At last count, there are something like six Street Fighter games available for download from the Wii’s Virtual Console section. And for that truly old-school experience, you need a truly old-school controller. The $15 dreamGEAR Arcade Fighter Classic Gamepad for Nintendo Wii looks like it may be able to scratch that itch. → Read More
At first glance, $30 may seem like a lot for a one-button old school Atari joystick with a USB connection. But this one comes with the Stella Atari 2600 and 80 games built right in and you can remove the USB controller board for use with that MAME cabinet you’ve always wanted to build. There’s even labeled solder points on the board for adding additional buttons. → Read More
Hot damn, you guys. Hot damn. Good Old Games — GOG.com — is now selling old Activision games for six bucks a pop. And you know what Activision owns? All the old Sierra games. → Read More
Yes, Garbage Pail Kids. In 7-foot wall form. If you thought yesterday’s Star Wars Fathead was expensive at $100, then you may balk at the thought of spending $150 on a larger-than-life Garbage Pail Kids poster. → Read More
This is great. Original reviews of classic gadgets and computers are fun because you can marvel at the things that were new and mysterious then, but beyond commonplace now. In this review, it is noted that there are many buttons, but no knobs. How things have changed, and now we value knobs as high-end and disparage buttons as peasant interfaces.
This one is lower and wider, has a horizontal… → Read More
Ah, nostalgia. Your gentle touch knows no limits. Today you’ve taken modern movies and shown us what they would have looked like as video games from 30 years ago. → Read More
Some of the older CrunchGear readers will surely remember the Pyramidtalk, a clock that verbally announced the time and other information. Seiko started selling the clock in 1984, and it turned out to be a big worldwide hit, with sales ballooning to 200,000 units per year at its peak. And now, just in time for Christmas, consumers (in Japan, at least) can lay their hands on an updated version… → Read More
Monocles are back, people! So says Fez from Ron and Fez, the Sirius XM radio program that spent a hot 10 minutes on this news story that says that monocles are back in fashion with young people. Time to get me some monocles! → Read More
As a fan of retro game stuff in general, I’m always on the lookout for cool Pac-Man/Space Invaders/Robotron 2084 stuff. Unfortunately, retro game gear isn’t usually very understated. When it comes to watches, I’m more of an old-school guy, but even if I were into cool new watches, I’d probably skip this one. → Read More
Look back on your gaming history. 90% of you will remember Street Fighter II as one of the primary games of your youth. Great game, yes? Then why did you not play the first one? Everyone asked the question, and I don’t know about you, but I never really got a decent answer. I was perusing Magweasel and I ran across this gem. How come I never heard about this? Fighting Street?!
Video inside. Blows… → Read More
It’s possible that this escaped my attention in 1997, because at the time, I would have been listening to Smashing Pumpkins and playing Riven most of the time. Meanwhile, Apple was slapping its name on a Fuji camera and trying to pioneer a new industry — and failing. It was a noble effort (like the Newton), but ultimately the Quicktake 200 was too early and probably too expensive. → Read More
I can’t get enough of the awesome raised or etched lettering you see on high-end and old-school hardware. You know, like the Leica symbol, or the great old lettering on the backs of cars. It has a very permanent feeling, and these days there isn’t enough of that. Too much plastic, too much dye, too many displays. Luckily for me (and people like me, if there are any), there’s a… → Read More
Remember the business card case shaped like a NES controller that came out in July? Well, that one wasn’t too bad, but this new Pac-Man card holder is way cooler. → Read More
Great article over at Edge Online for anyone interested in the early days of EA’s John Madden Football franchise. Did you know that one of the first versions of the game was initially 7-on-7 due to memory limitations? Madden himself put the kibosh on that one right away, saying, “What’s this seven-on-seven? This isn’t football. If my name’s going to be on something it’s got to be… → Read More
Leisure Suit Larry was one of those game franchises I always saw on the shelf at the local computer games store but never bought. I picked up the box and oggled at the titilating pictures on the back, but I never traded my hard-earned cash for the soft-core bonanza that the games offered. I like to think I’m a better man, as a result. Lots of people must’ve bought the game, though, because they… → Read More
