Retro Gaming Culture

8-Bit Cinema Extravaganza

May 29, 2014 By ausretrogamer

We have featured CineFix’s 8-Bit Cinema creations on our site before, but not to this extent. The following cult movie 8-Bit remakes are the new pinnacle in pop culture fusion.

There is no need to head to the nearest cinema complex, just get that popcorn out of the microwave, sit back on your comfortable recliner, put your feet up and watch these luscious pixelated remakes. You definitely won’t be disappointed.

Donnie Darko

The Fifth Element

Star Trek

Pulp Fiction

Anchorman

Inception

Blade Runner

The Big Lebowski

The Shining

Batman The Dark Knight

A Clockwork Orange

Iron Man

Hunger Games

Godzilla vs Monsters

Kick Ass

The Amazing Spider-Man

Finding Nemo

8-Bit Cinema videos source: CineFix

Atari Month Is Coming

May 28, 2014 By ausretrogamer

Dear fellow Atarians,

June is fast approaching and you all know what that means – it’s #AtariMonth

To celebrate 42 years of Atari, we are asking you to put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) and get writing about your affinity of this iconic brand. This is your opportunity to let your writing juices flow!

Once you are satisfied with your written masterpiece, just submit it to us here. The most entertaining submissions will be immortalised on ausretrogamer.com!

There is no word limit, so go for your life! Article submissions are opened from now till June 24 2014. Get cracking you awesome Atarians!

Exploring New York City with a Game Boy Camera

May 27, 2014 By ausretrogamer

Before digital cameras were common place, the only way you could take digital photos at an affordable price was via cheap and nasty cameras or add-on contraptions for the Game Boy.

Speaking of Nintendo’s little pocket rocket, the below photos of New York City landmarks and people were taken with a Game Boy camera back in 2000. There is a certain charm in grainy low-resolution black and white photos – heck, there are camera apps nowadays emulating this on your smartphone! We may have come a long way with camera resolution being measured in the tens of megapixels, but we still love the fuzzy feeling we get when seeing these heavily pixelated photos.

Rockefeller Plaza

The New York Public Library

A Giacometti statue at MOMA

A slice of pizza

A park bench

Toy taxis

A subway carriage

A subway passenger

A snoozing subway passenger

A selfie, 2000 style

source: Ironic Sans

Yummy Super Mario

May 26, 2014 By ausretrogamer

Who said video games weren’t good for you? Whomever they were, they obviously hadn’t seen Daryna Kossar’s awesome kitchen creations featuring our favourite Nintendo mascot, Super Mario!

This is the coolest way to have a Super Mario treat outside of your Nintendo console.

source: Daryna Kossar

Retro Gaming: Home Redecorating

May 22, 2014 By ausretrogamer

Do you think your hobby can be all consuming? Take retro gaming for instance – if you deck out your home furnishings with your favourite video game, is that going too far or not far enough?

Looking at some of the below items, I reckon I could go crazy redecorating our house. Perhaps I draw the line at putting Super Mario on the toilet seat. How far would you go?

images source: Dude I Want That

Super Mario World: Game Of Thrones

May 20, 2014 By ausretrogamer

Forget about the seven kingdoms of Westeros. If Game Of Thrones was set in Super Mario World, then this is exactly how it will pan out. Enjoy A Song Of Ice and Fire!

source: NicksplosionFX

For Sale: House Of Dreams

May 19, 2014 By ausretrogamer

If you had all the money in the world and were after a property to suit your (inner geek) needs, perhaps this house in South Florida would be ideal. Marc Bell, a successful financier, producer and former head of FriendFinder Networks is selling his palatial home for a cool $USD35 million. You better befriend your bank manager!

Instead of focusing on the normal things people look for in a home, you know, like how many bedrooms, the façade, the number of bathrooms and is the kitchen bench-top made from granite, let’s cut to the chase and head straight to the recreational areas that will get your heart racing. If you are like me, you better get some napkins to wipe away the drool.

