers and content creators “do what they want, when they want.” No homework. No assignments. This site oozes with passion as gamers pour out their game-loving souls right here for the world to see. While most of our team has been created and built here in-house, occasionally we are lucky to recruit some established talent from the outer realm.

Nerd Bacon’s last big acquisition was Video Game Spectrum which brought us stream-master Jepheroth. But today, we’re here to talk about and play up retro B&R (beat and review) expert, Jeff Marmar the inventor and creator of MarMax Gaming. MarMax Gaming fell into our laps when NB owner Nerdberry stumbled upon one of their videos in a local Raleigh, NC retrogaming online community. Immediately, an unshakable bond was formed as Nerdberry and Marmar traded barbs, hurling paragraphs at each other detailing their love of collecting and playing retro games.

“MarMax Gaming sort of just fell in my lap! Upon viewing his B&R video for Battletoads (Genesis), which happens to be one of my favorites, I could easily see and sense his passion and love for retrogaming. I wanted him on our team. I HAD to have him on our team.” – Nerdberry

MarMax Gaming isn’t exactly “new” or “green,” but creator Jeff Marmar is without a doubt a rising star on YouTube, and all as a self-taught video content creator. Jeff was introduced to his first stream as a result of working in Business to Business sales. During a series of office Super Smash Bros. Melee matches and conversation he was asked by a Fuquay-Varina (NC) based gaming company, Solanimus Inc, if he would play through Contra, Ninja Gaiden, and Battletoads in under 90 minutes for their stream promoting their new game, Signal to Noise. Since this streaming event, Jeff caught the attention of some local reviewers, Red South City and RetroSnow, where he later uploaded a few videos. After a couple years, Jeff was ready to launch his own channel with the vision of staying genuine and being thorough but not overly drawn on every game and topic that he covers.

MarMax Gaming has a variety of series, but there are three main features showcased on their platform:

• “Beating & Reviewing” (B&R) where each game is thoroughly but concisely discussed along with some breakdowns on how to get through the toughest spots.
• “It’s Expensive, But Is It Good?” – This is a series with similar structure to B&R, but it features games with hefty price tags starting around $100 and upward.
• “Not For Resale” – Last, but certainly not least, the videos that caught fire with over 100,000 views are rare collection videos featuring the hardest sets to come by – Not For Resale (NFR) games. These copies originated in stores’ demo kiosk units and many are significantly harder to find than your typical commercially released games. Prices of these copies range from $200 to $1,000+! While the prices are eye-catching, it’s the historical significance that pushed Jeff over 2 years to complete the sets so he could feature them in his productions. Currently, MarMax Gaming features the only video with 29 N64 NFR carts, a complete SNES set, and the absurdly obscure GB + GB Color NFR sets.

Jeff has a unique approach that blends collecting with playing. To spice things up, a game and box are only added to the collection if it has been played through from start to finish. This gives every piece of his collection a real personal connection.

We are proud to officially launch this most excellent partnership! STOP WHAT YOU ARE DOING RIGHT NOW, and go subscribe to MarMax Gaming on YouTube! Be sure to tune into Nerd Bacon for all your favorite MarMax Gaming videos and other original Nerd Bacon content! CLICK THE BANNER BELOW TO GO TO MARMAX GAMING’S YOUTUBE CHANNEL! Or click here. Whatever.