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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



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



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



PAX Aus 2022 – It Was Awesome

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After a 3 year in-person hiatus, the biggest gaming event in Australia was back, bigger and better as ever!

It was so awesome to see crowds flocking to PAX Aus 2022, just like they had between 2013 and 2019. Don’t get us wrong, the virtual PAX Aus events were great to have, but nothing beats the in-person experience.

Masked up and stocked with hand sanitizers, Ms. Ausretrogamer and I were glad to be back, or just like the sign said, “Welcome Home”. PAX Aus definitely feels like home, with its inclusive and diversity rich setup, the event and spaces were safe for all to enjoy.

It’s great to be back at PAX Aus!

Greetings!

Whoa, that is a big map! This is where we will end up….

Even though Melbourne experienced a torrent of rain during the course of the weekend (just like it did in 2013!), it didn’t dampen spirits, with cosplayers doing their thing, cosplaying like a boss. In the Expo Hall, we noticed that the big guns were missing (PlayStation, Nintendo and Microsoft, to name a few), but once you immersed yourself in what was on show (especially in the impressive PAX Rising area), you hardly noticed that these AAA companies weren’t there.

DarkWeb Streamer_ was our pick for best in show!

For us, PAX Aus is all about the great panels, indie developers and of course, the Freeplay area, which is still going strong and getting bigger each time we come back! From the tabletop gaming to the merch and tournaments on offer, this area is the heart of PAX Aus. The Freeplay area is also home to our beloved Classic Gaming Area (CGA)! Unfortunately we had to step back in being part of the CGA for this year, but we were so proud to see the amazing teams from Weird and Retro, Press Play On Tape, Mr. Pinball, Reality Games, Bartronica and the Pinball community create another amazing space for folks to get a hit of some intoxicating nostalgia.


source: Alex Kidman

For those of you that couldn’t make it to PAX Aus this year, we thought we’d share some photos from the event (see above and below, including the above video of the Classic Gaming Area from the equally awesome, Alex Kidman) to hopefully bring the event home to your screens and make you feel like you were there too!

Expo Hall

Freeplay Hall – including the Classic Gaming Area

 



PAX AUS is THIS WEEK!

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After 3 years, PAX Aus is coming back home – in person

It’s that time of year where we all gather at PAX Aus for some amazing times. Naturally, we are biased by saying that you should all definitely come and check out the Classic Gaming Area for a hit of nostalgia (or if you are so inclined, to participate in the many tournaments to earn bragging rights!).

For now, to get you all hyped for PAX Aus 2022, check out our posts from the last in person PAX Aus in 2019. We hope to see many of you at this year’s event!



Arcade Machine Coin Slot: Insert Coin To Play Anything

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Now this one hits right in the nostalgia bit of our retro heart! We pumped countless coins into arcade and pinball machines, back when they were 60c per play, but then quickly become $1 and $2 gold coins per play! Ah, those were the days.

If you want to relive the experience (at home or in the office) of seeing a coin slot and coin return, then TAMA-KYU’s arcade machine coin slots will be right up your alley!

We would love to grab these 4 different coin slots (priced ¥300 YEN / $3.20 AUD each) and stick them on our microwave oven, fridge, TV and of course, our gaming console(s)!

Cha-ching!

image and story source: technabob(via PR Times JP)



Daytona USA Arcade – A Sorry Sight

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There is a special place in hell for the peeps responsible for this sickening sight!

We found this post by Sammy Levin on the Aussie Arcade Facebook group and were quite saddened to see an iconic Sega arcade game treated in such a way. Thankfully, Sammy updated his post to say that it was saved – woohoo! Phew, it is great to know that this sad story has a happy ending.

Long live Daytonaaaaaaaaaaa USA!

image source: Aussie Arcade on Facebook



It’s On Like Donkey Kong – The Amazing PC Case

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Sometimes there is a huge pay off being in Facebook creator / modder groups, like the PC Builders Community group, which as the name suggests, is where clever peeps share their creations and modifications.

On this occasion, group member, Dennis Riese shared his custom Donkey Kong PC case, which as you can see in the photos, is mind-blowingly amazing!

