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Modding Our Arcade1Up Pinball With IntecGaming’s Nintendo Switch Panel

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There were a couple of things we were looking forward to this year, Stern Pinball’s Insider Connected Kit for our Star Wars pinball machine, and IntecGaming’s Nintendo Switch Panel for our Arcade1Up (virtual) pinball machine.

Well, it was almost 2 for 2 in 2022, however, our Stern Pinball Insider Connected kit was delivered incomplete – which means we will have to wait for the next boat to arrive down under.

On the flip side, the IntecGaming panel for our A1Up pinball machine arrived and we can’t wait to get it installed! Just in case you have no idea what this thing is or does, check out our previous post here.

We will write about our exploits of getting this mod installed, so stay tuned (and wish us luck)!



Aldi 80s Special Buys

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Aldi (Australia) sure knows how to cash in on the retro craze!

Starting next Wednesday (November 30), Aldi will stock some sweet 80s special buys, from retro tech to fashion and leisure items which they are calling Retro Entertainment.

So what kind of stuff will Aldi have up for grabs on November 30? We are glad you asked! Take a gander at these:

Our picks are the retro skateboard, Stack Hat, the micro arcades and that hot boombox! Better get that DeLorean ready to head back to the 80s!


source: Aldi – YouTube



Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration – Steelbook Edition

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We are late to Atari’s 50th Anniversary party, but we are glad that we are!

We waited to see what everyone thought of the compilation before pulling the trigger, and it has been overwhelmingly positive – which was great to see! With 100 games, surely you’d find several absolute gems.

Since we wanted the Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration in physical format, we inadvertently stumbled upon the JB Hi-Fi exclusive Steelbook Edition pre-order, which will be available on November 25th. Well, without hesitation, we put in our pre-order and can’t wait for this Friday to roll around!

Anyone else grabbing the Steelbook Edition for the Nintendo Switch?

image source: Five Star Games



Numskull Designs Launches Space Invaders Quarter Arcades

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Whoa, what a way to finish off the week! Numskull Designs have launched their new entrants in the Quarter Arcades series, Space Invaders and Space Invaders Part II!

With Space Invaders celebrating its 45th anniversary in 2023, Numskull Designs are releasing the iconic and influential masterpieces in the form of two new quarter scale arcade cabinets –Space Invaders & Space Invaders Part II. Pre-orders are now open via the Numskull Designs site right here.

Space Invaders originally burst in the scene in the golden era of arcade gaming and set the bar for those that followed. Since its release in 1978, it has gone on to become a global pop-culture phenomenon. Developed by Tomohiro Nishikado, the game has been cited as revolutionising the arcade industry as well as having an influence on many famous video game designs since.

Quarter Arcades -Special Editions:

Commemorating the 45th anniversary of the iconic SPACE INVADERS franchise, its creator – the legendary Mr. Tomohiro Nishikado has kindly signed 78 x SPACE INVADERS cabinets to celebrate the release date of 1978, and 79 x SPACE INVADERS PART II cabinets to celebrate the release date of 1979.These are strictly limited edition cabinets, perfect for you to play or display in your home for the most authentic experience of the classic arcade game available on the market. STRICTLY LIMITED TO 78 x SPACE INVADERS AND 79 x SPACE INVADERS PART II WORLDWIDE.

Oh yeah, you can start drooling now with their official announcement trailer below 😉

image source: Numskull Designs



Cure Cancer’s Game on Cancer Holiday Initiative

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Cure Cancer challenges gaming streamers to help raise money for cancer research these holidays

From Tuesday 15th November through to Thursday 15th December, creators of all kinds can sign up and help support early-career cancer researchers across Australia working to find a cure for all different types of cancer.

All creators need to do is host a charity stream on their channels and then engage their audience to donate. Streamers can go to Tiltify to sign up and get involved and every dollar raised will support vital cancer research.

Former Good Game host and Streamer, Steven ‘Bajo’ O’Donnell, will be supporting this initiative

Every fundraiser will also have the chance to become a Game On Cancer® MVP and earn exclusive merch to celebrate their fundraising efforts. This year, renowned Australian audio producer RØDE and local neon light manufacturer Kings of Neon™ are supporting the campaign with their own amazing incentives.

  • The first 25 fundraisers to raise $2000 will receive a $300 Kings of Neon™ gift card to purchase their own custom neon light for their streaming setup*
  • The first 25 fundraisers to raise $4000 will receive a RØDE X Prize Pack valued at $1,146, which includes brand new products such as:

Over the 30 days, some of Australia’s favourite creators will be jumping-in to fundraise themselves, including ex-Good Games host turned Twitch extraordinaire, Bajo, who will be kicking off the event with his own fundraising stream on November 15th. This Holiday Spectacular, the aim is to raise $75,000 AUD which will help fund nine months of life-saving cancer research.

To date, Cure Cancer’s Game On Cancer® initiative has raised over $650,000 AUD for cancer research, which is enough to fund over six years of cancer research projects. Previous fundraisers have included some of Australia’s largest names in gaming like Loserfruit, IAmFallFromGrace, PandaTV and Aussie Antics.

Cure Cancer is dedicated entirely to funding early career researchers and to date has provided over 540 research grants to young scientists with ground-breaking innovative ideas, many who have gone on to become leaders in cancer research globally.

