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PixelCrib Giveaway – Win an Analogue Pocket!

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Another PixelCrib Giveaway – you could win the OpenFPGA beauty, the Analogue Pocket!

After their incredible response to last month’s Nintendo Switch 2 + Mario Kart World Bundle giveaway, we knew PixelCrib would keep the good vibes rolling. For this month, PixleCrib is giving away something truly special: the Analogue Pocket!

🕹️ Why the Analogue Pocket?
Because it’s a retro gaming dream come true! This sleek handheld plays Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance cartridges (and many, many more!) with pixel-perfect accuracy thanks to its powerful FPGA hardware. If you’re a fan of classic gaming, this is the ultimate collector’s piece. The Analogue Pocket is indeed the best thing since sliced bread!

📦 How to Enter:
From 16–31 August 2025, every order of an in-stock item gets you an automatic entry into the draw.
✅ Shop online or visit PixelCrib in-store
✅ Each order = one entry (yep, multiple orders = multiple chances!)
🚫 Pre-orders aren’t eligible, so make sure your item is ready to ship!

🌍 This giveaway is open to everyone — whether you’re in Australia or anywhere else in the world!

Have we told you how much we love our Analogue Pockets?!

 

📅 Winner Announcement:
PixelCrib will randomly draw the winner on Monday, 1 September 2025 and reach out via email or phone.

🎮 Ready to win the ultimate retro handheld?
Head to PixelCrib.com.au, grab something awesome, and you’re in the running. Good luck, gamers — may the pixels be ever in your favour!

 

Thrill of the Chase: Hunting Down the Alien Ellen Ripley Edition Pinball Machine

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In space, no one can hear you… PLAY PINBALL!

Every pinball collector knows that some machines don’t just turn up—you have to hunt them down, stalk them like prey, and pounce the moment the opportunity arises. For me, that white whale came in the form of the Pinball Brothers Alien Ellen Ripley Edition.

This wasn’t just any Alien. This was the beautifully reimagined version celebrating Sigourney Weaver’s legendary role, wrapped in an ominously gorgeous cabinet that looks ready to burst open and unleash a xenomorph. The moment I saw it announced, I knew: I have to have it.

The hunt was on.

After years (yes, years!) of scrolling through listings, firing off hopeful messages, and hearing the usual collector heartbreak phrases—“already sold” or “sorry, mate, they’re not making them anymore”—I finally spotted a lead: Mr Pinball Australia. They didn’t just have one… they had the one.

Of course Mr. Pinball Australia had one on the showroom floor for us to check out!

Here’s where the story took a turn from “transaction” to “pinball pilgrimage.” Mr Pinball himself didn’t just ship it. Oh no. He personally loaded it, drove it out, delivered it to my door, and set it up in my games room like some sort of silverball Santa Claus. We’re talking bolts tightened, tilt levelled, software updated—by the time he left, the machine was purring (well… growling) and ready for battle against the xenomorph threat.

The first plunge was everything I’d hoped for—dark, atmospheric lighting; that eerie, tension-building soundtrack; the thunk of the ball ejecting into a playfield full of cinematic callouts and teeth-baring toys. It’s the kind of machine that’s as much an experience as it is a game. And for a lifelong Alien fan, it’s perfection.

Preparing its final resting place

Hunting it down was half the fun. Playing it? That’s the payoff.

Have you chased down a grail machine? Did it take months of detective work and collector whisper networks? Let’s hear your pinball trophy stories.

Hello MU-TH-UR!

Get away from her, you b1tch!

Mr. Pinball Australia threw in the original machine’s backglass!

The RGB lighting on the Alien Ripley Edition is something else

Argh, my eyes!!!!

Internet Archive – Preserving Our Digital Cultural Heritage (Fundraiser)

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We’re Helping the Internet Archive Protect Universal Access to Knowledge — And You Can Too!

If you’re anything like us, you probably can’t imagine a world without the Internet Archive. From preserving classic games and retro computing history to housing a seemingly infinite library of books, software, and media, the Archive is an essential time capsule for nerds, historians, and digital explorers alike.

So when we heard about the Internet Archive’s new Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Fundraising initiative to help “protect universal access to knowledge,” we had to jump onboard.

What’s the Initiative All About?

The Internet Archive has launched a grassroots fundraising effort — where supporters can create their own personalised campaigns to raise funds for the parts of the Archive that matter most to them. Whether it’s emulation, old software, the Wayback Machine, or public domain books, each campaign can highlight what’s most meaningful to the fundraiser and their community.

We’ve created our own fundraising page to support this critical mission, and we’d love for you to join us:

👉 https://donate.archive.org/ausretrogamer

Why Now?

