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Shop Till You Drop At PixelCrib

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If you are after some cool gaming related products, including memorabilia and collectibles, then you must check out PixelCrib!

Our good friends at PixelCrib have been wonderful supporters of Ausretrogamer for a long while now, which we are always very thankful for.

For those of you in Oz (and beyond!), PixelCrib is really your one stop shop for video game related products, including rare, high-quality video game memorabilia and collectibles – they are after all, the gaming culture specialists! The best bit is, you can shop from the comfort of your own home.

With a plethora of amazing items in their store, here are some of our fave picks (Ed: this list was really really hard to whittle down):

  • Nintendo Switch – Physical Games

You know those Nintendo Switch games that you thought you could only download from the Nintendo eShop? Well, those awesome games, like Celeste and Cuphead (amongst many others) are available in their physical form!

  • Books, books, books as far as the eye can see

If you have bookshelves that need filling (or a coffee table!), then you have come to the right place! PixelCrib has tons of books, here are some of our picks:

A Guide to Japanese Role-Playing Games

Artcade

Go Straight: The Ultimate Guide to Side-Scrolling Beat-’Em-UpsPC Engine: The Box Art Collection

  • Do you like playing tunes on vinyl?

We sure do. If you like gaming related soundtracks / music, then the vinyl section is where you need to be at:

Gamer Boy Disappearing Lines: Chiptune Music of Tetris EP

Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3: Music From The Arcade Games LP

Mother 2 Original Video Game Soundtrack 2xLP

Oh how we wish we could have them all……

Shovel Knight Shadowbox Art

Hyrule Field (Legend of Zelda) A3 Art Print

Dead Cells Shadowbox Art

  • But wait, there is more! Did someone say, where are the retro gaming systems at?

PixelCrib has an array of amazing retro consoles for you to choose from, from the Evercade (VS/EXP), Retron and Sega Astro City Mini systems, to the Quarter Size and RepliCade mini arcade machines:

Oh yeah, in case you missed the news, you can now pre-order Hyper Mega Tech’s Super Pocket (Capcom / Taito) handheld systems on PixelCrib! The best part is, these are compatible with your Evercade cartridges!

These are just the tip of the iceberg of products available on PixelCrib. We implore you to get on the PixelCrib site and take a good look, as there is bound to be gaming related products that will tickle your fancy.

Happy shopping everyone!



Thrill Of The Chase: FurySevenSix visits the Canberra Vintage & Collectible Centre

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Who doesn’t like a sneaky weekend trip to the nation’s capital?!

Well, that’s exactly what our good friend, Noel Wheatley, did this past weekend. Noel (aka: FurySevenSix) shared photos of the amazing retro gaming centre he found in Canberra on his Twitter and Instagram accounts. The Canberra Vintage & Collectible Centre is one of those places that will wow and indulge you in some very intoxicating nostalgia.

The below photos attest to the amazing collections found at the Canberra Vintage & Collectible Centre (Canberra VCC), from iconic gaming systems, classic video games, to mouth-watering collectibles that have been lost to time. Make sure you add the Canberra VCC to your must visit list now!

PS: Check out Noel’s Instagram for more pics and vids of this amazing place!

The important details:

  • Venue: Canberra Vintage & Collectible Centre
  • Address: 11/90 Barrier Street, Fyshwick, Australian Capital Territory

image source (used by permission): Noel’s Twitter and Instagram accounts



Our Fun Factory Gets a RPI2DMD Retro Arcade Wall Clock

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We have always admired the Run-DMD clock and RPI2DMD arcade wall clocks, but getting one always proved elusive.

In October last year we serendipitously stumbled upon a new post on a UK pinball forum advertising a limited run of these DMD retro arcade clocks. We immediately registered our interest and the rest as they say, is history! The maker of these was going to do a run of about 30 units, so we definitely got lucky, as they got snapped up within minutes of the post going live!

Let the build begin!

We received our meticulously handmade RPI2DMD Retro Arcade Wall Clock in early January, which was amazing, considering all the international shipping disruptions due to the pandemic.

We must say, this amazing DMD panel is eye-poppingly gorgeous in real life and is quite large – which is a good thing. The DMD clock is connected via WiFi (it also has an Ethernet/RJ45 port), allowing us to login and configure our location (for time and weather information) and the animations we want to cycle through.

