Arcades are dead, but that isn’t stopping thousands dozens of people around the world from attempting to recreate the nostalgia for BO-infused sweat-boxes in their own homes. The following homemade cabinets range from the weird to the weirder. They may be set to “free play” or feature new games but these out-there homemade creations will make any arcade rat worth their tokens yearn for track balls, joysticks, and over-sized buttons.
One of the best unexpected results of game consoles being constantly connected to the Internet is an absolute explosion in retro games. Once the surviving publishers realized that there was an entire audience that grew up with their back catalogue, plus an audience that had been lectured for years by the older gamers about how awesome gaming was in the ’80s, it opened the floodgates. Here are five classics that you might have missed, but are worth every penny.
Each week sees the release of countless downloadable titles across all three major game consoles – some big, some small and some old titles given a new lease on life. In the effort of limiting the time you spend gathering information on these games and increasing the time you spend playing them, we’re doing the legwork for you.
Here are this week’s downloadable releases across the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Wii.
Just in case spending $60 on each new game (and then an extra $10-$30 so you own every piece of downloadable content available) wasn’t hard enough on your checkbook, there’s eBay – that wonderful online auction house where you can offer strangers even more cash for their old, but valuable titles. It’s the internet’s version of a yard sale, minus the sun and actual social interaction – something gamers can easily relate to.
A new listing for the extremely rare NES title “Stadium Events” will separate the mice from the extremely rich men: the asking price is a staggering $500,000. Why the insane amount? Keep reading for the details.
The Official PlayStation Blog announced yesterday that classic RPG “Xenogears” would see a North American release on the PlayStation 3 via the console’s online network on Feb. 22nd. The title was previously exclusive to the original PlayStation before making the jump to the modern console in 2008 — albeit only in Japan. Now, U.S. players can revisit (or experience for the first time) a game which eschewed traditional RPG trappings for a complex story inspired by religion, philosophy and, yes, anime fetishism.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011 11:05AM - By Jared Newman
Some hardcore gamer I am. All these years, I thought jumping over the flagpole in Super Mario Bros. was just a rumor, but videos of this very feat have been making the rounds on YouTube for years. But even if you knew about the pulley platform trick on level 3-3, Cinemassacre brings word of a new trick for jumping the flagpole in Super Mario Bros.’ first level.
Philanthropistic website ExtraLives.org is live streaming a marathon playthrough of over a dozen Mario games – including the original classic and some lesser known titles – in an effort to raise money for “Free the Children” — an organization that aids impoverished, exploited children around the world. The session will last through January 2nd, 2011 with the goal at $4,000.
At the time of this publishing, the group has raised $538. Not too shabby, but I know gamers are more generous than that. A mere $5 donation not only results in a nice warm feeling in the pit of your belly that no amount of achievement unlocking could match, but entry into a raffle to win prizes like t-shirts. If you’re feeling generous, donate here. (Via Reddit)
Thursday, December 16, 2010 9:32AM - By Jared Newman
Another day, another gritty interpretation of Super Mario Bros. But “The Brothers Mario,” an epic trailer by CountryClubPictures, does it right with guns, gangsters and gutter slang. The video is laced with little in-jokes that reference the Super Mario Bros. Super Show, Bad Boys and more. Not sure it would hold up as a game or a movie, but neither is going to happen anyway. [via Press the Buttons]
