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Iconic SEGA Akihabara Building 2 To Close Soon

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It looks like we will never cross this one off our bucket list 🙁

SEGA’s Building 2 (formerly known as SEGA GiGo / Akihabara GiGo) is set to close on August 30th. Building No. 2 opened on the southern edge of Akihabara in October 2003, becoming a favourite for arcade video game enthusiasts and gaming nostalgia-seeking peeps.

It would seem that the current world health crisis has hit the Electronic Town quite hard, with a big downturn in visitor numbers. SEGA hasn’t as yet provided any formal reason for the impending closure, except for this post and the sign below, which reads (translation by SoraNews24):

image source: Arcade Otaku via Twitter

“Notice of Closure

Thank you for your continued patronage.

We are sorry to announce that this branch, Sega Akihabara Building 2, will be closing.

Our last day of operations will be Sunday, August 30.

The entire staff wishes to express, from the bottom of our hearts, our sincere gratitude at the loving support you have given our establishment for so many years.”

If you have visited SEGA’s Building No. 2, we would love to hear your stories (and see some pics), so please share them with us on Twitter or Facebook!

image source: That Damn Pixel / header image: Google

 

Mortal Kombat 1oz Silver Coin – The Flawless Collectable

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When it comes to cool pop culture collectables, New Zealand Mint (aka: NZ Mint) is on the money in satisfying collectors and geeks alike!

NZ Mint has created a number of video gaming related collectables over the years, so their pedigree in this category is second to none. We previously collected their Space Invaders 40th and Tetris 35th anniversary silver coins which proved quite popular with you all.

Following on from their successful Space Invaders and Tetris silver coins, NZ Mint has now introduced a limited (to 2,020 pieces of the) Mortal Kombat 1oz Silver Coin collectable. This arcade cabinet and silver coin are right in our wheelhouse! During the early ’90s we played the heck out of Mortal Kombat in the arcades, patiently waiting our turn to inflict some gruesome attacks to earn flawless victories. We are happy to say, this NZ Mint Mortal Kombat 1oz Silver Coin definitely earns a flawless victory!!!

This awesome collectable embodies everything cool that is Mortal Kombat! When you open the package, you are greeted by the specially designed Mortal Kombat-themed arcade cabinet, complete with the game logo and three of the original characters on each side; Sub-Zero, Scorpion and Raiden. The “Choose your Fighter” screen is also a great touch to the presentation.

Lifting the arcade cabinet off the base reveals the precious two dollar silver coin collectable cushioned in black velvet. The coin has the words ‘Mortal Kombat’ and the mythical dragon engraved against the fiery red and yellow background colours that are synonymous with the game. The coin is absolutely stunning, which means we can’t keep our hands off it! The other side of the coin features the Ian Rank-Broadley effigy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

To complete this collectable is the confirmation of the coin’s authenticity, which is printed under the base. With the Mortal Kombat 1oz Silver Coin being officially licensed by Warner Brothers and its limited availability to 2,020 units worldwide (reflecting the year of issue), this is the perfect memento for those who grew up playing Mortal Kombat or for any arcade fighter gaming enthusiasts! No ‘Fatality’ here, only a ‘Flawless Victory’!

Disclaimer: NZ Mint kindly provided the Mortal Kombat 1oz Silver Coin for this article.

 

Self Isolate by Bringing the Arcade to your Home

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As the global coronavirus pandemic continues to rear its ugly head, we have all been told to practise social distancing and self isolation to give us a chance at beating this insidious pathogen.

With non-essential businesses shutting down across the board – for the greater good we might add, there is no way we can carry on going out to play our fave arcade or pinball machines at our local entertainment venues. Unless you are one of those lucky folks with a games room full of machines, there are now options to rent arcade or pinball machines for a month (or more) to keep you and your family (sane and) entertained while in quarantine.

In the US, Portland barcade, QuarterWorld, decided to get quite creative during the mandatory four week shutdown of all bars and restaurants by offering their machines for home rental to supplant their income. The Oregonian’s video shows just how QuarterWorld makes the home rental look easy and very enticing.

If you are in Australia, then you are in luck too! Month-long rentals are available from operators that are doing it tough, with pick-up or delivery. The rental cost will depend on the title selected and of course, a better deal could be had if you opt for more than one machine or when you extend the rental for more than a month.

Lil-ausretrogamer enjoys pressing pinball machine buttons at home while in social isolation

In the Sydney metro area, The Pinball Network have machines for rent per month in the range of $400 to $450, with pick-up from Camperdown or delivery at an additional cost. If you are in Sydney and in need of some pinball action, get in touch with Gary at The Pinball Network via their Facebook Page.

