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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]



1991 Toys “R” Us Awesome Vintage Catalogue

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We love old toys and video game catalogues. We have previously featured the Toys “R” Us 1996 Christmas catalogue and the hefty 830+ page 1992 Christmas Sears, Roebuck & Co. ‘The Great American Wish Book’ to tickle your nostalgic nerve.

Well, now we present you with the 1991 Toys “R” Us (US) catalogue that features classic toys and some very classic video gaming systems that will definitely jolt your nostalgic nerve. Enjoy!



source: eBay



Infographic of the Most Popular Consoles and Games by US State

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Guest Post By: Evan S from JJGames

From the original Zelda games on the NES to GoldenEye 007 on the N64 and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas on the PS2, we take a look at the consoles of choice for retro gamers across America.

You never forget the first time you completed Super Mario Bros. You also never forget the first time you held one of those iconic Playstation controllers or when the best way to troubleshoot a game was to blow in the cartridge.

Times have changed and new consoles have come and gone, but there’s still something to be said about those iconic gaming systems that we were raised on. Their games have a unique charm that no amount of fancy graphics can make up for, which is why we turn to emulators and why original NES games still in their boxes go for hundreds of dollars on eBay.

To celebrate the release of a new infographics, which digs into the favourite consoles by state and favourite games by states, we thought we’d jump on in and take a look at the data.

NOTE: The infographics are based on the number of units sold for each game/console on JJGames.com from 1999 to 2019. More than 2.5 million games sold.

[Click on each infographic to see a larger version]

 

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 🙁

 

Droolworthy Gaming Collection

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Just when we thought we had seen a lot of amazing gaming collections, GameByte hits us between the eyes with Thijs Bastiaens’ (aka: Tiny Collector) droolworthy collection!

Don’t mind our jaw hitting the floor and please have your bib ready before you press play! You’ve been warned!


source: GameByte

 

Stop Motion Super Paper Mario Bros. World 1-1

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Another day and another super cool creation!

This time around it is the amazing stop-motion paper animation of the classic Famicom/NES Super Mario Bros. World 1-1 stage created by Japanese artist KisaragiHutae6. The entire animation was created in his notebook with a bit of old school literal cutting and pasting onto lined notebook paper. The result is phenomenal.

Now press play and be amazed!


source: 如月二重6 Kisaragi Hutae 6

[story source: laughingsquid]

 

 

Hit That Perfect BittBoy – Review

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Remember Bronski Beat’s “Hit that perfect Beat”? You know the one, “I’ve got that feeling, That perfect feeling, That perfect feeling all over me. Beat boy, Beat boy, Hit that perfect beat boy, Beat boy, Beat boy” – yeah, it’s a great 80s electropop tune.

We have no idea why we started this review with Bronski Beat, perhaps it’s due to the name of the new little portable games player, BittBoy! We can’t seem to get the bloody tune out of our head now! Let’s cut this diversion and get back on track! The New BittBoy – is a little Game Boy lookalike that allows you to play your legally owned NES/Famicom, GB and GBC roms from your own microSD card via its built-in NES/Famicom, GB and GBC emulators. That’s it in a nutshell.

Cool specs and features right on the box!

Before we go into how it plays, let us tell you how it looks and feels. The cuteness of this little player is striking and familiar. It’s familiar in the sense that if you ever held a Game Boy (or its many variants, like the Game Boy Pocket), then you’ll feel at home holding the new BittBoy, albeit at a shrunken level. Since it is small (and cute), if you have large-ish hands, then you may experience some cramping. If however your hands aren’t the size of a lion’s paw, you’ll find that BittBoy’s D-pad and buttons feel almost as good as Nintendo’s Game Boy, which is a good thing. The layout of the buttons borrow heavily from the SNES pad, which is a great blueprint to assimilate. The click of the buttons feel good, but they aren’t exactly Nintendo quality, but still good enough as we expected them to feel cheap. Oddly, the black fire buttons feel the best to press for us. So far so good! Oh yeah, don’t be fooled by the screen either, the 2.4″ IPS screen is vivid, bright, and displays games in either LCD (16:9) or CRT (4:3) format, without any stretching or distortion in either of these aspect ratios.

Looks and feels good

We now know that it looks good and feels ok, but how does it work and play? With its built-in emulators, all you need to do is ensure the BittBoy is fully charged and then insert your microSD loaded with your legally owned NES/Fami, GB and/or GBC roms and you are good to play.

