The Pop-Culture E-Zine
Check out these amazing tabletop arcade cabinets created by Hidecade!
According to Hidecade, the Xevious tabletop arcade is complete with a vertical screen and a JAMMA harness – which is totally mind-blowing! Oh how we wish these were for sale 😉
source: Arcade Cabinets on ameblo.jp
We love finding old raw footage from the golden age of arcade gaming. This time, it is from a Tokyo arcade parlour from 1979.
As we wind back the clock some 40+ years, this news story features Tokyo’s arcade parlour, World Game, as it stood in 1979! It is so awesome to see patrons pumping coins into arcade machines, like Space Invaders, just like we did all those years ago!
source: btm0815ma
You would have all guessed it by now that we are huge fans of Namco’s timeless classic arcade and iconic vertical shoot’em up, GALAGA. The constant pew pew pewing at enemy ships as they stream down and across the screen never gets old!
It seems that we are not alone in our love of Galaga, as Etsy seller Wardingers has created these awesomely cute 1 inch Galaga Enamel Pins which we would proudly wear on our lanyard as we blast those pesky enemy ships!
source: Wardingers on Etsy
We love finding these promo videos of arcade games we used to love and play at amusement centres back in the day.
The below promotional video is for Sega’s Scud Race arcade game from 1996. Scud Race (Sports Car Ultimate Drive) was also known as Sega Super GT in North America.
Oh yeah, keep an ear out on how “Sega” is pronounced in this promo video – long live See-gah!
source: Australian Pinball Museum
We love finding obscure mini documentaries from the early 80s, just like this What’s Up America! mini documentary, titled Video Warriors, which provides an insight on the state of the arcade video games industry circa 1980.
This documentary features a fresh-faced Atari co-founder Nolan Bushnell, Lyle Rains (Atari VP of Engineering, Coin-Operated Games Division), and Roger Hector (Atari Manager of Advanced Products) to name a few. The focus is primarily on Atari Coin-Ops games, but arcade games from other manufacturers are also shown. We really love the part where Roget Hector discusses his co-creation, Atari’s (unreleased) Cosmos holographic handheld games system!
For those of you outside of North America, the What’s Up America! TV series ran on the Showtime channel from 1979-1981. Now go and enjoy this hit of nostalgia!
source: Scottith Games
The folks at Replay Magazine have been quite busy of late conducting classic gaming surveys, like Your Top 4 Favourite Classic Video Game Characters of All-Time, and their latest one, Your Top 10 Favourite Classic Video Games.
We were quite surprised to see Ms. Pac-Man at number 1, but then again, it is the best arcade Pac-Man game, so it deserves to be on any favourite classic video games lists. Galaga (woohoo!) was up there in second spot and of course, Donkey Kong! Oh yeah, great to see our fave arcade game of all time, Double Dragon, make the list too. But what happened to Street Fighter II?
Your Top 10 Favourite Classic Video Games by Replay Magazine:
image source: Click Americana
The good folks at Replay Magazine recently conducted a survey to find out who was our favourite video game character of all time.
Well, it was no surprise to see the usual suspects, however, we honestly thought Mario would be on top of the list. Oh yeah, how did Dirk the Dragon Slayer (Dragon’s Lair) make it in third spot and where was Sonic The Hedgehog?!
Upon reflection, the iconic yellow dot-muncher definitely deserves to be on top. We can’t wait for Replay’s next surveys, so stay tuned.
Top 4 Favourite Video Game Characters of all-time:
image source: Just Kidding
The amount of talent and knowledge some people have is beyond comprehension. One particular person got our attention on Twitter, gaug888. gaug888’s miniature Sega arcade machine creations are beyond amazing! Not only are they faithful miniature recreations of their bigger arcade brethren, they also play the arcade video games they are based on – totally mind blowing!
The meticulous level of detail of these miniature creations are off the charts. We reckon Yu Suzuki would be quite impressed too!
PS: If you want to check out the complete and documented log of gaug888’s miniature creations, head to Togetter now.
image source: gaug888 via Togetter
We are suckers for anything that gives us a hit of nostalgia. This officially licensed 1/12 Retro Upright Cabinet TAITO Set has certainly hit our nostalgic spot! These 1/12 scale arcade cabinets definitely bring back that familiarity in playing these machines back in the day.
The awesome bit of kit comes complete with wooden cutouts for the arcade cabinets, cabinet colour artwork, game screens and control panel cards for three of TAITO’s arcade games; KiKi KaiKai, Bubble Bobble and Elevator Action. These are so darn cute!
Product: 1/12 Retro Upright Cabinet TAITO Set
Store: Play Asia
Price: US$17.99 / AU$28.34
image source: Play Asia
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.