If you are south of the border, then all of you Melbournians are in luck, as you have a number of rental options. You can hit up David at Reality Games Australia to grab yourself a great pinball title, starting at $350 for the month! But wait, there is more! Our good friend and awesome pinball operator, Ryza (Ryan), has unleashed his extensive list of brilliant (and well kept) titles to be enjoyed in your home starting at $375 per month. With machines like the classic Williams Fish Tales, to the newer Stern machines, Ryan has you covered. Hit up Ryan via the Melbourne Pinball Tournaments Facebook Group now.

These are tough times indeed, so if you have the means to help out struggling operators by renting one (or more) of their machines, you will ensure that they will be around when things get back to normal in the near future.

Stay safe, stay at home and have some fun!

image source: RePlay Magazine

 

PAC-MAN Tamagotchi Has Officially Launched

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Waka waka waka waka waka waka

To celebrate the iconic yellow pill muncher’s 40th anniversary this year, Tamagotchi and PAC-MAN have teamed up to bring fans a new virtual pet experience – PAC-MAN TAMAGOTCHI!

The Tamagotchi device stars PAC-MAN as the virtual pet character with iconic PAC-MAN features – see further below!

Officially released on March 15th, PAC-MAN Tamagotchi is now available on store shelves. This is perfect for on-the-go entertainment – it fits easily into pockets or bags and it even includes a wearable key-chain allowing kids or their parents to tend to their PAC-MAN Tamagotchi wherever they go!

PAC-MAN Tamagotchi Features:

  • Raise and nurture your Tamagotchi character with the help of PAC-MAN
  • PAC-MAN will save your Tamagotchi character from the ghosts and bugs
  • Feed your Tamagotchi rice or PAC-MAN’s favourite, cherries
  • Raise your Tamagotchi character from egg to baby to adult
  • 7 adults included, which is determined by how you take care of your PAC-MAN Tamagotchi character
  • Two fun mini-games: play the Pac Game and the Catch Game!
  • Two different shell styles to choose from
  • Two PAC-MAN mazes to choose from; yellow and black
  • Battery (LR44) included
  • No WiFi needed

The PAC-MAN Tamagotchi also comes in a Deluxe Assortment that includes a PAC-MAN case to protect your device! Join the PAC and get ready to commemorate PAC-MAN’s 40th Anniversary as a pop culture and video game icon!

Available from:

  • Amazon (US)
  • Big W (Aus)
  • EB Games (Aus)

image source: Tamagotchi US

 

Game Over: Hardest Video Games Ever

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Even though I have been gaming for over three decades, I am still your average gamer. The 80s arcade games definitely toughened me and sharpened my skills, but there were some games that no matter how sharp I was, I could never beat them.

The following list of wickedly difficult games is an admission of sorts that I never got to see the end credits. Heck, I don’t even think I saw more than a few levels (without cheating) on any of these games.

What are some of your most hardest games ever played? Let us know via Twitter or Facebook.

OUR HARDEST GAMES LIST

Contra / Gryzor / Probotector

Ghosts’n Goblins

Mega Man

Battletoads

Bionic Commando

Green Beret / Rush’n Attack

Impossible Mission

Robotron:2084

Rolling Thunder

Defender

Robocop

Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels

ESWAT: Ciyt Under Siege

Slap Fight

Hellfire

Rick Dangerous

Airwolf

Paperboy

Game Over

 

Rumble In The West: The Pop-Up Retro Arcade and Pinball Bar

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NOTE: Due to the ongoing COVID-19 situation, this event has been cancelled!

 

Now this is a great cause to support! The Sydney Pinball and Arcade Company presents Rumble in the West – a charity POP-UP RETRO ARCADE and PINBALL Bar, coming to Western Sydney on April 25 and 26, 2020. Rumble In the West will help raise funds for CheckPoint, a nonprofit organisation connecting games and gamers with mental health.

The Rumble in the West pop-up arcade and pinball bar will host over 15 pinball machines, 15 arcade machines and video game consoles from the 80s and 90s. Mixing wood fired pizzas, craft beer and cocktails with gaming, the organisers of Rumble in the West aim to create an authentic feeling of classic arcades.

Nostalgia certainly plays a part in the excitement of an event like this! However, there is something to be said for the fun of arcade games in a social environment like a bar. It is the opposite of the home console gaming experience of today. This event is designed to bring people together and experience the fun of these games in a face to face setting.

Rumble in the West organisers have set a goal to raise $10,000.00 for CheckPoint who support the mental health of gamers with resources, community engagement, videos and articles. CheckPoint strive to spread awareness and educate about mental health issues, while reflecting on how those issues impact the lives of people who play games.