If you feel like you’ve been dragged kicking and screaming into the wonderful world of technology, now’s the time to show everyone that you still haven’t forgotten your old school analog roots — sort of. This is a four-port USB hub that looks like a cassette tape. → Read More
Recycling cassettes seems to be a trend these days. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. After all, who among us doesn’t have a Fine Young Cannibals single that would be better suited to lamp or wallet duty? Or how about these great little Nano cases — a bit pricey, but they’re Canadian so you can pay with syrup if you have it. → Read More
Behold! A portable TurboGrafx-16 system. A modder named Bacteria (eewww) cobbled together a very nice-looking system called “IntoGrafx” featuring three-hour battery life and a 5.4-inch screen. The IntoGrafx plays original TurboGrafx game cards (the system uses an actual TurboGrafx board, after all) and there’s a region switch that allows you to play either Japanese or US games. → Read More
It seems Japanese papercraft art isn’t limited to Origami or Pellermodels but also has something in store for us gadget fans. Case in point: The Paper Speaker [JP], announced yesterday by Tokyo-based Princeton for use with your PC (or any device sporting a USB port). → Read More
Oh my. Hopefully this Olympus Micro Four Thirds digicam is a halfway good performer, because the whole Internet already wants it – including you. The official announcement will come tomorrow, but we might already have the E-P1 specs and price. → Read More
Hot damn, folks. If all the talk of newfangled gaming coming out of E3 this week has you longing for a simpler time, might I suggest — nay, demand — that you consider the $50 GEN-X Genesis/NES Game System from ThinkGeek? → Read More
It’s probably best to playact with this Star Trek Tricorder in the privacy of your own home. Please do yourself a favor and if you must spend $49.99 on this, keep it on a shelf somewhere and only play with the working sound effects and lights when no one is around. Sound good? → Read More
Portable 8-bit gaming sort of hits the mainstream with ThinkGeek.com now selling the $50 Retro Mini Handheld NES System. Unlike those far more convenient, yet far less legal portable emulation machines that you have to purchase from far away lands, this handheld ships right from the U.S. of A. and plays actual NES cartridges. → Read More
Miss the 80′s? Me neither. If you have a friend or loved one who does, though, perhaps you should buy them this Zack Morris-style cell phone holder. Yes, it’s a cell phone holder that looks like a gigantic old-school cell phone from the decade that time, common sense, and style forgot. → Read More
Should you find yourself in San Sebastian, Spain, you’d be doing yourself a disservice and the rest of us a disservice if you didn’t visit this convenience store to spend a few bucks. → Read More
Sometimes, you just want your ancient computer gear to sing to you. And even if it takes months to set up and capture correctly, at least now you have a single batch file that can show anybody what Queen would have sounded like if Freddie Mercury was a droid. → Read More
I must have shoved unimaginable quantities of quarters into various arcade games over the years, trying desperately to reach that next level, or defeat the next boss. If I could have put those into a piggy bank, rather than the coffers of some sweaty arcade owner, I might be in a different place right now. Alas, the short-term reward for putting money into a piggy bank just can’t compete with the… → Read More
Oh… my… word. As if a giant rendition of Pac-Man made out of cupcakes wasn’t enough, this thing is a wedding cake, effectively making the bride, the groom, and the cake maker the three coolest people in the entire world for at least the next 24 hours. At least. → Read More
Remember when people used to memorize phone numbers? How many of the phone numbers of the contacts in your cell phone do you know by heart? I know my wife’s and both my parents — that’s it. Assuming I’d want to get in the way-back machine and go to a simpler time, this Bluetooth-equipped rotary phone might do the trick quite nicely. → Read More
There are so many wonderful things about this MP3 player idea. It’s not an actual product yet, but here are the basics. First, just like old school cassettes, you’ll need to choose a tape length: 45 minutes, 60 minutes, or 90 minutes. The higher the number, the more songs you can fit on the flash-based player. → Read More
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