Impressed with the PC case? You should be! The intricate level of detail is so spot on, this would pass as a Nintendo first party PC case – it looks that good. So what’s powering this liquid-cooled beast under the hood? It’s just as impressive as the case:

  • Motherboard – ASUS ROG Maximus XII Hero
  • Processor – Intel i9 10900
  • Graphics Card – NVIDIA GeForce 3080Ti Founders Edition with Corsair Hydro X water block
  • RAM – 32GB Crucial Ballistix MAX
  • OS – Windows 11 Pro
  • Storage 1 – WD Black 500gig M.2 NVme
  • Storage 2 – Samsung 970 Evo+ 2TB M.2 NVme
  • Cooling – 2 Corsair Hydro X water loops

Dennis says that,

Fun build and completely overkill for me to play Minesweeper on it but I am big on future proofing.

This Donkey Kong PC case is just next level awesome!

image source: Dennis Riese via Facebook



Taito Egret II Mini Arcade To Get An Update

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TAITO EGRET II MINI OWNERS: There will be an update that can be downloaded starting September 5th!

This is awesome news for those of you that were lucky enough to snag the Taito Egret II Mini. To commemorate the half year anniversary of the Egret II Mini, a commemorative program will be broadcast live on Famitsu Tube.

This live web broadcast will be delivered by the editorial department of Famitsu.com – a Japanese gaming and entertainment information/magazine site. Celebrities known for their love of games will serve as MCs and introduce the appeal of the latest games together with the Famitsu staff.


source: FamitsuTube

Voice actor Miyu Takagi will be the Master Of Ceremonies of the live broadcast this Friday, September 2nd.  There is much excitement in anticipating what will be revealed this Friday in relation to the half-year anniversary of the Taito’s Egret II Mini. Some of the updates that Taito has disclosed for the Egret II Mini ( available on September 5th) include:

  • Game Adjustments including controls (including spinner controller)
  • Bug Fixes on 8 titles
  • Display Adjustments whereby the aspect ratio of all 50 titles displayed on the main unit to be changed to 4:3, also changing the aspect ratio to 4:3 for screen display via HDMI output. Resolution of the title wallpapers will also be lowered to improve game performance while connecting to a TV via HDMI

You will need an SD card (or micro SDHC card with a SD conversion adapter) to transfer the update from your computer to the Egret II Mini. You will need at least 512 MB (FAT32) to store the update. We can’t wait!



story source: Taito

Our Fun Factory Gets a RPI2DMD Retro Arcade Wall Clock

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We have always admired the Run-DMD clock and RPI2DMD arcade wall clocks, but getting one always proved elusive.

In October last year we serendipitously stumbled upon a new post on a UK pinball forum advertising a limited run of these DMD retro arcade clocks. We immediately registered our interest and the rest as they say, is history! The maker of these was going to do a run of about 30 units, so we definitely got lucky, as they got snapped up within minutes of the post going live!

Let the build begin!

We received our meticulously handmade RPI2DMD Retro Arcade Wall Clock in early January, which was amazing, considering all the international shipping disruptions due to the pandemic.

We must say, this amazing DMD panel is eye-poppingly gorgeous in real life and is quite large – which is a good thing. The DMD clock is connected via WiFi (it also has an Ethernet/RJ45 port), allowing us to login and configure our location (for time and weather information) and the animations we want to cycle through.

Speaking of animations, this thing is loaded! It has 5235 animations to be exact. The animations range from arcade and pinball attraction screens, logos, consoles, computers, to Christmas and Halloween GIFs to name just a few. There were also some *ahem* questionable adult animations, but we switched those off for obvious reasons.

Setting up the RPI2DMD

DMD Wall Clock

Specs of the RPI2DMD Retro Arcade Clock include:

  • Built on Raspberry Pi, Custom software, Colour panels, Remote accessibility and settings
  • Brightness settings dependant on the time of day (so it can go dim at night, and then on bright at 8am for example)
  • Edit the display duration (or switch the individual function off!), choose different fonts & background images
  • Display a 7-day weather forecast (using an API key from OpenWeatherMap)
  • WiFi and Ethernet connection
  • 5000+ animations across 14 categories

And of course, to do all of this, ideally you would need a Wifi Connection, or wired Ethernet (although not essential, highly recommended – the Weather forecast does NOT work without an internet connection).

The wait to get one of these was definitely worth it. It looks absolutely amazing and is always a great conversation starter.

Testing the RPI2DMD

Shinobi on DMD Wall Clock