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retro games (Page 3)

Nintendo’s 8-bit Famicom getting first new cartridge in 21 years with chiptune album 【Video】

Casey Baseel
Oct 28, 2015
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As we head towards the end of the year, video game publishers are pulling out their big guns. But what if the modern gaming world leaves you feeling cold? Maybe you’re burned out on multiplayer first-person shooters, and open-world game sandboxes hold as much appeal to you as the pet poop-concealing one in your neighborhood park.

In that case, you’ll be happy to know that this December, Nintendo’s 8-bit Famicom, the Japanese version of the NES, is getting its first commercial cartridge release in more than two decades.

Japan
(chiptunes • famicom • music • NES • nintendo • retro games • video • video games)

Pico Cassette looks to keep cartridge games alive in a smartphone world

Master Blaster
Sep 16, 2015

Music has all but gone entirely digital. Video rental stores are a critically endangered species. Even video games are steadily moving towards more online distribution. At this rate we’ll soon be welcoming the first generation to think sticking a piece of plastic into a machine for entertainment is as attractive an idea as rubbing two sticks together for fire.

Then again, isn’t there something intrinsic in humans to want to put a cartridge or disc into something for entertainment?

That’s not a rhetorical question. I really have no idea, but the makers of Pico Cassette are hoping so. This device will load video games both new and old into your smartphone by plugging into its headphone jack.

Global, Japan
(Pico Cassette • PlugAir • retro games • smartphone • technology • video games)

Enjoy the taste of 1-UP and invincibility stars with new Lotte Super Mario gum

Oona McGee
May 10, 2015

Joining in the 30th anniversary celebrations for the Super Mario Bros. video game series is popular Japanese gum brand Fit’s. Thanks to this unique collaboration, we’ll now be able to chew our way into the game with the awesome-sounding tastes of “Mario’s Invincibility Star flavour” and “Luigi’s Infinite UP flavour“.

So what does invincibility and an unlimited 1-UP taste like? And what type of gorgeous inside packaging do we have to look forward to? We check out the details ahead of this much-anticipated release.

Japan
(Fit's • games • Luigi • Mario • nintendo • retro games • Super Mario)

Retro freak: the new system that lets you play cartridges from 11 different classic game consoles

Casey Baseel
Mar 11, 2015

It’s a great time to be a retro gamer. The video game industry has reached a level of maturity that means there’re now decades worth of polished, legitimately enjoyable titles out there, often selling for just a fraction of the prices they commanded when new.

However, there’s one big hassle with working through an almost 30-year backlog of great games, and that’s having to hook up the half-dozen or so pieces of hardware that library is spread across. One Japanese company is proposing a solution, though, with a single console that’ll play just about any cartridge made in the 16-bit era.

Japan
(cool • nintendo • retro games • Sega • video games)

Charge up your new tech with a nod to old games with Famicom controller battery pack/card reader

Casey Baseel
Jan 20, 2015

Although millions of people have fond memories of playing games on Nintendo’s original Famicom (known internationally as the NES), not too many people spend much time actually playing with the system anymore. After all, portable gaming devices like Nintendo’s own 3DS and even smartphones now boast more powerful hardware specs than the classic 8-bit console, and have just as large a library of legitimately fun games as well as the capability to play old-school titles as software downloads.

Of course, the flipside to having so many great portable games to play or, in the case of smartphones, extremely important websites to visit, is that your mobile devices are going to be running out of juice before long. Now, though, there’s a way to give your new tech a recharge and your old tech a shout-out simultaneously, with this battery pack/card reader that’s styled after the Famicom’s Player One controller.

Japan
(cool • famicom • NES • nintendo • retro games • technology)

Massive 5-CD Final Fight soundtrack set lets you hear the game’s music without the punching

Casey Baseel
Oct 23, 2014

It’s been 25 years since the arcade release of video game developer Capcom’s Final Fight. While it wasn’t the first side-scrolling beat ‘em up, at the time of its release it was far and away the best, and the number of sequels Final Fight spawned makes its title almost as ironic as the long-running Final Fantasy’s.

In honor of the classic hitting the quarter-century mark, Capcom’s green-lit a Final Fight CD release. No, it’s not a sequel, nor is it a reissue of the Sega CD version. Instead, it’s a soundtrack collection for practically the entire franchise.

Japan
(Capcom • events • Final Fight • music • retro games • video games)

Video shows 13 experiences every Japanese gamer had with Nintendo’s Famicom

Casey Baseel
Oct 7, 2014

I’m going to go out on a limb here and guess that a lot of our readers have fond memories of the glory days of the Nintendo Entertainment System. As nostalgic as the iconic piece of 8-bit hardware is for North American and European gamers, though, it’s even more so for Japanese fans, who got the equivalent Famicom years before the NES launched overseas.

Japanese humor website CuRAZY recently stopped to take a look back at all the time they spent with a tiny red controller in hand during their formative years, putting together this video of 13 Famicom experiences pretty much every Japanese gamer had.