AUSRETROGAMER

The Pop-Culture E-Zine

You are here: Home / Archives for Announcements

Announcements

Celebrate MAR10 Day In Australia & NZ

By

Wahoo, Happy MAR10 Day!

Celebrate MAR10 Day in Australia and New Zealand with exclusive rewards on a range of Mario titles, including 10% back in Gold Points on Nintendo eShop, and collect an assortment of user icons parts from Super Mario games.

But wait, there is more! From now till 24th March, an assortment of user icons parts from Super Mario games will be available as Nintendo Switch Online member-exclusive rewards. There’s also a special mission you can complete by playing the Super NES classic Super Mario World to earn some Platinum Points.

Happy MAR10 Day to you all!

image source: Nintendo

Introducing The Motörhead Homebrew Pinball Machine!

By

Popular Pinsider and New Zealander, Dave Peck (aka: rotordave) announced in this post that he will be showcasing his Motörhead homebrew pinball machine at the Texas Pinball Festival (TPF), which starts March 15th and runs till the 17th!


source: rotordaveNZ

If you are lucky enough to be in Texas for TPF 2024, then you must go and check out Dave’s amazing creation and perhaps buy him a beer (or two) for putting in 2 years of hard work into this machine and for hauling it some 11,700km across the Pacific Ocean!

Gotta say it, Dave, you are a friggin legend!

image source: rotordave via Pinside

The Great GameOnCancer® Giveaway Returns to Raise Funds for Groundbreaking Cancer Research

By

The Great Game On Cancer® Giveaway (GOCG) is back with more than 400 prizes on offer during the fundraiser, valued at more than $30,000

Running through all of March (1st – 31st), anyone who donates AUD $50 or more to Cure Cancer during this period will get a prize valued at $50 or more, randomly selected from the assortment of donated prizes. People can donate as many times as they like or as much as they like, with each $50 donation worth a prize (e.g. if you donate $200, you will receive 4 prizes).

It’s a win/win situation, you get to donate to cancer research and you get a prize that could be greater than the value of your donation!

To claim one of the incredible prizes, people simply need to go to https://www.curecancer.com.au/giveaway, make a donation and then, at the end of the four-week campaign, they will be informed about which prize they have won. Yes, it’s that simple!

Major brands are on board including the likes of Xbox and EA Games, who have all donated prizes to the campaign, which aims to raise $20,000 plus for Cure Cancer. Prizes include Xbox Series S consoles, and a Moza R5 Racing Bundle, just to name a few.

Other brands involved are Logitech G, Turtle Beach, Nanoleaf, Bethesda, Twelve South, Satechi, Quokka Mousepads, 2K, Massive Monster, CATAN Studios, Fantasy Flight Games, Pandasaurus Games, Andaseat, MOZA Racing, Bungie, PAX Australia, Annapurna Interactive, Neon Doctrine, Keychron, Fellow Traveller and Fortress.

The money raised will go directly to Cure Cancer to fund ground-breaking cancer research by brilliant scientists to save millions of lives. Cure Cancer’s community of researchers, fundraisers and partners take on every cancer, working together to find the most impactful solutions in record time. Driven by a bold ambition –  What if we cure cancer?

The charity recently announced that it has raised over $1.25million through its Game On Cancer® initiative; vital monies driving vital research into all cancers.

Donate to support ground-breaking cancer research today and your generosity will be rewarded with one of the fantastic prizes!

Play DOOM on the Husqvarna Automower!

By

Rip, shear, mow, tear and play DOOM!

The legendary 1993 video game DOOM will be released on robotic lawn mowers this Northern Hemisphere spring (our Autumn).

First showcased as a one-off and as a tribute in connection to the 30th anniversary of DOOM in December 2023, the game is now being released as a proper product feature to 30,000 robotic lawn mower owners.

The DOOM installed lawn mowers have already made waves across the globe, after being showcased at DreamHack Winter 2023, where Husqvarna organized the world’s first multiplayer DOOM tournament on a non-gaming device. “This is one hell of an update”, says Björn Mannefred, Robotics Software Engineer at Husqvarna.

The original shareware episode of DOOM (1993) will be released as a free update for owners of Husqvarna’s robotic lawn mower range Husqvarna Automower® NERA. This means that  approximately 30,000 end-users will be able to play the game during a limited time between April to September 2024!

We reckon lots of lawns will be overgrown between April and September this year…


source: Husqvarna



STILL STANDING is now LIVE and FREE on SBS On-Demand in Australia

By

“The emotive and amazing stories and histories will have you gripped like a Darth Vader choke-hold right till the end.” – Ausretrogamer, Feb 2023

A year ago (almost to the day) on February 23rd, 2023, we told you all that the documentary, STILL STANDING, was a must watch, giving it a 5-star rating! This is still the case, and this time it is even easier to catch one of the best made docos on the Australian arcade and pinball culture of the past.

Still Standing’s cinematographer and producer, Brad Gilbertson, has been working hard to bring this awesome doco to the masses via a national broadcaster. Well, after some very hard toiling by Brad, he had this good news to announce (via Facebook):

After a slight delay, Still Standing is now LIVE and FREE on SBS On-Demand here in Australia! Thanks so much for your patience while this was sorted out, and a HUGE thanks to the community, groups, our Still Standing cast and locations that have supported, shared and liked our recent posts! It has been overwhelming to say the least and we appreciate each and everyone of you enormously! Please enjoy the film and stay tuned for more exciting news very soon!