John from The Sydney Pinball and Arcade Company says “We couldn’t make this event happen without the support of the local community members who are passionate about games. We want to pass on that goodwill, which is why we decided to make this donation goal to CheckPoint”.

Early bird tickets are currently on sale for the event. Getting to Rumble in the West is easy because they will have a courtesy bus making trips every hour from the Blacktown station. for more information, please visit the event website www.rumbleinthewest.com.

Events Details:

Event: Rumble in the west – a pop-up retro pinball and arcade bar
When: 25th – 26th of April 2020 (1pm till midnight on the 25th & noon to midnight on the 26th)
Where: 30 Holbeche Rd, Arndell Park N.S.W. (10 minutes from Blacktown. 25 minutes from Parramatta)
Tickets: Early bird ticket price: $40.00 (available till March 25th) – purchase here. Entry tickets get you into the venue for the entire day and entry to all competitions, except the pinball competition. All games and activities are free to play. Food and drinks are additional. Kids 14 and under gain free entry.

image source: Rumble in the West

 

Supersized Classic Arcade Games

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By: D.C. Cutler, U.S.A.

Recently, I walked through a very crowded arcade/restaurant and noticed that all the large, supersized arcade games were classics, like Pac-man, Galaga and Space Invaders. They’re large, they’re loud, and, with the large groups around them, they’re popular.

Playing Galaga on a 10-foot high screen gave me a new appreciation for the 1981 game. I never got to play Galaga in an arcade but playing the fixed shooter game on such a large scale was slightly thrilling. It really was something for the senses. My hand-eye coordination was sharp enough to reach several levels. When you’re playing on such a big screen, the enemy ship’s formations are easier to predict; however, it’s still difficult to get set and aim with some accuracy.

When you’re playing a supersized classic, a crowd seems to gather around you as you reach higher levels. That was fun with Galaga, but not so much with the large Pac-Man. For some reason, for me, playing Pac-Man on an enormous screen was difficult. Maybe because I’m so used to playing the iconic game on a small screen. It was sort of intimidating seeing the assorted colored ghosts that large.

I didn’t play Pac-Man for very long. My loses were a little embarrassing. With the games being supersized, for everyone in the arcade to see, it’s humiliating when you perform poorly.

They should supersize more classic games like Donkey Kong and Double Dragon. The enormous Alien game, where you try to kill as many of the xenomorphs and facehuggers as possible, was a blast as well. They had a large Mario Kart game, but with the huge throng gathered around it, I didn’t even attempt to play it.

Playing something vintage in a new, unique way is really exhilarating. And it’s cool to see that the old games enlarged are as prevalent as ever.

image sources: Bandai Namco Amusements, National Event Pros & 8-Bit Central via Pinterest

 

Happy Holidays and All The Best For 2020!

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Ho Ho Ho, Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, Happy Festivus and Season’s Greetings everyone! No matter your type of gaming fun, be it modern, retro, pinball or something in between,  we hope you all have a wonderful Festive Season and may your 2020 be filled with happiness, prosperity, lots of fun and good health!

The ausretrogamer and pinball press teams will be taking a short break to enjoy this time of year with family and friends. See you all in 2020 🙂

image source: Redbubble

image source: VPinball

 

Project D – F1 Spirit

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If you thought the contemporary F1 Spirit video game, a remake of the classic MSX title by Konami, was awesome, wait till you play Retro Reloader’s Project D – F1 Spirit, a tweaked version of Brain Games‘ remake with Initial D arcade style elements, from the music, sound effects, to the enemies, graphics and menu.

Go and burn some rubber, drift or blast a berm in Project D – F1 Spirit!


source: John Retro Reloader

 

Dragon’s Lair Pinball

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When it comes to pinball themes, there is a ton of video game franchises that would translate (and sell) quite well in their silverball incarnation. Getting the permission and license to translate the said video game franchise to make a pinball machine is another story altogether – unless you go homebrew!

Step in Enea Toluzzo, the Italian homebrew pinball extraordinaire, who is in the middle of creating a pinball machine based on Don Bluth and Rick Dyer’s classic arcade video game, Dragon’s Lair. Interestingly, Dragon’s Lair was originally going to be produced by Gottlieb after Black Hole, and an early whitewood prototype was built by the Black Hole designers. However, the idea ended up being scrapped and they built Haunted House instead.

Just checking out the eye popping photos of Enea’s creation will induce a heap of nostalgia and plenty of excitement! Enea aims to complete the homebrew machine and showcase it at Pinball Expo 2020! We may be visiting Chicago in October next year 😉

You can follow Enea’s progress via the Dragon’s Lair Pinball Facebook group.

image source: Dragon’s Lair Pinball – Facebook

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