Donkey Kong

Peter Alexander Super Mario Sleepwear – Game On!

February 28, 2019 By ausretrogamer

Check out the Peter Alexander – Super Mario Game On sleepwear! Lots of Nintendo based character pyjamas, shorts, tops and slippers for boys and girls of all ages!

Thanks again to our friend, Lane Myer for bringing this to our attention and to Ms. Ausretrogamer for taking some snaps from the Peter Alexander store. We’ll now all look cool when we sleep *wink*

photo by: Ms. Ausretrogamer

image source: Peter Alexander

photo by: Ms. Ausretrogamer

image source: Peter Alexander

photo by: Ms. Ausretrogamer

Emoji Art for Geeks

February 18, 2019 By ausretrogamer

We knew there was a good use for emojis!

Our talented co-founder, Ms. Ausretrogamer has put emojis to good use by creating iconic artwork of pop culture geekiness, from Star Wars, Dr. Who, Donkey Kong, to The Simpsons, Bob’s Burgers, The Shining and Mortal Kombat to name just a few.

If you don’t want to miss Ms. Ausretrogamer’s geeky emoji artwork, follow her on Twitter.

Retro Gaming Festival Coming To QV Melbourne

August 27, 2018 By ausretrogamer

Woohoo, it’s Game/On at QV Melbourne from this Friday, 31 August till Sunday 23 September!

QV Melbourne welcomes the new spring season with their month long Game/On event which will feature a retro gaming world with Pacman, Donkey Kong to name just a few, gaming lounges and an Augmented Reality (AR) Scavenger Hunt, live music and lots more to get your game on!

In the QV Melbourne Retro Gaming Arcade Zone there will be all of your favourite retro video games, from Frogger, Pac-Man to Donkey Kong and Space Invaders! And guess what, it’s all FREE to be enjoyed from 11am – 7pm daily in QV Square.

image source: ms.ausretrogamer

Did you say you want competitions? Well then you are in luck! There will be plenty of Gamer vs Gamer Competitions, so grab your friends (or a few strangers) and get your game on in a Super Smash Bros. showdown in QV Square! Competitions will be held every Friday from 5pm. Heats are on the 31st August, 7th and 14th of September, with the finals taking place on Friday, 21st September. If you think you’re up for the challenge (of course you are!), then get practising and register here!

If you prefer a quest, then the Augmented Reality (AR) Scavenger Hunt is for you! Explore the QV Laneways with this exclusive and FREE AR scavenger hunt for your chance to win part of a $10,000 prize pool. Some of the great prizes up for grabs include:

– Republic Boutique gift voucher
– Dyson Supersonic Hairdryer
– $100 Bar Tab from Father’s Office
– Marshall Midi ii Bluetooth Headphones, plus more!

For more deets on the AR Scavenger Hunt, check out the T&Cs.

And for every one that just wants to immerse themselves in Game/On nostalgia, there will be a party on every Friday night from 4-7pm, with a Nintendo themed candy bar, a DJ spinning retro chiptunes and a live progressive art installation in Albert Coates Lane, painted by some of Melbourne’s most vibrant visual artists. Like we said, the best part is that it is all FREE for you to enjoy.

Oh yeah, make sure you tag @qvmelbourne and use the hashtag #QVGameOn when you visit QV Square for Game/On between Friday 31 August and Sunday 23 September to go in the draw to win a $500 QV shopping spree.

Game On like Donkey Kong!

image source: ausretrogamer at PAX Aus

Highest-Grossing Arcade Machines of All Time

June 15, 2018 By ausretrogamer

Let’s reflect and gloat for one second – it was great to be alive during the Golden Age of Arcade video games and experience arcade joints first-hand; from the clean franchised ones to the decrepit dark and scary independent ones – we loved them all.

Oh yeah, we loved the games too, from coin dropping in Galaga, Bomb Jack, Pac-Man, Tron, Double Dragon, DragonNinja to Sega’s beasts like Space Harrier, Super Hang-On, OutRun, After Burner and Thunder Blade – we spent up big and loved every single second of it.

The 1990s started with us hammering coins into Atari’s Pit-Fighter, Capcom’s Final Fight and Street Fighter II. However, it was Sega’s Daytona USA that emptied our piggy bank of coins – we just could not get enough of it.

source: The Arcade Flyer Archive

Looking at the top 10 highest grossing arcade games (below), we can tell you that we played them all during their heyday and understand why the dot munching Pac-Man is perched right up top – the game was a breath of fresh air (for its time), as it wasn’t a derivative of the then plethora of space shoot’em ups. Pac-Man was truly a revolutionary title which had universal appeal, both male and female gamers loved chasing Inky, Blinky, Pinky and Clyde.

source: A-1 Arcade Gaming

So what of Atari’s Pong then? Well, the 1972 game did very well for Atari, they sold somewhere between 8,500 to 19,000 units (1972 to 1973) grossing them around $11Million US dollars – not bad for 1973!

The revenues generated were quite staggering, reaffirming the Golden Age of Arcade video games period as the most prosperous of them all, with Street Fighter II, Mortal Kombat and NBA Jam flying the flag for the 1990s.

Source: Wikipedia, USGamer and Goliath

The UNIQLO UTGP’17 Nintendo T-Shirts Are Out Now

October 11, 2017 By ausretrogamer

The wait is over peeps! Remember how we told you back in May about the UNIQLO Nintendo T-Shirt Grand Prix (UTGP’17) competition winners? Well now you can head on in to your local UNIQLO store and snag a few (or all) of the UTGP’17 Nintendo tees!

