Hasta La Gadget!

Another year, another Atari Flashback. But this year’s edition of the old school console has significant improvements from the Atari Flashback 3. Theoretically. More on that later.

The Flashback 4 has 75 built-in games, 15 more than the roster of the Flashback 3. But the more significant upgrades are the two wireless controllers included in the box. However, some of the customer reviews on Amazon claim that the wireless controllers are finicky. It seems that you have to keep the controllers pointed directly at the console at all times; even a slight tilt could cause them to be disconnected. You can connect wired Flashback controllers to the console, but the package only comes with wireless controllers. You can use the controllers from previous Flashback consoles or buy spare ones from At Games. Here’s a review from YouTuber classicL337:

You can order the Flashback 4 from Amazon for $82.99(USD), where a kind reviewer has also posted the full list of games from 3D Tic-Tac-Toe to Yar’s Revenge.

[via Technologytell & Boing Boing]

I think back to the days of my old 8-bit NES console and when games came on cartridges. There were definitely advantages of the medium, in that you never had to worry about scratched discs, and they loaded instantly. On the other hand, the contacts got all dirty and dusty and you either had to blow on them or clean them with an eraser to get them to work sometimes. You won’t have to worry about that with these cartridges, though.

That’s because all of the data that’s written to Cart Notes is displayed right on the outside, in plain sight. They look just like the old NES carts, but are actually sticky notes.

Fangamer sells Cart Notes in three-packs for $8(USD), which include orange, green and blue accent colors, and 50 notes per-pack, for a total of 150 sheets of paper. I’m pretty sure that wouldn’t be enough space to write down all of the source code from Duck Hunt, but it is plenty good enough for writing down grocery lists and other reminders.

If you’re into retro style beep and bleeps and beats, then here’s a fun way to discover lots of cool chiptune acts – many of whom you’ve never heard of before. A group of chiptune artists and fans has compiled the Chiptastic Chipmusic List, or as I like to call it The Ultimate Chiptune List.

The Facebook-compiled list currently showcases over 360 different chiptune performers, including links to their websites, Soundcloud, Bandcamp, or Facebook pages, as well as links to a number of streaming chipmusic radio stations. Whether you’re into chiptunes or just like retro gaming, you’ll discover all kinds of sweet new electronic music by clicking around to the artists on the list. Some of my faves: Abducted by Sharks, Mario Frog Suit, I Set My Pixels on Fire, Solarbear and PandaSTAR.

And while we’re on the subject of chiptunes, here’s some cool sounds from the monthly Philadelphia chipmusic showcase show 8static:

After you’re done listening to the concert footage above, head on over to the Chiptastic Chipmusic List on Facebook. Be sure to post a comment below and us know who your favorites are!

[Thanks for the tip, Jesse!]

As much as I loved playing through the pipes and snacking on mushrooms in Super Mario Bros., there’s nothing quite as satisfying as making that perfect jump onto the flag at the end of a level. Now you can live out that part of the game in real life, thanks to this life-size flag made to look just like the one from the game.

It’s made by James Bit, the same guy who brought us those fighting game wall decals and the equally awesome Zelda fireplace and secret passage floor art.

The flag is a dead-ringer for the one at the end of each level in Super Mario Bros., complete with a big pixelated green mushroom on a white background. Each one measures 2′ x 3′ and is made from durable nylon, so you can actually fly these outdoors in the wind. I so want to see these flying on every house in my neighborhood.

You can get your hands on the Super Mario Bros. flag over on Etsy for $50 (USD). I really want him to make the version with Bowser on it next.

James advises: “Sliding down them is not recommended unless you have 6, 3, or 1 second left on the clock.” And if you don’t know what that means, what sort of NES fanboy or girl are you?

[Thanks for the tip, Justin!]

Technology is quickly catching up to satisfy our nostalgia. We have modders making amalgams of old consoles, calculators that can run Pokémon and now this, a prime contender for Technabob’s non-existent app of the year awards – an app that lets Android devices run Windows 95 & 98 games.

The app is called Winulator, and it was made by a genius called Dan Aloni. Winulator implements “DirectX and Win32 calls”, i.e. it lets games run on the Android OS despite them being developed for the older Windows operating systems. But most of these games were made not just with a certain OS but also with certain hardware in mind, particularly Intel Pentium processors, and not the ARM processors found in today’s Android devices. Fortunately Winulator takes care of that as well. It can either compile as needed or “compile the entire binary before it runs.” In layman’s terms? StarCraft on your smartphone. Actually that’s a stupid setup but still. It’s possible.

Winulator isn’t finished yet, but Aloni is planning on releasing it via the Google Play market when it’s done. Meanwhile dig up your old installers and get to ripping.

[Winulator via Ubergizmo]