Tag Archives: arcade

Detachable joy-cons add gaming controls to the back of your iPhone!

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Forget Back Tap, the iPhone’s back surface just got a whole lot more functional. Behold the Tundra, a conceptual set of gaming joy-cons that snap to the back of your phone, adding controls to it. Unlike most controllers that add buttons facing you, the Tundra give you buttons that are accessible, but don’t occupy real estate on the front of your phone. They snap on in such a way that you can easily use them with your index, middle, and ring fingers. The index fingers can easily work on the trigger/shoulder buttons on the top, and the middle and ring-fingers can be used to mash the XYAB buttons and the D-Pad. Meanwhile, your thumb can use the on-screen controls too, giving you the best of all worlds!

While the Tundra currently exist only as a concept, they present a new direction for mobile gaming controllers, providing a sleek yet functional alternative to the large, ergonomic, console-style controllers that let you mount your phone into them. The Tundra exist as sleek units that don’t add weight, mass, or thickness to your phone. They can easily slip right into your pocket, phone and all, and if removed, come with a small, pocket-friendly storage/charging case like your AirPods!

Designer: Diego Schreibvogel Cases

Pac-Man Goes for the Gold with This Connect-and-Play Special Edition

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Pac-Man, Galaga, and Dig Dug are three of my all-time favorite 8-bit arcade games. There are lots of ways to play Namco’s classic game at home these days, but how many of them are shiny and gold? Well before now, none of them. Now, thanks to the guys at Bandai, there’s a special gold edition of the Pac-Man Connect and Play game system.

The plug-and-play style system plays those classics on your TV using its built-in joystick and arcade buttons. It comes loaded with a dozen games, including those I already mentioned, plus Galaxian, Bosconian, New Rally-X, Super Pac-Man, Xevious, Mappy, Pac-Man Plus, and the glitchy 256th-level of the original Pac-Man. Of course what makes it special is its case, which is shaped like a pixel art Pac-Man, and done up in a glistening golden finish.

The Pac-Man Connect and Play: Gold Edition is available for pre-order from Premium Bandai for $60, and is expected to ship starting in March 2021. That’s quite a bit more expensive than the plain yellow version, but the way I figure it, if you played the original games 240 times, which I’m sure many of you did, you would have pumped in the same amount in quarters and not gotten to take the games home with you after you left the arcade.

This iPhone gaming controller turns your smartphone into a handheld Nintendo Switch-style console

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The Backbone One is pretty appropriately named for the product that it is. After all, it’s probably one of the only bespoke controllers designed SPECIFICALLY for iPhone gaming.

Apple has come under quite some fire recently for the way it’s been alienating its gamer-base. Sure, they launched the Arcade gaming service, but Apple giveth and Apple taketh away… they’ve announced Google Stadia and Microsoft Xbox Cloud won’t be coming to their iOS and iPadOS devices. Moreover, the company’s embroiled in a legal battle with Epic Games, resulting in popular battle-royale game Fortnite being taken off the App Store too.

However, that doesn’t mean the iPhone doesn’t have some spectacular games. The titles available on Apple Arcade are surely a class apart, but Call of Duty, Asphalt, Genshin Impact, Minecraft, and the widely popular Among Us have been pretty popular games on the iPhone too… and that’s where the Backbone One comes in. Designed for iPhone users who are also serious gamers, the Backbone One is a plug-and-play controller that snaps to your iPhone, turning it into a makeshift Nintendo Switch-style gaming device complete with two joysticks, a D-pad, XYAB Action buttons, and four shoulder buttons. The Backbone One features a Lightning connector that interfaces directly with your smartphone, creating a more stable, low-latency connection with the device.

The Backbone One, however, is more than just a snap-on controller for the iPhone… it turns your smartphone into a streaming rig too. A dedicated ‘Capture’ button lets you capture your gameplay and send it directly to social media platforms like your Instagram, iMessage, or even YouTube. The Backbone app lets you edit your clips too, creating showreels of your best moments in-game, while even being able to chat with friends and fellow gamers. Oh, and the best part? The Backbone One controller comes with its own 3.5mm audio jack so you can plug your gaming headphones in for an immersive session!

Designer: Backbone Labs Inc.