Through September 30, every dollar raised through this P2P campaign will be matched 2:1, tripling the impact of your generosity. That means a $10 donation turns into $30 for the Archive. It’s a rare opportunity to make your support go further — and help keep digital history freely accessible for everyone.

Why It Matters to Us

As lovers of all things retro — from arcade games to crusty old ZIP files — we rely on the Internet Archive to dig into the past and share its treasures with the world. Whether we’re researching obscure 8-bit titles or revisiting classic DOS manuals, the Internet Archive is our go-to.

By supporting this initiative, we’re helping ensure that future generations can still discover the games, media, and knowledge we grew up with. And that feels pretty awesome.

💾 Support our campaign and help preserve the digital past for the future:

https://donate.archive.org/ausretrogamer

📅 Remember: All donations through Sept 30 will be tripled!

Let’s keep knowledge free and accessible — pixel by pixel, page by page. ❤️

From The BBC Archives: 1981 – Nolan Bushnell

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“I like to describe myself as a leisure time technologist” – Nolan Bushnell

You’ve gotta love the BBC Archive—they always manage to tap straight into our nostalgia cortex! 🕹️✨

In this gem from 1981, we catch Nolan Bushnell, the mastermind behind Atari, dishing out insights on video games and whether they tap into our “animalistic nature” when it comes to violence in games. (Spoiler: he’s charmingly candid.). He also talks about the ground-breaking Pong, which was renamed to Ping in the UK due to the word ‘pong’ having a different meaning over the pond 😉

By this point, Nolan had already sold Atari to Warner Communications for a cool US$28 million, pocketing about US$15 million himself 💸—and he wasn’t slowing down. Instead, he pivoted to something even more wild: launching Chuck E. Cheese’s Pizza Time Theatre, where pizza met arcade games, pinball and animatronic mice ruled the stage. 🎤🍕

The best part? The clip shows both kids and adults completely caught up in the early ’80s arcade craze—a full-blown cultural moment brought to life by the guy who basically invented “fun” as a business model.

📼 Total time capsule. Total legend. Total vibes.


source: BBC Archive (Facebook)

Australian Pinball Expo Set for July 2026!

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🎉 Australia Are You Ready For Some Silverball Action 🎉

If you love pinball as much as we do, then get ready—Australia’s silverball scene is about to get even bigger!

Introducing the inaugural Australian Pinball Expo (A.P.E), set to take place from Thursday, 2nd July to Sunday, 5th July 2026 in Adelaide, South Australia.

Organised by the passionate crew behind the Australian Pinball Museum, A.P.E. aims to bring together flipper fanatics from across the country to celebrate the sights, sounds, and history of pinball—from classic electromechanicals to modern marvels.

Whether you’re a seasoned player, a collector, or just looking to soak up the nostalgia, the Australian Pinball Expo promises to be an unmissable event packed with games, guests, and good times.

The all important details (that we know so far):

  • 🎰What: Australian Pinball Expo
  • 📆 When: July 2–5, 2026
  • 📍 Location: Morphettville Racecourse Function Centre, 79 Morphett Road, Morphettville, SA
  • 🎟️ Tickets: TBC

We’re already counting down the days and planning our trip—are you? Adelaide will be the place to be for Aussie pinheads next winter!

Stay tuned for more updates as details emerge—we’ll be covering all the highlights right here on Ausretrogamer!

PS: For those wanting to get involved with this huge pinball event, go and complete the expression of interest form.

source: Morphetville

image: All silverballs lead to Adelaide!

Batong BT-686: The Famicom Frankenstein We Never Knew We Needed!

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Every now and then, we stumble across a retro gem so bizarre, so gloriously bootleg, and so mind-blowingly rare, it makes our collective jaws drop—and today’s discovery is no exception.

While trawling the weird and wonderful corners of the retro gaming internet, we unearthed a system that’s rarer than rocking horse poop: the Batong BT-686 Multimedia Computer — aka the Famicom CRT Unit. And folks, this thing is WILD.

At first glance, it looks like someone fused a miniature 1980s classroom computer with a Famicom, and then dunked it in a vat of 8-bit weirdness. It’s chunky, beige, and absolutely magnificent.

💾 What is the Batong BT-686?

The Batong BT-686 hails from a mysterious corner of the East Asian clone wars era, manufactured by Batong Electronics (八通电子) — a company that (based on what little we could find) specialised in unlicensed or “educational” Famicom-based computers.

