The Pop-Culture E-Zine
Holy cow! These SEGA Space Harrier MODEL runners (sneakers if you are from the North) have totally blown our minds!
Just take a good hard look at these sweet-as-f* runners! To say we love the Sega Space Harrier MODEL runners would be a huge understatement! Even if you are not a Space Harrier fan (Ed: say what?), you have to admit that these are pretty damn cool. We wonder if Yu Suzuki has a pair *pondering*?
image source: Anippon
Holy smokes! Just as we were scrolling aimlessly through our Twitter feed and were about to give up and shut the app, we came across xevious765_bt’s Tweet which almost made us choke on our own spit!
The (loose) translation of xevious765_bt’s Tweet is, “The arcade diorama was taken by a close female photographer, ‼＼(^o^)／ 📷 and the real feeling is different when I take it with a good camera of the one eye reflex! of ▽*) Course, the cameraman’s arm is good.”
Gotta thank their close female photographer friend for snapping these awesome pics. Oh, and to the creator of the arcade diorama, wow, talk about intricate detail – simply amazing!
[source: xevious765_bt via Twitter]
If you were in Vegas last week for the 2018 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) you would have been forgiven for thinking that it was the 1990s!
It definitely looks like companies are finally tweaking to the fact that retro gaming is big business. From Hyperkin announcing the mighty Ultra Game Boy to Retro-Bit announcing their partnership with Sega, it looks like 2018 is going to be a big year for retro gamers and their credit cards!
Here are our hot retrogaming picks from CES 2018:
Hyperkin Ultra Game Boy in an aluminium case will turn heads for sure!
image source: Gizmodo
Retro-bit did a mic drop by announcing that they had signed a licensing agreement with Sega to produce accessories for Sega’s Mega Drive, Saturn and Dreamcast gaming consoles! They even showed off games for the NES and SNES! These guys were on fire in Vegas!
Retro-Bit’s Sega Dreamcast Bluetooth Controller, Receiver and TV connectivity cables
Retro-Bit’s Sega Saturn controllers!
Retro-Bit’s Sega Mega Drive / Genesis Bluetooth Controllers
Retro-Bit’s Games for the NES (Holy Diver) and SNES (R-Type Returns CE)
source: Retro-Bit on Twitter
(Atari) Table Pong – If you weren’t lucky enough to snag this via its super early-bird Kickstarter price, then you will be paying three times more for it now!
source: Alex Kidman via Finder
Oh My Gosh! Micah Moore, the cool peep that explores the strange and wonderful as part of his Legend of Micah Facebook page has done exactly that – explored the strange, wonderful and incredible arcade in Kawasaki, Japan, modelled after the Kowloon Walled City – an infamous slum in Hong Kong. The Amusement Game Park Kawasaki (Anata No) Warehouse has narrow alleys, flickering lights and the sounds of an underground marketplace that create a maze filled with 80’s and 90’s arcade games.
Taishiro Hoshino, an art designer for kabuki theatre, painstakingly reproduced signs and posters from the real Kowloon Walled City, which was demolished in the early 90’s. This arcade is going on the bucket list immediately!
Big thanks to Skooota for letting us know about this one!
source: Legend of Micah – Facebook
Virtual Consoles – a recently launched website makes it possible to play legendary computers and consoles like the Apple II, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum and Super Nintendo (to name a few) right in your web browser.
The Virtual Consoles website offers its services free of charge: you can play on 9 old school gaming systems without installing any add-ons or plug-ins. Now that is pretty damn cool!
With the revival of retro gaming and the ever escalating costs, this site has come at the right time. “The site generally uses open-source development, so the use of emulators is completely free of charge. An up-to-date browser and an average desktop computer is all that is needed, although most of the retro computers offer good experience on tablets, as well”, says Kornel Kolma, founder of virtualconsoles.com.
Play with Spacewar! from 1962
Currently there are 9 online emulators available on the site: Apple II, Atari 2600, NES , Super NES. DOS, Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum. There are also some curiosities to be found in the collection, like the CHIP-8 interpreter which ran on microcomputers of the 1970s, and the DEC PDP-1, which was introduced in 1959 – making it possible to play the original Spacewar! game online.
“We only attached games to the emulated computers and consoles if they were freeware games or had gotten approval from the copyright owner. For most of the emulators we made it possible to upload games from existing collections. Our long-term goal is to come to an agreement with copyright owners of old games and make these games available in a retro gaming online store”, says Kornel Kolma. Kornel also added, “The short-term plan of Virtual Consoles is to launch additional emulators which will run in your web browser”.
With Virtual Consoles, the game is definitely not over!