Speaking of animations, this thing is loaded! It has 5235 animations to be exact. The animations range from arcade and pinball attraction screens, logos, consoles, computers, to Christmas and Halloween GIFs to name just a few. There were also some *ahem* questionable adult animations, but we switched those off for obvious reasons.

Setting up the RPI2DMD

DMD Wall Clock

Specs of the RPI2DMD Retro Arcade Clock include:

  • Built on Raspberry Pi, Custom software, Colour panels, Remote accessibility and settings
  • Brightness settings dependant on the time of day (so it can go dim at night, and then on bright at 8am for example)
  • Edit the display duration (or switch the individual function off!), choose different fonts & background images
  • Display a 7-day weather forecast (using an API key from OpenWeatherMap)
  • WiFi and Ethernet connection
  • 5000+ animations across 14 categories

And of course, to do all of this, ideally you would need a Wifi Connection, or wired Ethernet (although not essential, highly recommended – the Weather forecast does NOT work without an internet connection).

The wait to get one of these was definitely worth it. It looks absolutely amazing and is always a great conversation starter.

Testing the RPI2DMD

Shinobi on DMD Wall Clock



Ausretrogamer Is 10 Years Old!

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Who would have thought that when we first started ausretrogamer.com in January 2012 that 10 years later we would still be here! Time certainly flies when you are having fun.

Today marks a major milestone for us at ausretrogamer as we have reached the magical decade mark! When starting our site and social media channels in 2012, we honestly didn’t have any expectations that we would still be around in 2022 – but we are glad that we are!

We have been pleasantly surprised over the years to find so many like-minded people who enjoy playing and talking about all the stuff we love, from obscure video games from the 1970s to those schoolyard-type discussions on which 8-bit computer was best (we all know it was the Commodore 64!).

Ausretrogamer has also allowed us to meet a lot of you in real life, either at events like PAX Aus or local pinball competitions or computing club events – which have been a priceless experience. We are humbled to call all of you our good friends. Nostalgia is a powerful force that binds us all – long may it continue!

To all the awesome folks that have contributed and to those that are still contributing content and everyone that engages with us, thank you very much – you all rock our world!

Looking forward to another decade full of retro gaming (and pinball) goodness! 😉



The Retro Gaming Vault – July 2021

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Going deep into our vault for more intoxicating nostalgia for the month of July, we uncover some cult classic JCVD LaserDiscs, tabletops that go pew, pew, pew, a Neo Geo AES, a Sonic VHS tape (remember those!), some old school gaming patches, a Star Wars rip off for the Bally Astrocade and everything in between!

Go on, take a look, but scroll slowly to take it all in! Happy Retro Gaming to you all!

 



NeoGeo Pocket Color Selection Vol.1 – Nintendo Switch

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First impressions of games is always difficult. There is the initial excitement phase of playing something new and the more obvious one, you just need more time to play the new game to fully experience it’s features (and shortcomings) before you can be in any position to pen some sort of subjective review.

Well, lucky for us, our first impression of playing SNK’s NeoGeo Pocket Color Selection Vol. 1 (NGPCS Vol.1) on the Switch is an overall positive one! To set the scene, we particularly played the two NeoGeo Pocket Color games, Metal Slug 1st Mission and Metal Slug 2nd Mission on both the real hardware and via the NGPCS Vol.1 on the Nintendo Switch.

Playing the Metal Slug games on the original hardware is great, especially using the clicky control stick on the NeoGeo Pocket Color handheld. However, playing it for any length of  time without the unit being backlit is a chore on your eyes. The same games on the Switch retain their original blasting charm, beefed up with a plethora of additional features, modes and ways to play and of course, the Switch screen is just so easy on the eyes. The Switch is suitable for these kinds of games, especially in handheld mode, but it’s flexibility in the way you play just makes this very compelling.

Our first impressions of the Metal Slug 1st and 2nd Missions on the NeoGeo Pocket Color Selection Vol. 1 are very positive. You could go and look for a NeoGeo Pocket Color system and then hunt the the Metal Slug carts online, or you can save yourself the time and lots of $$ by grabbing this for your Switch!

image source: SNK Corporation

 

Visiting The Gamesmen Retro Game Museum

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We are reminiscing about the time we were invited by the Weird and Retro crew to join them in Sydney for the 2015 EB Expo – it was such an amazing experience!