But here’s the kicker: this isn’t just some off-the-shelf Famiclone. It’s an all-in-one educational computer/gaming mutant, combining:

  • 🖥️ Built-in CRT display

  • 🎮 Famicom cartridge slot

  • 🧠 RAM and OS cartridge inputs

  • ⌨️ Full-size mechanical-style keyboard

  • 🔌 NES-to-Famicom 62-pin converter

  • 🕹️ Bundled bootleg Famicom multi-cart with classics like Super Mario Bros.

  • 🧃 All in a single, self-contained beige bombshell.

Oh, and it boots into a space-themed loading screen that gives off strong “computer class in a Cold War bunker” vibes. What’s not to love?

🔍 How Does It Work?

Thanks to an incredible video by Russian Video Game Comrade, we got a closer look at this beast in action. The BT-686 appears to boot off a proprietary OS cartridge (à la BASIC interpreters), with additional RAM cartridges providing memory expansion.

But the real drawcard is the Famicom compatibility—it runs bootleg multi-carts just fine, and with the included NES-to-Famicom pin converter, you can even fire up your NTSC NES games, assuming you’ve got the right power supply and a lot of patience.

What’s even crazier? The keyboard is functional. While many of these educational clone machines had non-working or limited-use keyboards, the BT-686 appears to allow typing and BASIC-style input commands, making it technically a hybrid computer-console.

🦄 Why You’ve Probably Never Seen One

The BT-686 isn’t just obscure—it’s basically undocumented. Apart from a handful of collectors and YouTube showcases, there’s almost no digital footprint for this oddity. No marketing brochures, no official specs, no price history—nothing.

Our best guess? It was marketed in China or other Southeast Asian countries during the early 1990s as an “educational” tool to sneak Famicom gaming into homes under the guise of learning computers.

Either way, finding a complete unit in working order—with keyboard, display, OS and RAM carts—is practically unheard of.

Final Thoughts

The Batong BT-686 is a retro dream machine from a parallel universe—part Famicom, part classroom computer, part fever dream. It’s these bizarre, boundary-blurring consoles that make retro collecting so rewarding. You’re not just getting a game system; you’re uncovering a lost chapter of tech history.

Got one in the attic? Know more about it? Drop us a line—we’re dying to know more about this electronic chimera!

Stay weird, stay retro. 🕹️

image source: Facebook Marketplace

Review: BenQ ScreenBar Pro – The Unsung Hero of My Desk Setup

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Let’s be real: I never thought I’d get this excited about a monitor light. But the BenQ ScreenBar Pro has turned out to be one of the best upgrades I’ve made to my work-from-home and gaming setup—and I didn’t even know I needed it.

💡 A Lightbulb Moment (Literally)

Before this sleek little marvel entered my life, my desk lighting situation was… well, non-existent. Just me, a keyboard, and the gentle glow of a monitor in an otherwise cave-like room. Not ideal for productivity—or my eyes.

Enter the ScreenBar Pro, and suddenly I’m wondering how I ever lived without it. Mounted effortlessly on top of my monitor (no clamps, no fuss), it throws an even, glare-free beam of light across my desk without casting a single reflection on the screen. It’s like mood lighting, but make it functional.

👨‍💻 Work-From-Home Approved

As someone who works from home full-time, I spend a lot of hours at my desk. Having consistent, adjustable lighting that doesn’t take up any space (seriously, not even a square centimetre of desk real estate!) has made a huge difference. Whether I’m writing documents, tinkering in dashboards, or just doing the usual Zoom (and MS Teams) dance, the ScreenBar Pro makes everything clearer and easier on the eyes—especially during those gloomy Melbourne mornings.

And here’s a great bonus: my camera fits perfectly on top of the ScreenBar Pro, which means I didn’t have to sacrifice lighting or camera placement. It’s rock solid, well-balanced, and makes me look far more presentable on video calls without any awkward shadows or glare.

Oh—and I absolutely love the auto-sensor. It turns the light on automatically as soon as I sit in front of the monitor, and even better—it switches off after 5 minutes of inactivity. It’s such a simple feature, but it’s perfect for when I wander off for a break or forget to turn things off. Smart, seamless, and seriously useful.

🎮 Ready for Game Time

When the workday ends and the games begin, the ScreenBar Pro keeps up without missing a beat. With adjustable brightness and colour temperature, I can dial it down for late-night gaming sessions or crank it up when I’m deep-diving into strategy games and need to take notes. It adds atmosphere without distracting from the action, and I never have to worry about fiddling with room lighting again.

✨ Bonus Features

  • Auto Dimming & Motion Sensor: Adjusts lighting based on ambient light—and automatically turns on or off based on presence. Set and forget.