A Pac-Man edition of ‘Monopoly’ includes a mini arcade game

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Pac-Man just turned 40 years old and to help mark the anniversary, there’s a new version of Monopoly centered around the iconic character. It includes a digital banking unit that doubles as a mini arcade game you play whenever you pass Go.You’ll play...

Sega’s Astro City Mini arcade cabinet comes with 36 games

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With the Genesis Mini and Game Gear Micro, Sega is really into tiny consoles right now. It may have just outdone itself, however, with the launch of the Astro City Mini arcade cabinet (via The Verge). It’s a shrunk-down version of Sega’s famous 1993...

Pac-Man Inspired Coasters: Drinka Drinka Drinka

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Running around a maze with ghosts on your ass and gobbling dots all day works up quite the thirst. It’s important for a Pac-Man to keep hydrated. While Pac-Man Energy Drink is hard to come by these days, there are plenty of other thirst quenchers to choose from. Just be sure not to put it down directly on your coffee table or Ms. Pac-Man is gonna be pissed. What you need are some Pac-Man themed coasters.

The guys at SPSNOLA make these fun video game inspired coasters, also known as “Ghosters.” They come in two different versions – a colorful acrylic set that replicates the colors from the classic arcade game, and a solid hardwood version that looks a bit more substantial and classy. You can’t go wrong with either style.

Either 5-piece set will look great sitting on a table in your game room. The acrylic set sells for $24, while the hardwood set goes for $48. Just wakka wakka wakka your way over to Etsy to order your coasters now.

This retro coffee table transforming into a gaming console is peak modern furniture

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I don’t like to play games with my morning coffee but I would play games while drinking my morning coffee for sure! This coffee table doubles down as a gaming console and it is exactly what we need while staying home in 2020.

An homage to retro gaming machines and furniture enthusiasts, this coffee table is one of its kind. Swedish designer Love Hulten has created a slim slide-out console with 2-player arcade joysticks & push-button gaming controls. It is inspired by the old-school gaming arcades and includes the big buttons as well as a joystick that is also a knob for the coffee table. The custom-crafted table features a wireless gaming system that connects with your smart TV for modern yet classic home gaming. With a classic American walnut and brass aesthetic, the table’s form will appeal to most and allow it to blend in any interior style.

“The wireless setup connects to your TV via a small wooden console, no cables,” says Hulten on his Instagram noting that this console-coffee table is a visually cleaner, chord-free piece to own. Arcade games are cool, but I am not a YouTuber so they would look weird in my house. However, a sleek table that masks a whole gaming console is exactly what I would go for (till I become a famous YouTuber). Hulten is known to only make limited-edition pieces using his love for everything retro and his knack for getting modern design right. This coffee table brings together nostalgia and technology in the most playful yet subtle way possible. Player 1 is ready!

Designer: Love Hulten

Sega wants to turn Japanese arcades into ‘fog gaming’ data centers

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Sega marked its 60th anniversary this week with a tiny version of the Game Gear. But that's not the only thing on the company's mind at the minute. It's working on a system that would turn Japanese arcades into small data centers.According to Weekly...

Mini LEGO Arcade Machines: Tiny Things Are Awesome

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Among my many geeky pursuits, two of my favorites are classic arcade games and LEGO. So when I stumbled onto this collection of custom LEGO arcade machines, I had to bust open the piggy bank (aka my PayPal account) – since that’s where I save my spare change to buy stuff that I don’t NEED but that I really WANT.

These minifig-scale arcade machines come from eBay seller The Brick Show Shop, who has lots of awesome custom LEGO sets in their shop. In order to avoid licensing issues, these machines feature names like “Ms. Dot Man,” “Froggy,” and “Astrobricks,” but they’re still super cool, and make me want to build out a complete arcade filled with mini cabinets. There are standard upright cabinets, as well as unique machines like a DDR-inspired dance game, sit-down racing games, and a ride-on game called “Raptor Rider.”

They’ve also got a skee ball machine, vending machines, and a claw machine in the collection, and I’m sure it’s impossible to to grab any of the studs with the claw in this one too.

Prices for the LEGO arcade machines range from about $7.99 up to $14.99, so you can build out an entire arcade for your minifigs for much less than even a single real arcade machine. You can find them all over on The Brick Show Shop’s eBay store. While you’re roaming the virtual aisles, you can also find a sweet LEGO model of a Nintendo Switch.