retrogaming

NAMCO Mini Arcade Machine Collection

October 4, 2016 By ausretrogamer

Have you ever wanted to recreate an arcade parlour from the 80s? You know those dark dingy joints you used to visit and wow at the pew-pew sounds coming out of Galaga or the distinct wakka-wakka-wakka sound effects from a Pac-Man machine? Ah, those were the days.

Now, where were we? Ah, rather than look for a commercial property and hitting eBay to find arcade machines to recreate your dream 80s arcade parlour, these tiny NAMCO Arcade Machines will go a long way to fulfil your creation. There are five in the collection (Galaga, Galaxian, Pac-Man, Rally-X and Tank Battalion), and we truly hope more will be released. Oh yeah, you will have to supply your own well worn carpet with chewing gum for that authentic look and feel.

You can pre-order your NAMCO Arcade Machine Collection now!

A row of beauties!

Recreating the beloved 80s arcade parlour

Going gaga over Galaga!

Fire! Pew-pew!

The level of detail is mind-blowing!

A selfie with Pac-Man…… So cool!

Anyone up for a tank battle?

source: Goodsmile & Kahotan’s Blog

Thrill Of The Chase: The Walking Dead Pinball

September 21, 2016 By ausretrogamer

It’s true what they say: it really is better to give than to receive. And that’s what makes this ‘Thrill Of The Chase‘ extra special, because I was chasing something for a very important person (hint: her name rhymes with Ms Ausretrogamer).

Ms Ausretrogamer loves ‘The Walking Dead‘ and she loves to play pinball, so we’re always on the lookout for TWD tables to play. We’ve travelled far and wide in our quest to kill those zombies, and we’re yet to get tired of it. It’s such a fun table, whether your a newbie or a wizard. So, while watching Ms Ausretrogamer clearing the prison yard and unleashing the Well Walker multi-ball, I made a decision – I had to get her a TWD pinball table of her own! But with only six months until her birthday, I had to move fast.

Searching far and wide, the pinball machine was secured. The next part of the plan was to get it delivered and setup without Ms Ausretrogamer’s knowledge. To keep her off the scent, a decoy birthday gift was created.

With everything in its place, it was time to execute Project Happy Birthday. Ms ausretrogamer was presented with the diorama, where not even Rick Grimes playing a Twilight Zone pinball machine gave her any indication of what was to come! Under the ruse of checking out the birthday decorations in the games room, the surprise was revealed and the look on Ms Ausretrogamer’s face was priceless! That’s when I knew, this thrill of the chase was totally worth it.

The decoy gift

Rearranging the fun factory

Space cleared next to Pin*Bot

The careful delivery – thanks to Skooota and Tony!

The surprise is set!

Even the machine knows it’s an important day!

Surprise!

Reset Podcast Episode 01: The Hewson Episode

September 16, 2016 By ausretrogamer

If you have ever wondered what shenanigans go on behind the scenes in creating a retro computing magazine, then you are in luck! For those of you in the know, the Reset magazine crew got together for the inaugural podcast of the same name to chat about the making of Reset issue #9 (it was the Hewson Consultants theme issue).

If you weren’t in the know, now you know! Listen in and make sure you grab the issue for free over here!

source: Reset on Soundcloud

Varia Cube: The Portable Nintendo GameCube

September 13, 2016 By ausretrogamer

When DIY guru, Martijn Gazenbeek (aka: Akira on the bit fix gaming boards) contacted us to show us his latest creation, we had to pick up our collective jaws off the floor and wipe away the drool! In a tribute to Metroid, in particular Samus Aran’s Varia suit, Martijn has created the Varia Cube, a hot portable GameCube system!

Martijn is no stranger to creating lavish portable systems from old school gaming gear – he was also the mastermind behind the GC Lynx! For this particular project, Martijn toiled for 10 months and we can safely say, it looks like it was well worth the effort. Checking out the technical information (see further below), we are still in awe of this beast! For the full build log, you can go over here.