  • Wireless Dial: The included controller is so intuitive and tactile, you’ll find yourself adjusting brightness just because it’s fun.

  • Camera-Friendly: Mounting a webcam on top is a breeze—no awkward angles or sacrifices to lighting.

  • Sleek Design: It’s minimal, modern, and blends into your setup like it was always meant to be there.

📝 Final Verdict

If you’re like me and spend your days working and nights gaming in the same space, the BenQ ScreenBar Pro is the ultimate dual-purpose peripheral. It’s one of those “why didn’t I buy this sooner?” products that genuinely enhances how your workspace feels—not just how it looks.

🔟 10/10 – A brilliantly bright idea, perfectly executed.

Disclaimer: The BenQ ScreenBar Pro was kindly provided by BenQ Australia for this review.

Review: Irem Collection Volume 3 (Xbox) – Blast from the Pixelated Past

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If you’re a fan of side-scrolling shoot ‘em ups and wild retro weirdness, Irem Collection Volume 3 from ININ Games is like opening a time capsule filled with pixelated power-ups, dragons, and the kind of creative enemy design only the ’80s and ’90s could conjure. This lovingly compiled collection brings together three of Irem’s most eccentric and thrilling shooters: Mr. Heli/Battle Chopper, Mystic Riders, and Dragon Breed. And trust me—you’re in for a ride that’s as bizarre as it is brilliant.

🚁 Mr. Heli / Battle Chopper (Arcade & PC Engine)

This quirky little helicopter with eyes and a face is anything but cute when it comes to dishing out destruction. In Mr. Heli, you’re piloting a plucky chopper through caves, industrial complexes, and molten hellscapes, blasting enemies while navigating tight spaces and gravity-defying jumps.

The PC Engine version is a neat inclusion—it’s a faithful port with slightly different sprite work and some charming 16-bit flair. Whether you’re nostalgic for the arcade or curious about the console iteration, it’s great to have both.

🧙‍♂️ Mystic Riders (Arcade)

Mystic Riders is what happens when you mix magic carpets, flying broomsticks, and enough glittery magic spells to make Hogwarts jealous. This co-op horizontal shmup is the most whimsical of the bunch—two wizard kids take to the skies to take down fantastical foes in a world that feels like a mashup of anime and high fantasy fever dreams.

The local 2-player co-op here is where it shines. There’s something inherently joyful about launching fireballs and dodging oversized haunted pumpkins with a friend at your side.

🐉 Dragon Breed (Arcade)

Now this is the heavy-hitter. You’re not just piloting a ship—you’re riding a freaking giant golden dragon across a dystopian sci-fi landscape. The gameplay twist? Your dragon is invincible, acting like a moving shield as you rain laser death upon alien hordes. It’s smart, strategic, and the kind of game that sticks with you.

With its epic boss fights, moody soundtrack, and layers of attack options, Dragon Breed is arguably the crown jewel of this collection.

🎮 Quality of Life Upgrades

ININ Games didn’t just dump ROMs and call it a day—there are some thoughtful enhancements here:

  • Quick Save/Load and a built-in rewind system let you recover from boneheaded mistakes or rewind to finesse your dodging skills.

  • Customisable controls, including rapid-fire assignments, make a huge difference for comfort and performance.

  • Display filters recreate the glow and scanlines of old-school arcade monitors, or keep it clean with sharp pixels—it’s your choice.

  • Worldwide leaderboards add a modern challenge for competitive score-chasers.

🕹️ Final Thoughts

Irem Collection Volume 3 is a joyous blast of arcade nostalgia. Whether you’re chasing high scores, revisiting forgotten favourites, or discovering them for the first time, these games hold up remarkably well. The mix of fantasy and sci-fi, wacky enemy designs, and tight shoot ‘em up mechanics showcase why Irem was a kingpin of the genre.

And let’s be honest—riding a fire-breathing dragon while blasting biomechanical nightmares just never gets old.

Score: 7.5/10 – Pure retro arcade magic, lovingly preserved and enhanced for the modern couch warrior.

PixelCrib Giveaway – Win a Nintendo Switch 2 + Mario Kart World Bundle!

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If you’ve been dreaming of getting your hands on the next generation of Nintendo magic, now’s your chance—PixelCrib is making July very exciting for Aussie retro and modern gamers alike!

To celebrate their amazing community, PixelCrib is running an exclusive giveaway for Australian customers throughout July 2025. And the prize? Oh, just a little something called the Nintendo Switch 2 + Mario Kart World Bundle! 🏎️💨

🎮 What You Could Win

The highly anticipated Nintendo Switch 2 paired with Mario Kart World—a combo that promises countless hours of fun whether you’re gaming solo, with mates, or going head-to-head online. If you’re a Nintendo fan, this is the holy grail.

