Hasta La Gadget!

Ah, the Mazda Miata. It’s the scourge of autocross and road racing tracks around the world. It has little power, epic handling, and is dirt cheap to repair, making these little convertible sports cars a mainstay for motorsports around the world. Few things in life are more rewarding than shaming a person in a high-powered muscle car in a Miata with only 100hp to the wheels on a road racing course.

Tofu Drift Van recently bought what appears to be your typically clapped out Miata for $1000 with the goal of making it into a drift car. He decided to make it a bit different though, and somehow rigged up an ignition that will only start the car when you put quarters in the arcade style coin slot.

That is awesome and should be mandatory equipment on any ChumpCar or LeMons racing Miata. The owner of the car says he plans to add a Player 1 pushbutton for starting the car next.

[via Jalopnik]

1985′s Gauntlet was an amazing game that I spent way too many hours (and quarters) playing in the arcade. So I’m excited for its return so I can add even more hours to my record. Gauntlet fans have been waiting for this for some time.

Arrowhead Game Studios is developing the game and it will be a top-down co-op action RPG for PCs (with Steam integration). All of your favorite characters will be back. Which will you play?

Each character will have its own strengths and weaknesses. The Warrior does the most damage in melee combat; the Wizard has the most powerful magic; the Valkyrie has the most armor, and the Elf is the fastest. Pretty much what you would expect. Check out the trailer for some gameplay footage:

It looks pretty awesome to me. The dungeons look a bit too much like Diablo III, but I can live with that, given that Diablo quite possibly wouldn’t exist if not for the original Gauntlet.

[via The Mary Sue]

Tired of hosting his Arcade Club’s gaming sessions at home, Travis Reynolds made the Briefcade. Arcade Club, Assemble!… Somewhere else.

Travis originally wanted to make a foldable tabletop arcade machine, but he eventually scrapped it in favor of the Briefcade.

Travis bought a used briefcase for $5 and then tore down one of his LCD monitors. Then he bought Sanwa-style joysticks and buttons, but found out that the joystick was too big and wouldn’t let him close the briefcase as it is, so he just takes the balltop off of the stick when he closes the Briefcade.

Travis is using a Raspberry Pi and a Linux-based MAME emulator for the Pi called PiMAME. He also connected a USB car charger to step down the voltage on its way from the monitor to the Raspberry Pi.

Hold all calls, cancel all meetings and head to Travis’ blog for more on his Briefcade.

[via Hack A Day]

Back before your fancy video games and Oculus Rift goggles, there was Skee-Ball. Old-timey? Yes. But a very fun game of skill (and luck). Now you can prove that you are the ultimate old timey gamer with your very own vintage arcade Skee-Ball machine.

This machine is perfect for your game room or man-cave. It is all old-timey oak and classic design. And you don’t even have to visit a carnival or amusement park to play. Of course that also means that you won’t be winning any large stuffed animals either. Oh well.

It’s all about the high score anyway. Who needs stuffed animals? It can be yours for the low, low price of $6,995(USD) from Restoration Hardware. You’ll also need some friends to help move this 750 pound beast into your house – delivery is curbside only. Still, it’s totally worth it. Then again, it’s not my money.

[via This Is Why I’m Broke]

If you have a LEGO town set up in your home, chances are it needs an arcade. A town without an arcade is just… well, sad. Luckily for you there are these Lego City Arcade Machines.

This custom set of LEGO arcade games comes from Etsy seller TinyBricks and will cost you $69.99(USD).

You get six custom-built classics: TRON, Pole Position, Donkey Kong, Superman, Super Mario Bros. and of course Pac-Man. And as a special bonus, you also get a 1980′s Punk Rocker Minifig. Someone has to play these mini machines after all.

They measure about 2.1” x 1.25”. Either have your own LEGO arcade or mix them with your other LEGO sets. Maybe you wanted to see an arcade inside of Hogwarts. Or maybe you feel that Jabba’s palace was in need of a TRON machine. The possibilities are endless.

They look so cute and hungry for tiny quarters.