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Nintoaster: A Toasty 8-Bit Console

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It is quite obvious that Nintendo’s old school console make for very good toasters. Or should that be, toasters make for very good old school Nintendo consoles?

Whichever way you look at it, Nintendo’s classic consoles go hand in hand with toasters as we have shown here on previous occasions. This latest creation by Finnish artistic modder Jarno Kotavuopio (aka: Jaki33) is his second Nintoaster that he has built.

This Nintoaster does everything that a regular NES consoles does, it can play 8-bit NES video games, it has a power and reset buttons, LED brightness control, and of course a matching controller that tops off this very cool creation. The only thing it won’t do is toast your bread. Hmm, we can’t have it all 😉


source: jarnok33

[via: technabob]



TheC64: The Full Sized Commodore 64 Is Coming!

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Full sized version of the 80’s best-selling home computer available on 5th December 2019

A timeless classic is being given a new lease of life with the launch of a full-sized version of THEC64®. Developed by Retro Games Ltd. and distributed by Koch Media, THEC64 is a fully licensed reimagining of the 80’s bestselling home computer.

The C64 Announcement Trailer on YouTube

Following its launch in 1982, the C64 home computer went on to dominate the home computer scene throughout the 1980s. Millions of units were sold worldwide and hold a special place in the hearts of its former owners.  37 years later and it’s back again!

The full sized THEC64 has a full working keyboard, comes with an updated micro switch classic joystick which plugs into one of the four USB ports, and connects to any modern TV via HDMI.  It features three switchable modes – boot straight into original C64 BASIC, VIC20 BASIC  or switch to the Games Carousel and play one of the 64 built in games in 50Hz or 60Hz, with optional CRT Filters/Screen modes.

As well as the classic C64 and VIC20 BASIC modes, the pre-installed games include such classics as California Games, Paradroid and Boulder Dash; with new additions like Attack of the Mutant Camels, Hover Bovver, Iridis Alpha, and Gridrunner; topped off with the recently released shoot ‘em up Galencia and text adventure Planet of Death to let you relive the glory days of true keyboard gaming! You can even load and save your own C64 and VIC20 games via USB flash drive as well as access multi disc titles.

“We are delighted to be working with Koch Media once more to bring back even more of the most loved retro games ever on two of the most iconic home computers of all time, and which now has a full working keyboard”, said Paul Andrews, Retro Games’ Managing Director. “THEC64 full size is a reimagining of the classic C64 computer and the second in a planned series of products on the way.”

THEC64 will hit the shops on December 5th 2019 with a suggested retail price of £109.99/€119.99/~AU$195.00/US$135.00.

For more information please visit www.thec64.com

 

Super Mario Bros. 64 Has Been Unleashed On The C64

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Wahoo, after 7 years in development, Super Mario Bros. is finally released on our beloved Commodore 64! A huge thank you to ZeroPaige for the hard work in coding this masterpiece.

For those few that don’t know, this creation is a Commodore 64 port of the 1985 game Super Mario Bros. which was originally released for Famicom and the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). This brilliant port contains the original version that was released in Japan and United States, as well as the European version – how awesome is that! It also detects and supports a handful of turbo functionalities, and has 2 SID support. We can finally experience Super Mario Bros. in fully glory on our C64s!

The download links can be found on the Lemon64 forum. The disk-image contains 2 programs:

  • SUPER M. BROS.64 – the game (everything in one file); and
  • SMB.64 DOCS – the game manual.

A cartridge-file is also provided, containing the game which can also be used on the C64GS!

For more details on this game and all its features go here.

NOTE: If the Super Mario Bros. 64 file(s) have been taken down, then that is the work of Nintendo’s DMCA notice to file sharing sites 🙁

 

GORF: The Great Oz Retro-Technology Festival

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Hey Retro Peeps, you can spend four days enjoying the company of other retro-technology enthusiasts at GORF: the Great Oz Retro-Technology Festival, at Urban Camp in Melbourne, from April 24th-28th 2019.

Modelled after the wildly-successful US KansasFest event, GORF is an ‘unconference’ that brings together 8 and 16-bit computer enthusiasts, classic console hackers and arcade collectors to celebrate a pivotal era in the development of modern electronics in a communal ‘stay and play’ environment where attendees sleep over at the venue.

Two keynotes will explore the history of the Australian MicroBee computer (with designer Owen Hill) and the local video-game development scene of the 1980s (with Doctor Melanie Swalwell), followed by presentations given by attendees (hopefully including you!) on a variety of subjects regarding a variety of computing and video-gaming platforms.

There’s also an event-long hackathon (coined the GORF-a-thon) where participants will compete to create the most intriguing retro-related project, a game competition night and a documentary screening. Meals will be provided, except Saturday night when attendees will go out on the town to visit Melbourne’s retro-gaming bars.

GORF: it’s a summer camp for retro-geeks. Go and join in!

Ticket sales close April 1st. For more information or to book visit GORF.

 

 

Sam’s Journey on THEC64 Mini

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The greatest ever Commodore 64 platformer (yes, it is!), Sam’s Journey has now been tweaked to play natively on THEC64 Mini!

When C64 games publisher and our very good friends at Protovision gave us the news that they are working with Knights of Bytes to bring us a THEC64 Mini version of Sam’s Journey, we must admit, there were lots of high-fives around the office.