🛒 How to Enter

Getting in on this giveaway is as simple as placing an order:

  • 📅 Order any in-stock item between July 1 and July 31, 2025

  • 🛍️ Purchase online via PixelCrib’s website or in person at their store

  • ✅ Each eligible order = one entry (the more orders, the more entries!)

  • 🚫 Pre-order items are not eligible

  • 🌏 Entry is open to Australian residents only

No forms to fill out. No codes to enter. Just shop and you’re in!

🎯 Winner Announcement

  • 🗓️ The draw takes place on Monday, August 4th, 2025

  • 📧 The lucky winner will be contacted via email and/or phone (don’t forget to check your spam folder!)

Full terms and conditions will be available on the PixelCrib website closer to the draw date.

So whether you’re adding to your retro setup, grabbing that gaming book you’ve had your eye on, or just browsing for gaming (and all other matter of pop culture geekery) goodness—now’s the perfect time to make a purchase.

Big shoutout to PixelCrib for continuing to support the local gaming scene with awesome giveaways like this. Best of luck, and may the odds (and red shells) be ever in your favour! 🍄

Let us know if you enter—or better yet, if you win! 👀

Book Review: Hurt Me Plenty – A Glorious Reload of FPS History (2003–2010)

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Strap in, load up, and check those corners—Bitmap Books’ “Hurt Me Plenty: The Ultimate Guide to First-Person Shooters 2003–2010” is a pixel-perfect deep dive into one of gaming’s most explosive and transformative eras. If you’ve ever reloaded a shotgun with a flick of the mouse, cowered in a duct waiting for your shields to recharge, or yelled “headshot!” at your screen in triumph, this book is your new bible.

Following the much-lauded I’m Too Young to Die, which chronicled the rise of the FPS genre from 1992 to 2002, Hurt Me Plenty picks up the story right where your LAN cable left off—covering the genre’s maturing years. From the raw adrenaline of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare to the haunting chill of Cryostasis, this 464-page beast charts the golden (and sometimes glitchy) era when shooters burst through the mainstream and embedded themselves in gaming’s DNA.

First things first: the book is gorgeous. Bitmap Books has once again gone all-in on production values. The hardback tome uses high-grade paper, vivid Pantone inks, and a cover by artist Ian Pestridge that absolutely slaps. It’s the kind of book you leave out on your coffee table just to start conversations—and then suddenly lose three hours to reading.

But it’s not just about good looks. The content is deep, lovingly detailed, and gleefully geeky. With nearly 220 games featured—from juggernauts like Half-Life 2, DOOM 3, Halo 2, and BioShock, to cult classics (The Ball, Zeno Clash) and beautiful disasters (Kwari, anyone?)—this is a love letter to the FPS in all its chaotic glory. Each entry is packed with sharp commentary, development tidbits, and screenshots that hit you right in the nostalgia gland.

There’s also a real reverence here for the evolution of the genre. Hurt Me Plenty doesn’t just list games; it contextualizes them. It examines the industry’s shift from World War II fatigue to modern warfare spectacle. It digs into the rise of multiplayer-only titles, the impact of digital distribution, and even FPS oddities that never made it past the alpha stage. You’ll find yourself thinking, “Oh yeah! I remember that game!”—or better yet, “How did I miss this?”

Interviews with legends like Ken Levine (BioShock), Minh Le (Counter-Strike), and Tim Willits (DOOM 3) offer rare behind-the-scenes insight that elevates this from mere catalogue to oral history. Harvey Smith’s foreword sets the tone with thoughtful reflections on design, agency, and the enduring power of the first-person perspective.

If there’s a flaw here, it’s simply that you’ll wish there were even more. You’ll be tempted to fire up a dozen Steam wishlists and blow your weekend revisiting forgotten gems like Breakdown, NecroVision, or Urban Chaos: Riot Response.

Whether you were bunny-hopping through Quake Live, creeping through the nuclear shadows of S.T.A.L.K.E.R., or modding your way through Garry’s Mod, this book hits you with wave after wave of “oh wow” moments. It’s part time capsule, part celebration, and 100% essential reading for anyone who ever peered down the barrel of an AK-47 in search of pixels and glory.

Final verdict: Hurt Me Plenty is a masterfully crafted tribute to the games that shaped a generation—and to the players who lived, fragged, and respawned through them. Buy it, read it, and then boot up an old favourite and relive the magic.

Score: 10/10 — One shot, one thrill.

Where to buy and how much?