Game On Cancer® is supported by many ambassadors across the gaming industry including hilarious, gaming community channel, Back Pocket, revered Australian cooking creators, MissMollyMakes, and popular gaming personality and DLC podcast host, Jeff Cannata.

Viewers can show their support by following Game On Cancer® on Twitter, joining them on Discord, tagging their favourite streamers that they would like to see involved and finally, and most importantly, watching a stream and donating.

So, sign up today and get involved. You’ll be doing something you love and saving lives at the same time.



This Press Release (and images) were provided by Rocket Comms

Nintendo Switch Arcade and Pinball DIY Kit for your Arcade1Up Pinball Machine

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Take your Arcade1Up Pinball Machine to another level!

Almost a year ago we were gushing over IntecGaming’s Nintendo Switch Arcade Control Panel for the Arcade1Up pinball machines. It was promised to be released in 2022, and it now looks like IntecGaming has kept that promise!

If you have an Arcade1Up Pinball machine (even if you have modded with the additional Zen Pinball games), this new DIY Kit will take your A1Up Pinball machine to another level! We don’t have firm specs yet, but from the few bits and pieces we have found in our research, this kit will let you play your Switch games on the vertical screen, complete with an arcade joystick and buttons control panel for that authentic arcade feel. Of course you will still be able to use the flipper buttons on the side of the cabinet for your pinball gaming fix! For the Switch games that aren’t vertical (TATE), they can still be played, albeit in a letterboxed view on the vertical screen. The DIY kit will require tinkering to get setup, but we reckon it will be totally worth it.

We are just excited to play all of our vertical games using this kit, especially our library of shoot’em ups and pinball games (hello The Pinball Arcade, Pinball FX 3 and Stern Pinball Arcade!). This will breath a new life into our Arcade1Up Pinball machine.

The pre-order period begins on Halloween (Oct 31st U.S. time), with a special price of US$119.99! Who is in? We most certainly are.

PS: If you want to see this kit in action, check out ToyKade’s review video now!

image source: IntecGaming



Pinball Expo 2022 – The Homebrew Pinball Machines

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If you are into pinball and were in Chicago this past weekend, you would’ve no doubt attended Pinball Expo!

Being one of the larger pinball events in the world, among the many things to see, do and play is the homebrew section. The homebrew machines are so good these days that it could lead to a pinball designer gig at one of the many pinball manufacturers in North America – just ask Ryan McQuaid (Sonic Spinball) and Mark Seiden (Metroid Pinball), both are now pinball designers at American Pinball and Jersey Jack Pinball respectively!

For Pinball Expo 2022 there were quite a few eye popping and amazing homebrew pinball machines designed and built by enthusiasts that we just had to share with you all. Licensing notwithstanding, do you see any you would like being mass produced? We love the look of Elf, Pokemon and League of Legends!

image source: Pinball Expo via Facebook



Flippin the Script on Autism – Fundraiser Auction!

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This is something close to our heart, so we thought we’d share the below press release with you all 🙂

PinShades is a proud sponsor of Flippin the Script on Autism

We are excited to announce LoserKids and TPN teaming up to help children with Autism! Flippin the Script will be a 12 hour charity stream. So mark your calendars for October 20th (Thursday – US time) at Pinball Expo in Chicago. The stream is directly going towards Learning Solutions. An Utah based organization that helps with early intervention Autism therapy for kids that are as young as 2 all the way to late teenage years. The organization helps kids with Autism by giving them a one on one teachers to help develop skills like: Speech, social, and positive reinforcement to name a few.

Stern, JJP, American, Multimorphic, CGC, Haggis, Lit Frames, Flip N Out, The Pinball Company, PinShades, and others are donating products that will be auctioned off during the stream. LoserKids, TPN, Poormen, and others with be hosting the stream and interviewing some of your favourite people from the pinball industry including Keith Elwin and Eric Meunier to name a few.

We hope you join or stream us on October 20th at Pinball Expo!



MOTU Origins Eternia Playset: The Call To Battle Continues

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Masters of the Universe Origins Eternia Playset: The Call To Battle Continues

Bah, who needs Kickstarter or IndieGoGo when you can setup and run your own successful crowdunding campaigns!

That is exactly what Mattel Creations have done (and are doing)! Their Masters of the Universe Origins Eternia Playset campaign has reached its funding target in record time, and it still has quite a few weeks yet to run (campaign ends on November 10th). The campaign is fast approaching 7,000 backers, meaning all the bonus tiers are in play to get unlocked!

Early Backers get a bonus King Grayskull figure

We bet these will be unlocked before this campaign ends!

If you are a MOTU collector and need this playset in your life, then be prepared to fork out USD$550.00 (plus shipping)! Considering the original Eternia Playset goes for thousands of dollars, perhaps this isn’t a bad deal after all 😉

If you become an Early Backer (by 11.59PM PT, October 19), you get the bonus King Grayskull figure (see above)! We really really want this playset and are betting that once it is sold out, the scalpers will hit the regular selling sites with ridiculous prices – so the moral of the story is, if you are 100% keen, back it now to save yourself some tears and regret aftewards.

This thing is HUGE!

image source: Mattel Creations



The Super Mario Bros. Movie Teaser Trailer

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Just in case you have been living off the grid lately, check out the latest teaser trailer for The Super Mario Bros. movie! It’s a bit Game of Thrones-ish, which isn’t a bad thing.

Are you excited? We sure are! WAHOO!


source: GameSpot