The 2000-square-foot ballroom converted into an arcade paradise. Oh yeah baby!

Care for a game of Foosball? If not, then pick from any of the other 60 games

Great taste in pinball and arcade machines!

If Call Of Duty is your thing, then head into the bunker!

My kind of movie room

Captain’s Log: “I love this Enterprise-feel bridge”

Make it so Number 1!

If you are an outdoors person, then perhaps the backyard will appeal

source: Business Insider

This house is the stuff of dreams, and unfortunately that is where it will remain for a lot of us. But, it never hurts to dream big!

Minotaur: The Pop Culture Specialists

May 18, 2014 By ausretrogamer

Have you ever struggled to buy a gift for a friend or family member? Do you need ideas? Well, this is your lucky day – we reckon you can never go wrong with getting a pop culture gift for that special someone.

Minotaur, the pop culture specialists store in central Melbourne caters for all pop culture tastes and needs; from cult TV shows, movies, music, comics, video games paraphernalia, books, toys to clothing, you name it, they sure as hell have it. If you don’t believe us, just take a look at some of the photos we took on our last visit.

When visiting Minotaur, prepare to spend a fair chunk of the day browsing the drool-worthy items. The hardest part will be carrying the heavy bag of goodies you are sure to walk out with from the store.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Minotaur Entertainment
Address: 121 Elizabeth Street, Melbourne
Store Hours:
Monday to Thursday: 9:00am – 6:00pm
Friday: 9:00am – 8:00pm
Saturday: 9:00am – 6:00pm
Sunday: 11:00am – 5:00pm

Super Mario By Numbers

May 16, 2014 By ausretrogamer

If you wanted proof that Nintendo’s mascot is the undisputed franchise heavyweight champion of the video gaming world, then look no further. Watch the below video, you might learn something new. The Mario juggernaut just keeps on rolling on!

source: Alltime Numbers

Retro Gaming Wall Art For Your Home

May 11, 2014 By ausretrogamer

If seeing arcade, Commodore 64, and console retro game classics like Frogger, Asteroids, Donkey Kong and Mario Bros. immediately bring you back to great times, then wall art would really rock for incorporating those gaming themes into a modern home.

People often ask me about the best way to incorporate retro gaming art for kids’ rooms, so I thought it’d be great to provide a few of the sources that I’ve come across.

Do It Yourself
The first and obvious option is the do-it-yourself route which includes;

Getting a friend with access to a vinyl cutter to cut out designs;
Putting together your favourite retro artwork on Zazzle; or
Printing out designs on transparencies.

Let’s face it, making your own ‘classic’ design may not always really be, classic.

Decals or paint?
Back in the day, I knew a great guy who would airbrush some fine art on whatever you gave him; doors, walls, cupboards, or even clothing. However, if you’re not ready to pay high rates for such masterpieces, or want to be able to upgrade the kids’ rooms when they eventually tire of your endless ranting about your childhood fascination with Yie Ar Kung Fu, decals are probably a more cost-effective, and easily-modified solution. This is especially true if you just happen to have bought 20 arcade cabinets while renting a place.

Something that occurred to me after putting up my retro gaming wall art, is that it would have been awesome to plan out a history series, starting with say Pong, and progressing through to later games. Luckily, they are re-usable, so this may some day become a reality for me.

Wall decal suppliers
You may or may not remember the Space Invaders decals on the set of the TV show, The IT Crowd. I certainly did, and eventually found that these were available from online stores such as Blik, Wallstickershop, and Amazon. These are mostly purposely pixel-styled images, which are accurate and licensed.

A number of people online have mentioned Blik, who seem to have varied their range over the years, but still have a nice selection of the classics:

source: Blik

Wallstickershop also have some licensed designs, but also offer the non-pixelart versions; which can sometimes work well, especially if your place is on the cozy side where you’ll view them from a closer distance:

source: WallStickerShop