Oh yeah, the Varia Cube doubles up as a fully functional GameCube console (sans DVD drive) with composite and component out video interfaces to connect to any TV! The system is topped off with an impressive transport case. That Martijn Gazanbeek has thought of everything! Now get your bib on and start drooling!

image source: Bit Fix Gaming boards

* Case made out of a Nintendo GameCube ASCII Keyboard
* Painted in Samus Aran’s Varia Suit colour scheme
* GameCube PAL motherboard
* Original GameCube heatsink with custom fan
* All original Nintendo controls and sticks
* N64 joystick caps
* Nintendo DS Lite D-Pad
* Full original analog trigger (L and R buttons)
* Strong Rumble Feedback Motor
* 7 Inch LCD, VGA, 800 x 480, 16:9, Dalian Good-Display
* Original Nintendo Component video chip wired to produce VGA and Component out
* Swiss software can force any game into 480P and use a widescreen hack to force 16:9 (no stretch) for correct aspect ratio
* Wasp Fusion modchip flashed with Swiss Autoboot firmware
* 6400 mAh batteries (4 x Panasonic 3400 mAh 18650), 2.5 hours gameplay
* Battery Indicator with 4 leds to see how much power is left
* 128 MB Memory card soldered directly onto the motherboard (GameCube slot-A)
* SD Gecko adapter to run homebrew and emulators through Swiss (GameCube slot-B)
* Mini 2*3W @ 4O PAM8803 Class D Audio AMP
* Stereo sound speakers, used from ASUS ME172V MemoPad
* Switching stereo headphone jack
* VGA breakout box connector to hook up the console to a TV
* Switch to select between VGA/Component and swapping controls from console to breakout box for player one
* Audio controlled via right menu button
* Video control to access display menu – to switch between AV (composite) and VGA display
* Play ‘n charge – system can play from wall socket while being charged (comes with charger and power adaptor)
* Comes with 12V car adapter- play on the go with the high amp adapter
* Comes with 1 x 32GB SD card for GameCube games (wasp fusion slot) and 1 x 8GB for homebrew, games and emulators (GameCube Slot-B)
* Comes with breakout box
* Breakout box has 4 player ports, Component video port (Y Pr PB), composite video and stereo audio ports – compatible with Wavebird
* System comes with transport case

Madman Anime Festival: 2016 Highlights

September 10, 2016 By ausretrogamer

We hit our inaugural Madman Anime Festival in Melbourne (Sep 3 and 4) with great expectation and let’s just say, we weren’t disappointed. From being wowed by the awesome cosplay, checking out wonderful special guests like Cristina Lee (voice of Sailor Mars from Sailor Moon) and Makoto Furukawa (voice of Saitama from One-Punch Man), to the great exhibitions and the ever tempting merchandise, there was something to see, do and buy! Speaking of merchandise, we could not leave the festival empty handed, so Ripley and a few of her friends had to come home with us.

If you missed out on the Madman Anime Festival, then check out our highlight pics from this great event.

We arrive at #MadFest

We are armed with our guide

Before we enter the main floor of the festival, we meet Asuka!

Whoa!

OK, let’s do this!

Star Wars temptations

Hahahahaha!

Glamours at Banpresto

Dragon Ball Z represent

“Fire Fist” Ace

Goddamn that’s a big Gundam!

ausretrogamer Ed, Alex Boz can’t resist the urge to pose!

Play time! Final Fantasy XV (pre-release) action!

The Jedi readies his lightsabers

Stopped in our tracks

Oo’er, merchandise!

The great wall of goodness

Anime cinema!

Hey, it’s an anime festival!

Awesome cosplay

Get your weapon ready Ripley, aliens are nearby!

Aliens!

Thundercats classic

Very wicked stuff indeed

Even SBS PopAsia were getting in on the act

Oh yeah, One Punch Man!

Gundams Galore!

The heroes weapons await

A Jedi’s saber doesn’t come cheap

Outside cosplay action

Spring cosplay!

Cosplay at its best!

Hitting the Madman Cosplay Parade!

And it begins!

That is one mad weapon!

The parade gets serious!

Clever cosplay – the Madman logo

Amazing cosplay

Armed forces

Super cute Pikachu

Adorable cosplay!