Once you turn on the BittBoy, you are greeted by one of the three built-in emulators. Selecting the emulators is as easy as flicking the D-pad to the right (and left). The next step is to select a game by using the D-pad by going up and down the list and pressing the select button to load the game. Exiting back to the emulator menu is an easy one button press on the round R (reset) button. Since there are no separate volume and brightness buttons or dials, BittBoy has cleverly interfaced these controls by using specific button pressing sequences – a very clever design. Another neat feature is the save and load, so you can save your progress and then load it back to kick off where you left off. If you don’t want to bother peeps next to you on the bus, then the 3.5mm headphone jack is there for you to immerse yourself with some 8-bit ditties.

Let’s play – NES/Fami, GB and GBC games!

Playing our handful of NES games we found that the emulation was accurate without any noticeable lag. We thought that the small form factor would hamper gameplay, but to our surprise, we were running Mario from left to right, jumping on blocks, collecting mushrooms and stomping on Goombas with gleeful ease. The GB games were just as good (Tetris is still a killerapp!), however, the emulation couldn’t display that distinct ‘green hue’ from the original Game Boy – a minor gripe really.

Playing some sweet (NES) Super Mario Bros!

The new BittBoy provides around 3 hrs of gaming via its 700 mAh lithium battery before it needs recharging using its packed-in USB cable. Charge time is fairly quick, so you will be back gaming in no time. The package also includes an AV/composite cable to connect the BittBoy player to your TV (via the 3.5mm headphone jack). This is quite novel and a great feature, however we loved using the BittBoy as a portable game player.

There are plenty of handheld systems that can play your old video games, however these usually require some level of hacking and tweaking to make them work. The new BittBoy fills this void by offering folks a pocket-friendly handheld system straight out of the box that can emulate the NES/Famicom, Game Boy and Game Boy Color. If you want a player to emulate other systems, then the BittBoy is not for you, but on the other hand if you are in need of a reasonably priced portable emulator that looks great, feels good and doesn’t pretend to be more than just a NES/Famicom/GB/GBC player, then the New BittBoy is for you.

Product: New BittBoy
Price: US$39.99 / AU$59.99
Available: Now via RetroMini
Package:

  • BittBoy handheld system
  • USB charging cable
  • AV cable

LCD vs CRT – it’s your choice!

Before we play some Tetris, it’s Super Mario Land time!

Super Mario Land in LCD (16:9) aspect ratio

Super Mario Land in CRT (4:3) aspect ratio

The New BittBoy has some beautiful lines

The top of the unit has the microSD slot and ON/OFF switch

The bottom of the BittBoy reveals the 3.5mm jack (headphones + AV/TV out) and USB-C connector for charging

Oo’er, this is one gorgeous little handheld

Disclosure: The New BittBoy system was kindly provided by BittBoy for this review.

 

Classic Gaming Consoles Redesigned as Cars

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Here is something to ponder, what if classic video game consoles were made into cars?

Ponder no more, as Jennings FordDirect from the UK has answered our question – check them out!

image source: Jennings FordDirect

[story source: technobob]

 

Nintendo Quest: The Unofficial and Unauthorised Nintendo Documentary is now on SBS OnDemand!

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PLEASE NOTE: As at February 11 2019, this documentary has expired and is no longer available to view!

Don’t you just love SBS Viceland! For the next 30 days (starting January 11 2019), you can watch the awesome Nintendo Quest: The Unofficial And Unauthorised Nintendo Documentary for free on SBS OnDemand. Oh yeah, it is geo-locked, so it is Australian residents only (sorry everyone else).

For those of you that don’t know about this documentary – it is a fun film that follows Jay Bartlett, a fanatic video game collector, who, on a dare, tries to collect all 678 original NES games – a long-time dream of his. The kicker is, Jay must achieve this tall order in 30 days without using the Internet in any way. While following Jay on his adventure, the film also examines Nintendo’s cultural history, their on-going legacy, and specifically, the endurance of the NES. If you have ever played on a Nintendo system, not just the NES, then we highly recommend you watch this most unofficial and unauthorised Nintendo documentary ever! Oh yeah, it is free (to watch) for the next 30 days, so hop to it!

image source: Rob McCallum Films