The Pop-Culture E-Zine
“Skeletor is BACK and there is only one thing he wants for Christmas.”
Source: Brock’s Dubs via Laughing Squid
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Ms. ausretrogamer
Co-founder, editor and writer at ausretrogamer – The Australian Retro Gamer E-Zine. Lover of science fiction, fashion, books, movies and TV. Player of games, old and new.
Follow Ms. ausretrogamer on Twitter
“Ho-Ho-Ho-Home Alone returns as a retro action-packed arcade game for your holiday cheer! So sit back, relax, stir up some hot cocoa, and watch little McAllister cause some mayhem. Happy Holidays!”
Source: CineFix via Laughing Squid
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Ms. ausretrogamer
Co-founder, editor and writer at ausretrogamer – The Australian Retro Gamer E-Zine. Lover of science fiction, fashion, books, movies and TV. Player of games, old and new.
Follow Ms. ausretrogamer on Twitter
Christmas is always a great time. We associate good times with family and friends, holidays, and obviously the gifts (giving and receiving!).
Let’s not pretend though, as kids, we loved Christmas for one thing, the presents! It was also around this time that retailers would bombard us with their catalogues, tempting us to load up our wish-lists with all matter of toys, electronic gadgets and video gaming items. We would pore over these catalogues, circling items and then leaving the catalogues in a prominent spot in the hope that our loved ones would notice.
If you loved (still love) looking at catalogues, then let us take you back to the 1992 Christmas Sears, Roebuck & Co. ‘The Great American Wish Book’ – yep, this catalogue is a 830+ page book!
Let’s see what is inside this hefty catalogue!
We wish for a Game Boy!
Or do we wish for a Sega Game gear?
Ah yeh, of course we wish for an Atari Lynx!
Which console to circle – the NES?
Or maybe the TurboGrafx-16 (aka: American PC-Engine)?
Maybe we should go for the 16-bit beasts, like the Sega Mega Drive?
Or the mighty Super Nintendo!
We also need games!
Lots of games!
Whoa, a new computer!
A new computer will need some software and a few peripherals!
See, we told you the NES isn’t just a games machine! We can learn to play the piano!
Pfft, who needs smartwatches!
Whoa, arcade pinball action!
Oh wow, you could save $200 on the Philips CD-i! What a bargain!
The only way to listen to music while on the move!
If we buy a console, we need a CRT TV to play it on! Circle that too!
For those that want to video record their play!
Lego should be on the list, always!
Reading material is good for Christams
Yeh, why not!
A certain Mr Panek would love this TMNT madness!
Please Santa, I want a Jet Wave too!
There was something quite rare and exotic that sold on eBay Australia this week. The auction started at $500AUD, but once word got out in the gaming community (especially amongst the retro gaming collectors!), a bidding war erupted!
The exotic item that everyone was falling over themselves was a very rare Japanese Bandai Vectrex store demonstration unit. This rarity ended up selling for $4,450AUD, making it the single most expensive classic video gaming item sold in Australia**. Considering these Bandai Vectrex demo units go for $7,000AUD+, the buyer got themselves a bargain!
If you are the buyer or if someone reading this knows the buyer, please get in touch with us! In case you were wondering about the seller, they are a Japanese antiques retailer from Ocean Grove in Victoria (Australia).
** excludes arcade and pinball machines!
Sold for $4,450! An Australian record for a classic video gaming item!
The description!
Standing tall and proud! The ‘legs’ were not part of the original demo unit
Taking a closer look
Oo’er Mine Storm!
The secured control deck – just in case the player made off with the controller!
¥54,800! That was mindbogglingly expensive for the early 80s (~$650AUD)
Oh that beautiful marquee!
source: eBay Australia
Jason Allemann has made an amazing working LEGO Piranha Plant from Super Mario Bros.
“The model features some interesting mechanics in order to get the plant’s mouth to open and close as it is raised and lowered in the pipe. In this video I explain how it all works. More information can be found on my website”
Source: JK Brickworks via Technabob
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Ms. ausretrogamer
Co-founder, editor and writer at ausretrogamer – The Australian Retro Gamer E-Zine. Lover of science fiction, fashion, books, movies and TV. Player of games, old and new.
Follow Ms. ausretrogamer on Twitter
Follow this Adafruit tutorial and you can have your very own 3D printed mini replica of the iconic Commodore PET (Personal Electronic Transactor) computer.