Best in show!

Dead-awesome!
image source: Madman Anime Festival

We salute you
image source: Madman Anime Festival

WOW
image source: Madman Anime Festival

Gotta catch them all!
image source: Madman Anime Festival

Neo Geo MVS & AES Flash Cart

August 25, 2016 By ausretrogamer

Neo Geo fans, start your drooling! Darksoft has done the unthinkable, he has created a Neo Geo flash cart not only for the MVS, but also for the AES – Christmas has come early!

Darksoft has indicated that the goal at the moment is to have a mix of technologies on the cartridge, like FPGA+DDR, ARM+Flash and CPLD, to ensure maximum versatility and fast load times. Oh yeh, the cart will have a microSD slot.

While older games (roms) will be supported on the flash cart, Darksoft has made it quite clear that he will not add any support for new games like the ones developed by NG:Dev.Team (that is a good thing!).

As mentioned, there will be 2 cartridges, one for the AES and the other for the MVS – the design being almost identical for each cart. Cartridges will come in plastic cases just like the original MVS/AES shockboxes. Expected cost is in the vicinity of $400.

If you want more details about this awesome creation, head on over to the Arcade-Project forum.

image source: Darksoft via Arcade-Projects

The Commodore 64 Store

August 2, 2016 By ausretrogamer

Commodore will always be our first true (gaming) love. Yeah, we may have wanted an Atari (VCS/2600), but then we saw the C64 and the rest, as they say, is history.

You could imagine our delight when we came across a Lemon64 post showing a heap of photos from an Australian Commodore store from the late 90s (thanks Rob Caporetto!).

Lemon64 forum user, CronicBadger was kind enough to share the photos he took from the Korella Trading’s ‘The Commodore 64 Store’ in Belmont, N.S.W. Being a huge Commodore fan, CronicBadger shares some great stories that he had heard in the store , including how Commodore was still importing C64s in 1993 to fulfil demand for the venerable 8-bit micro! To read more of CronicBadger’s reflection (and see more awesome pics) from ‘The Commodore 64 Store’, head on over to the Lemon64 forum now.

source: CronicBadger on Lemon64

PinCade: All-In-One Pinball Arcade Machine

July 15, 2016 By ausretrogamer

If you are a keen arcade and pinball gamer and you don’t have the space in your home to cram a bunch of machines, perhaps this PinCade – an all-in-one pinball and arcade machine is your answer!

The PinCade is currently available on eBay and is going for a pretty penny (or best offer). If you factor in all of the pinball machines you can play (yep, we are well aware that they are digital) and all vertically oriented arcade games, then this machine becomes a pretty good proposition. It also doesn’t hurt that it looks damn awesome! Ah, if only we had the funds to add this to our games room.

Oo’er, are you scared stiff?

Choose your pinball table!

Flippin hell, it’s Indy!

Once you are done playing pinball, get some Pac-Man into ya!

If Pac-Man is not to your liking, then perhaps some shmup action!

source: eBay

3D Animation Of Vintage Electronics

July 12, 2016 By ausretrogamer

Whoa! Let’s start by saying that French illustrator and animator, Guillaume Kurkdjian has totally blown our mind with his awesome 3D animated works of electronic items. Guillaume has created iconic electronic items from the French Minitel, to the Kaypro 2 fold-out computer and the vector based all-in-one video gaming system, the Vectrex!

To check out the rest of Guillaume’s brilliant electronic animations and other illustrations here!

source: Guillaume Kurkdjian

Want: Nintendo-Era Black Box Action Figures!

July 11, 2016 By ausretrogamer

We have previously featured Dan Polydoris’ awesome Activision Action Figures creations and it seems that he is at it again!

This time, Dan has gone with the venerable Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) game theme by creating a line of Black Box era action figures that would not look out of place on the shelf in your local toy store! Alas, you won’t find these at your local Kmart or Target store, but you can head to Dan’s Death By Toys store to order these luscious custom creations – but you better be quick as they are selling fast!

PS: We secretly hope Dan makes more of these action figures, especially the Ice Climber and the Hogan’s Alley figures!

source: Death By Toys

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