While the big news is of Amazon arriving Down Under, we were more excited about their new Retro Zone!
Amazon has curated their best of the best retro gaming items, from console, games and toys, to clothing and books! Oh yeah, there is plenty of Sega, Nintendo, Square Enix and Atari gear too!
So what are you waiting for, go and hit up the Amazon Retro Zone now!
More Retro than you can poke a stick at!
The heavy hitters of retro gaming are all there! Wait, where is Commodore?
image source: Amazon Retro Zone
Extra! Extra! Read All About It! The latest Retro Gamer, issue 171 has hit the physical and virtual newsstands!
We are huge fans of Retro Gamer covers, but this one takes the cake – it is simply awesome! Behind this gorgeous cover you’ll find a myriad of retro gaming features to satisfy your nostalgia hunger. Still not convinced? Here is a taste of what’s inside this issue:
source: Retro Gamer
Three decades after it all began, SEGA Networks announces a growing collection of classic video games for mobile
In celebration of a simpler time – an era that came before cool kale, hyper-connectedness, DIY artisanal beer-making, and social media mayhem – SEGA Networks Inc. is bringing a growing collection of classic video games from every console era to your mobile device for free. The collection, called SEGA Forever, is a re-awakening of archetypal gaming, an ode to the deep and diverse SEGA catalogue, and the beginning of a retro revolution that will transport players back through two decades of console gaming.
Each game in the SEGA Forever lineup is free-to-play, ad-supported, playable offline, and includes added features like cloud saves, controller support, and leaderboards. For players who prefer a pristinely ad-free mobile gaming experience – folks who want to play SEGA just like they remember playing in their basement, without interruptions from parents, siblings, or homework – SEGA have rolled back the price so each game can be purchased without ads for $1.99. As the SEGA Forever collection expands through months and years, it will include both official emulations and ported games that pan all SEGA console eras, each adapted specifically for mobile devices while remaining faithful to the original games.
“Above all else SEGA Forever is a celebration of nostalgia. It’s about allowing fans to reconnect with past experiences and share them with family and friends in an accessible and convenient way,” explains Mike Evans, CMO of SEGA’s Mobile Division in the West. “Join us on a journey of rediscovery as we roll out two decades of classic games free on mobile. Create your own ‘SEGA Forever folder’ and collect your favourite classics. Enjoy moments of nostalgia on the go, or sync a Bluetooth controller to enjoy a console-like experience in your living room. SEGA Forever democratises retro gaming, and seeks to change how the world plays, rediscovers, and shares in classic game experiences.”
The first batch of SEGA Forever games has been carefully curated, boasting both blockbusters and core fan favourites; The collection will officially kick off today with five Mega Drive / Genesis titles, all of which will be available to download for free on the Google Play Store for Android devices and on the App Store for iPhone and iPad, where they will be accompanied by iMessage sticker packs:
Following today’s launch, the SEGA Forever collection will continue to grow with additional releases coming every two weeks. It took AGES to get here, so it’s now time to start playing!
image source: SEGA Forever
Just in case you missed it, at last week’s SXSW (South by Southwest) in Austin, SEGA revealed the first gameplay footage of the upcoming Sonic Forces game. We must admit, it is great to see Sonic back in force (Ed: sorry, it was there for the taking). The blue blur is smooth and as speedy as ever!
Sonic Forces, the latest in the Sonic the Hedgehog games series is being developed by the gun Sonic Team. The game is scheduled for release later this year on the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC!
source: Five Star Games
Are you a gaming nerd that is into their designer jewellery? If you are, then you’ve come to the right place.
We have seen many DIY gaming related jewellery on Etsy and other e-stores, which are pretty cool, but they don’t come close to the jewellery we have drooled over by Han Cholo.
With the Han Cholo collections (which there are many), there are designer and officially licensed products to choose from, like the official Sonic The Hedgehog 25th anniversary class ring and the awesome Sonic sneakers pendant!
Being gaming nerds and general pop culture geeks, we found ourselves trawling many of Han Cholo’s collections, from the cool Gamer stuff (hello Sega Mega Drive controller necklace) to the many Star Wars rings and Masters Of The Universe keychains and pendants. We just wish we had more than ten fingers and one neck!
The Sega Mega Drive / Genesis controller is close to our heart
Mario would be totally jelly of this ring!
If the Sonic ring is not your thing, then the Sonic sneakers pendant may tickle your fancy
The dark side of the force is strong with this ring!
Whoa, Daft Punk ring! No way!
Voltron!
We have the keys to our castle
By the power of Grayskull!
Battle Cat is fierce!
The perfect piece for the arcadians!
image source: Han Cholo