Video source: Adafruit Industries on YouTube
Source: Adafruit via Laughing Squid
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Ms. ausretrogamer
Co-founder, editor and writer at ausretrogamer – The Australian Retro Gamer E-Zine. Lover of science fiction, fashion, books, movies and TV. Player of games, old and new.
Follow Ms. ausretrogamer on Twitter
One thing is a certainty when it comes to Read-Only Memory publications – they are of the highest quality, both in content and presentation! Their new book, The Bitmap Brothers: Universe is certainly no exception to this rule! This high-end book for the historically-minded videogame enthusiast is a comprehensive history of the visionary British software house behind seminal titles such as Xenon 2: Megablast, Speedball 2: Brutal Deluxe and The Chaos Engine. The Bitmap Brothers: Universe tome combines an authoritative inside story by Duncan Harris (Rock, Paper, Shotgun and Edge), thoroughly researched via new, first-hand interviews with The Bitmap Brothers’ key figures – including founder Mike Montgomery and lead artist Dan Malone – with a breathtaking haul of never-before-seen archive material. The cherry on top is the awesome CRT emulation (by Timothy Lottes) and screen capture (by Kerry Brunskill) art which propels this book into the sublime.
As Christmas is fast approaching, The Bitmap Bros: Universe should be at the pointy end of your wish-list! Better still, get this book for yourself and for your fellow nostalgia-minded friends – you will not regret it! Actually, while you are at it, you may also like the Speedball 2: Brutal Deluxe Print, which compliments the Universe book perfectly. This high-spec print features a new illustration by original Bitmap Brothers artist and co-designer of Speedball 2: Brutal Deluxe, Dan Malone. Screen printed in black onto a luxurious grey heavyweight stock, the edition also features the distinctive Bitmap Brothers logo, micro-etched into holographic foil. Each print is signed by the artist and shipped in a durable archival tube.
Make this Christmas a Bitmap Brothers one!
Vital Stats:
Title: The Bitmap Brothers: Universe
Price: £30.00 (plus shipping)
Size: 190mm x 240mm
Binding: Hardback
Pages: 300
Specials: Quarter-Bound
AmigaJay from Amiga CD32 Alternate Covers proudly presents, the unofficial CD32 / CDTV / Amiga release, ‘More! Lemmings’. Containing 120 new never-before-seen levels on the Amiga, this game is fully playable via mouse, joypad and infrared remote (CDTV only) on the Amiga CD32 and CDTV. Oh yeah, there is also an ADF disk version for you Amiga computer owners too!
But wait, there is more! As it is the season for giving, AmigaJay is also offering his Lemmings – The Ports book, containing a whopping 300 pages about the different Lemmings ports – absolutely free! Looks like Christmas has come early for all you Amiga and Lemmings fans!
‘More! Lemmings’ now available for the Amiga CD32 and CDTV
While you are at it, grab AmigaJay’s FREE Lemmings – The Ports book!
source: Amiga CD32 Alternative Covers
So why is Melbourne the most liveable city? Well, one good reason is that we have our very own dedicated pinball and whisky bar, aptly named, Pinball Paradise. Perhaps when Guns N’ Roses sang about Paradise City, they meant this place!
Set in the north-west part of Melbourne’s Central Business District and across the road from the Queen Victoria Market, Pinball Paradise is a pinball wizard’s dream come true – fifteen pinball machines covering multiple eras and a bar stocked with alcohol to quench your hard earned thirst. There is definitely no better place to meet with friends, have a drink and get flippin’!
The lowdown:
What: Pinball Paradise
Where: 1st Floor, 213 Franklin Street, Melbourne, Australia
Opening Hours: Wednesday to Sunday, 4:00pm to LATE
Pinball Competitions: monthly Melbourne Silverball League
Our only problem, what to play first?
We started with some old school pinball
And then we ended up on Jersey Jack Pinball’s Wizard Of Oz, 75th Anniversary Edition
Check out Martin Robbins’ ‘Grand Opening’ vid to get a feel of Pinball Paradise, oh and its secret entry!
source: Melbourne Silverball League
Roommates Kal Fadem and Warren Strickler were playing ping pong back in 2009 and by amazing coincidence they hit a series of shots that sounded just like the beginning of the Super Mario Bros. theme ‘Da-da-da-da-da-da — dum’ – wow, check it out!
Source: Fadem12 on YouTube via Laughing Squid
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Ms. ausretrogamer
Co-founder, editor and writer at ausretrogamer – The Australian Retro Gamer E-Zine. Lover of science fiction, fashion, books, movies and TV. Player of games, old and new.
Follow Ms. ausretrogamer on Twitter