If you don’t know anything about Sam’s Journey, well, all you need to know is that it is an absolutely sublime platformer and one of the best games released for the C64 in the past decade.

So what’s different about this version you may ask? Well, this version permits the THEC64 Mini user to read and start the game from a USB stick, making the previous workarounds totally obsolete. THEC64 Mini version also allows the user to jump by means of the additional buttons where you previously had to use the “joystick up” move. Oh yeah, this version of Sam’s Journey also takes advantage of better loading routines (taking advantage of the latest THEC64 Mini firmware).

If you have THEC64 Mini, then this special version of Sam’s Journey is a must! The download package is available via Protovision as well as on itch.io. If you already own Sam’s Journey, then you are in luck, as this special version is available free of charge to you!

 

Mini 3D Printed Classic Consoles and Computers

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Do you want to collect retro gaming consoles and retro computers? Do you have a space issue?

If you answered yes to both questions, then Dave Nunez of Rabbit Engineering has a solution for you! Dave has created and 3D printed a series of more than 100 miniature devices and peripherals based on classic old school computers and video game consoles, each of which is small enough to fit in the palm of your hand (Ed: space issue solved!). They may not be exact replicas or to scale, but they definitely capture the spirit and style of the system to induce nostalgia!

Here is a sample of Dave’s very cool creations – you can check out the rest via his Rabbit Engineering Etsy store.

image source: Rabbit Engineering

[via: technabob]

 

Custom-Made Video Game Toys by Dano Brown

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We have featured a couple of brilliant custom-made toy builders here before, but we reckon Dano Brown takes the mantle for the most awesome hand-crafted video game related action figures and toys. Dano Brown, you sir are unbelievably talented!

Check out some of Dano Brown’s jaw-dropping custom-made toys below and then head to his Instagram to see the rest of his brilliant creations! Oh yeah, if you wanna buy any of these one-off custom toys, head to the iam8bit store.

image source: Dano Brown via Instagram

 

Awesome Chiptunes: 8 Bit Weapon

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There is something about lo-tech chiptune music that gets the old aural nostalgic nerve tingling. Listening to 8 Bit Weapon’s self titled album of chipmusic certainly took us back to the heyday of computer generated music that we loved to listen to, even if the associated game was absolute crap. Music has a way of speaking to us, no matter the times we are in.

8 Bit Weapon’s album is the culmination of sound experiments that started in 2015 and ending in 2017. Created via the original Game Boy and Commodore 64 (Ed: SID forever!), the artists sought to explore the outer reaches of the Game Boy’s 8-bit CPU/4-bit sound chip, especially it’s dynamic wave channel sound manipulation capacity with the addition of the Commodore 64 SID synth bass and other sounds to round out the albums sound.

Please don’t ask us to pick a favourite track, as it is like asking to pick our favourite child – impossible! OK, if push came to shove, then we’d say Dungeon Crawler Baller is our fave track, but only just – seriously, all the tracks are ace and unique in their own way.

What Seth and Michelle (8 Bit Weapon) have created is pure awesome original and unique chiptunes that your ears will want you to play over and over. If you are into chiptunes, then this album is for you. Get it now!

Artists: 8 Bit Weapon
Album: 8 Bit Weapon (available via Bandcamp)
Cost: USD $5.00 (or more)

Michelle and Seth are 8 Bit Weapon
image source: 8 Bit Weapon

Disclosure: 8 Bit Weapon kindly provided us with the download of their album for this article.

 

The Rise of Mr. Nintendo

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As Nintendo started to break into the U.S. market, they searched for a spokesperson with a true passion for gaming. They chose Howard Phillips, an employee working in the Nintendo warehouse. Little did he know that he was about to become a gaming legend!

Learn the entire origin story behind Mr. Nintendo in the Emmy® nominated series 8 Bit Legacy!


source: Great Big Story – 8 Bit Legacy

 

Bear Beware!

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We don’t have to convince you that interest in retro games has never been higher. Take John Darnell’s Bear Beware! (previously known as Sleepwalker) for instance – it was released on the Commodore 64 in April 2017 which quickly became a fan favourite amongst retro  gamers.

Fast forward to 2018 and John Darnell (Another Fine Mess) is about to release Bear Beware! on Android, iOS, PC and Mac so it can be enjoyed on modern systems, not just on the old trusty C64. There is even a hint that Bear Beware! will be coming out later for the Nintendo Switch – which is absolutely awesome news!

So what’s this Bear Beware! game all about you may ask? Well, it’s origins date back to 1984! Yes, 1984! Back then John Darnell (working for Software Projects in Liverpool developing Kane 1 & 2, Dragon’s Lair, Escape From Singes Castle, Star Paws and Jet Set Willy 2) had conceived Bear Beware! but the game was lost to the mists of time. Luckily for us John hadn’t forgotten about the game he came up with all those years ago, re-coding his original idea from scratch, delivering a fantastic arcade adventure that fans of classic retro games like Jet-Set Willy will love!

Bear Beware! revolves around the heroic efforts of the protagonist Security Guard Hero rescuing his little sleepwalking Funfair Buddy and getting him back to bed before he wakes up. Sounds easy aye? Welllllll, you must traverse 25 levels infested with all kinds of nasty peeps that are hellbent on stopping your Buddy getting back to bed.

Bear Beware! will be available free to play in the comings weeks (March/April 2018). You can follow the exploits of Bear Beware! on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

image source: Bear Beware! by AFM