Before the EB Expo shenanigans, we took time out to visit The Gamesmen in Penshurst (NSW), to check out their awesome (Retro) Game Museum.

The Gamesmen has been an Australian game store icon for almost 40 years and it is still going strong. Back in the day, we used to love receiving their catalogues which we would pore over each page, drooling at the latest gaming systems and games – we just wish we had kept those catalogues! Oh yeah, luckily for us (and all of you), The Gamesmen folks have made electronic copies of their old catalogues, so go here now and enjoy some intoxicating nostalgia.

Anyway……… This pilgrimage was a long time coming and fulfilled our wish to go and check out the museum in person. We definitely weren’t disappointed and we were glad to have ticked this off our bucket list. The sixty plus photos we took below from the game museum does not do it any justice – to see it in person was amazing. However, the next best thing to going there was to share what we saw, and as you will see below, your nostalgic senses will not be disappointed.

There was no one favourite section, but the glassed cabinets were like a time machine looking back at our childhood, daydreaming about owning and playing the systems and games on display. The video games system timeline mural was another highlight, reflecting how far gaming has come. The Gamesmen Retro Game Museum had truly encapsulated our past, leaving a delectable mark on our 8-bit brain.

Make sure you scroll through each image slowly, as you do not want to miss anything!

Approaching the Mecca of Australian Video Gaming!

images remain the copyright of ausretrogamer

PS: Special thank you to the Weird and Retro team for inviting us to be part of their WaRrior crew for the 2015 EB Expo and for a memorable road trip!

 

NEO GEO Games Infographic

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There are some images that need to be shared for their informative awesomeness, and this NEO•GEO games infographic is one that definitely fits that bill.

Created and shared by Ange Albertini of the Corkami Reverse Engineering and Visual Documentation github repository, this image speaks to us loud and clear! We love the fact that in one image, we can see the timeline of all the games that were released for SNK’s mighty NEO GEO.

To get a sense of this amazing graphic creation, please click on the image below to see it in its native resolution!

 

Things Are Afoot At The Ausretrogamer Fun Factory in 2021

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With having a lot of time at home in 2020, we had been thinking about changing things up in the Ausretrogamer Fun Factory!

Things are afoot with designing the new space, which will see new additions, things being moved around and unfortunately, stuff that will go to a new home. We are quite excited with the next chapter of our games room, so we’ll be sure to share our journey throughout 2021 of the new and improved Ausretrogamer Fun Factory.

For now, you can have a read how the Ausretrogamer Fun Factory has evolved over the years.

Taking one last look at the current Ausretrogamer Fun Factory (click to enlarge)

 

Introducing The SNK NeoGeo MVSX Home Arcade

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If the NeoGeo Mini didn’t scratch your MVS and AES gaming itch, then perhaps the SNK NeoGeo MVSX Home Arcade will!

Created by the GStone Group (UNICO brand) and officially licensed by SNK, the SNK NEOGEO MVSX is touted to be the ultimate home arcade for fans of classic SNK titles. The MVSX will include both the MVS and AES versions of games from fan-favourite series like The King of Fighters, Metal Slug, Fatal Fury, Samurai Shodown, Art of Fighting and sports titles including Baseball Stars Professional and Top Player’s Golf!

The games will be housed within a stylish tabletop arcade with a separate attached base that has a 17-inch 4:3 LCD screen and has two-player support with analogue joysticks and buttons. Fans of the classic SNK NEOGEO MVS arcade machines are sure to appreciate the tabletop arcade’s aesthetics as it’s decked out in the iconic MVS red and white, familiar button layout (such as the “SELECT GAME” button) and has its signature marquee showcasing the box art for the most popular franchises of the included games.

Preorders for the SNK NeoGeo MVSX will begin next month (September 2020), with the tabletop to be priced at US$449.99, the base at US$99.99 or both the tabletop and base for US$499.99. The tabletop arcade will officially launch in North America in November 2020. We will seek more info for the rest of the world, so please stay tuned!

image source: SNK MVSX