If you haven’t done so, and you have the slightest of interest in the Australian arcade and pinball scene from the past, then STILL STANDING is an absolute MUST WATCH! Head on over to SBS On-Demand right now!

image source: SBS On-Demand



PSA: The Mario vs. Donkey Kong eShop Demo For Nintendo Switch Is Out Now

By

When Donkey Kong raids Mario’s toy factory and makes off with the merchandise, Mario has to once again face his biggest rival

Starting today (Feb 1st), a demo featuring four levels from the first world of Mario vs. Donkey Kong, the enhanced version of the Game Boy Advance classic, is available for download on Nintendo eShop for Nintendo Switch. Check out the demo before the full game launches on Friday 16th February and take a closer look at the Mario vs. Donkey Kong – Overview Trailer below for additional details!

Solve puzzles, overcome challenges and find the keys to rescue the Mini-Marios and thwart Donkey Kong. The demo also gives players a first look at the new Two Player Co-Op mode, in which they can share a Joy-Con with a friend and team up as Mario and Toad. Players will also have access to the game’s new difficulty settings –Classic Style features the same difficulty level as the original Game Boy Advance version. Anyone who wishes to take things easier, can try Casual Style with no time limit and the ability to restart from checkpoints.



Atari THE400 Mini Pre-Orders Now Open!

By

Whoa, I am late to the party, but just in case there are others that aren’t aware, Atari announced that the Retro Games Ltd. made THE400 Mini pre-orders are now open – but only to US residents (boooo)!

For our Australian friends, don’t fret, cause you can also pre-order THE400 (Atari) Mini system right now at The Gamesmen site (The Gamesmen have exclusive retail rights in Australia)! Priced at AU$189.95 and shipping in late March (March 28th, 2024), this is a pretty cool system to pick up.

For everyone else, Amazon is also offering pre-orders on the THE400 Mini right here.

So, who is getting one?



Pac-Man Lifesized Maze: Melbourne

By

Get dot-munching for real!

  • What: Pac-Man Lifesized
  • Date: 27-Mar-2024
  • Where / Venue: The District Docklands, 23 – 37, Shop CWF01/01a Level 1/29 Star Cres, Docklands VIC 3008, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3008
  • Tickets: Child $12.00 / Adult $18.00
  • Where to buy: Hidden – Melbourne

Experience the excitement of a real-life Pac-Man maze as you elude colorful ghosts and snatch up fruit! This March (2024), The District Docklands in Melbourne will host an incredible Pac-Man Escape Room Maze. This immersive pop-up event, officially endorsed by Pac-Man, will immerse you in an escape room adventure within a massive maze.

Prepare to outmaneuver ghosts, gather your favorite fruits (bonus points if you can devour all five), and tackle puzzles along the way. Each participant has only three lives, and if caught by one of the four ghosts, a life is lost. You can embark on this adventure solo or with a team of up to 10 people – the choice is yours. The first person to collect all the fruit and conquer the puzzles will earn the title of the ultimate Pac-Man Player!

Additionally, the venue will feature Pac-Man video games for you to enjoy once you’ve completed the maze. Melbourne’s up-and-coming DJs will be spinning ’80s tunes during the session and at the pixelated bar, providing the perfect opportunity to relax and grab a refreshing beverage after your thrilling adventure



LEGO Ideas: METROID – E.M.M.I.

By

Ah LEGO Ideas, you do get some pretty darn awesome product ideas, just like this METROID – E.M.M.I. entry by DirectorInfamousCockroach100!

What’s there not to love here, there is Samus Aran (based on her Metroid Dread appearance) and the E.M.M.I. robot enemies  featured in Metroid Dread!

DirectorInfamousCockroach100 states that:

Originally I was going to build Samus’ ship but I couldn’t crack the design :/ so here is the E.M.M.I! The Robot enemies featured in Metroid Dread.

The design here is a bit bulky but I wanted to try and make it as posable as possible! Of course it comes with a transparent stand just in-case, the build is not the most stable!

So if you are yearning for a Lego Metroid set of some kind, then you better get voting on this one!



Retro Puzzler Chip’s Challenge Lands on Nintendo Switch Later This Month!

By

Classic Puzzle Game ‘Chip’s Challenge’ Returns on Nintendo Switch this January!

The 1989 classic made available for Nintendo Switch for the first time! Features display filters, suspend points and live gameplay rewind. Releasing January 25th, 2024.

Developed by Imagine Software and published by Pixel Games UK, this 1989 classic returns with over 140 levels to put your mind (and your fingers) to the test — available for the first time on Nintendo Switch via the Nintendo eShop.

In ‘Chip’s Challenge’, players take on the role of Chip — a puzzle obsessive who desperately wants to join Melinda the Mental Marvel’s computer club. His initiation takes the form of a series of increasingly difficult puzzles. To succeed Chip slide blocks, dodge hazards and collect the computer chips to pass each level. Are you up to the Challenge?

‘Chip’s Challenge’ for Nintendo Switch allows players to play this classic puzzle game with many modern features, including:

● Display filters, including an 80s-style CRT filter; and

● Suspend points – save and restore up to 4 suspend points per game

image source: Pixel Games UK