Hasta La Gadget!

As iconic as Q*Bert was back in the 1980s, it was also one of the most difficult and frustrating arcade games I ever played. I never was able to master it, though I’ve done a little better playing it on MAME – without the fear of going broke feeding the machine with quarters. That said, I’m pretty sure I could beat this version of the game.

What you’re looking at here is a 7-inch-tall handmade Q*Bert diorama, complete with wooden cubes and clay versions of Q*Bert and Coily the snake to play with. It also comes with a glass bead (jelly monster) and a couple of those colorful flying discs mounted by the sides of the cubes. Though they don’t actually fly.

Artist Evan Gothelf of Gothelf Bros. Studios handmakes these nifty retro dioramas, and sells them over on Etsy. They go for $45.99(USD) each, and you can choose from a couple of different color schemes. You can also order additional characters if you prefer to take your game board to a higher level.

It sure would be cool if they made a whole series of retro arcade dioramas.

Back in 2010, Ed Fries – former Vice-President of Game Publishing in Microsoft and one of the co-creators of the Xbox – created a “demake” of Halo for the Atari 2600 called Halo 2600 (Fries also talked about how the project came about on the linked page). Previously Halo 2600 was playable on PCs using an emulator or via its Flash port, but now the game is out as a legit Atari 2600 cartridge.

Here’s some gameplay footage of Halo 2600 courtesy of YouTuber dsdude1107:

Atari Age worked with Fries to release a cartridge version of the game. The first batch of cartridges were sold in a limited run in 2010, but they seem to be back in stock. You can order them from Atari Age for $50 (USD) each.

That’s pretty expensive, but at least each cartridge comes with a glossy label, a box and even a full color 8-page manual, all of which feature art that are waaaay better than how the game itself looks. Seriously kids, if you think the videogame trailers are misleading, imagine the crushing disappointment some of us suffered back in the day.

[via Retro Treasures]

You know you’re getting old when you start thinking how something was better back in the day. Programmer Hugues Johnson was in placed that mood recently when he wrote about the history of the Legend of Zelda series. He thought the amount of hand-holding in the beloved series has become ridiculous. So he decided to let some steam out by mocking some of today’s gaming norms.

Aside from poking fun at the spoon-feeding that is rife in today’s videogames, Johnson also ridicules DLC and – the worst aspect infecting games today –  the always online requirement, aka The SimCity.

If you don’t see anything wrong with the Metal Gear image you probably don’t see the humor in any of these pictures. If that is indeed the case I recommend you watch this video. All gamers and developers must watch that video. But if you’re like me and you just want to sulk more, head to Johnson’s website to see more of his jokes.

[via Slashgamer]

People are going crazy for sweaters covered in prints. Some of them look really nice, but some of them are just best left as Photoshopped concepts. Pixel artist Drew Wise made several videogame designs so grown up gamers can get in on the fad too.

I really like the Triforce one, but again, this kind of design is better judged with actual pictures of the sweaters.

The Pokémon sweater will make you look like a can of Campbell’s. You can order the sweaters from Beloved Shirts for $59 (USD) each.

[via Insanely Gaming]

I’m a sucker for the warm orange glow of Nixie tubes. There’s just something just so retro-modern about the way they look – all I can think of is the technology in the movie Brazil. I just stumbled across a really cool Nixie tube clock which accents the tubes with modern LEDs, adding even more to the look.

This six-digit Nixie clock has a RGB LEDs under the base of each Nixie vacuum tube, allowing it to change accent colors on demand. Just press the buttons in the included wireless remote to select your color, and the LEDs will adjust to your liking. The remote works like many other color-changing LEDs, letting you fade colors as well. Just keep in mind that the Nixie tubes will always have their distinct orange glow to them.

The clock offers 12/24-hour modes, the ability to change the digit cross-fade, and it can also display to date and work as an alarm clock. The whole thing looks really awesome when illuminated, using some of the best looking Nixie tubes I’ve seen as well.

Unfortunately, all of these good looks don’t come cheap. The Nixie/LED clock retails for $599.99(USD) over on eBay. That said, there’s a cheaper version that comes with smaller Nixie tubes that I don’t think look quite as cool – but it sells for just $199.00.