We started with one tee because we love Donkey Kong, but we couldn’t resist grabbing the two Super Mario tees. Oh yeah, the littlest member of the ausretrogamer crew also scored herself some tees – check them out!

If you intend on going into their store, UNIQLO also have a free play area for you to enjoy some premium Nintendo video gaming! And don’t fret if there is no bricks and mortar store near you, just head to their online store and buy them all!

Remember folks, life cannot be reset!

Whoa, where to begin…

Of course there were plenty of Mario related tees. Oh yeah, Luigi gets in on the act too!

Do your eyes hurt?

Metroid and Zelda fans will be happy

Whoa, we love 8-bit Mario (which was the winning design)!

There is even a junior 8-bit Mario tees! Our little one will love this!

One of the cool Donkey Kong tees

We had to grab this DK tee!

The back of the DK tee is as cool as the front! The level of detail is just sublime.

Wish they had this in adult size *sad face*

Just some of the UTGP’17 tees we grabbed. We will be going back for more!

After you are done shopping, play some (free) Nintendo video games!

So true!

Donkey Kong Advanced

February 24, 2017 By ausretrogamer

Yep, you read that heading right – an advanced Windows version of the seminal Nintendo arcade classic, Donkey Kong. Take a bow on a job well done, Mr. Justin Bohemier!

When our very good friend Aaron Clement (from Press Play On Tape Podcast fame) gave us the heads up on this game, we thought we would do the same by sharing it with the rest of you. Before Ninty’s lawyers issue a cease and desist, make sure you grab your copy of Donkey Kong Advanced now!

So you may ask, what’s new in this version of Donkey Kong Advanced? Since you asked nicely, here you go:

Levels are different, some are completely new, while others have the same level structure with some differences
New switch, laser, and key system to save Pauline
Mario (Jumpman) can jump off high platforms and land without killing himself (yahoo!)
New heart bonus items are worth 2000 points but are tricky to get
Barrels rebound off the floor higher than before – so watch out
Hitting barrels with the hammer doesn’t pause the game during the explosion
Level 4 is icy – there is a special shoe item to pickup that makes it not slippery

source: Justin Bohemier

image source: Donkey Kong Advanced in itch.io

Paper Video Games

May 11, 2016 By Ms. ausretrogamer

In this clever stop motion animated video by MysteryGuitarMan (a.k.a. Joe Penna), classic video games (Asteroids, Flappy Bird, Super Mario Bros., Donkey Kong, Sonic the Hedgehog, Mario Kart, Pac-Man and Pokemon to be precise) are recreated using printed or projected stock footage – very impressive and very cute!

Also by MysteryGuitarMan:
Stop Motion Mario

Stuck in a Video Game

Source: MysteryGuitarMan via Laughing Squid

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Ms. ausretrogamer
Co-founder, editor and writer at ausretrogamer – The Australian Retro Gamer E-Zine. Lover of science fiction, fashion, books, movies and TV. Player of games, old and new.

Follow Ms. ausretrogamer on Twitter

Donkey Kong In Real Life

April 24, 2016 By Ms. ausretrogamer

Have you ever wondered what Donkey Kong would look like in real life? Of course you have. Well wonder no more, Banks shows us exactly what it would be like – and it’s awesome!

Want more? Watch Tetris in real life or the making of the Donkey Kong in Real Life video.

Source: MyNameIsBanks via Cheezburger

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Ms. ausretrogamer
Co-founder, editor and writer at ausretrogamer – The Australian Retro Gamer E-Zine. Lover of science fiction, fashion, books, movies and TV. Player of games, old and new.

Follow Ms. ausretrogamer on Twitter

Coffee And Videogames

January 10, 2016 By Ms. ausretrogamer

Coffee is great, but can it be improved? The only possible way is to combine it with videogames. These awesome coffee and videogame mashups will prove it’s a winning combination.

CapsuleKong is a beautiful coffee pod holder inspired by, you guessed it, Donkey Kong. Watch out for those capsules Jumpman!

Video source: Hologramer on YouTube

Have a joyful start to your day with this Space Invaders arcade mug.

WELCOME TO CAFFEINE ZONE!

You very own Weighted Companion Cup.

Can I please have a cup of coffee? Shoryuken!

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Ms. ausretrogamer
Co-founder, editor and writer at ausretrogamer – The Australian Retro Gamer E-Zine. Lover of science fiction, fashion, books, movies and TV. Player of games, old and new.

Follow Ms. ausretrogamer on Twitter

Sean Tagg: The PAX Aus King Of Kong

November 10, 2015 By ausretrogamer

There was no doubt that the Classic Gaming area was popular at this year’s PAX Aus event. One of the more popular attractions were the competitions, especially the high score challenge on the original Donkey Kong arcade machine (Ed: a big thanks to Greg Pell for sharing his awesome machine with us all!).

The PAX Aus patrons swarmed to the Donkey Kong machine like moths to a flame. High scores were racked up while players took control of ‘Jumpman’ to hurdle over barrels in the attempt to save Pauline from the evil clutches of the great anthropomorphic gorilla.

With great poise and precision four-way control, Sean Tagg showed the masses how to go about saving Pauline. While Billy Mitchell was declared the King Of Kong all those years ago, it was Sean Tagg’s high score of 103,900 (on Sunday) which saw him crowned as the PAX Aus King Of Kong! Well done Sean!

Sean Tagg barrel jumps and then hammers his way up to the top!