Bandai's Luminodot: 1,600 glass pegs for your child to swallow
By Joseph L. Flatley 
posted September 15th 2008 8:05PM
posted September 15th 2008 8:05PM
Bandai's Luminodot is a godsend for the light peg artiste looking to take his work to the next level. What we have here is essentially an updated Lite-Brite with over twice the resolution (read: pegs) of the original. Just like Hasbro's classic toy, several design templates are included with the kit -- and if you're feeling creative, there is an online template generator that will render your own designs to PDF. Also included with the kit are 1,600 pegs in twelve colors (or about half of what you will need to fill up the Luminodot's 70 x 50, 3,500 peg display -- you can order additional pegs on their website). But the most impressive feature is probably the LED backlighting: in addition to lighting the pegs, the Luminodot has twenty-five preprogrammed animated sequences. As with most toys this cool, Luminodot is only available in Japan -- though we have seen at least one for sale on eBay. Video after the break.
[Via technabob]
[Via technabob]
didn't see that coming
Hell it used to take us hour to make a sailboat with a lite-brite.
Now they go a up the resolution? Kids do not have that long of an attention span these days.
I completely agree. Also, you'd need a microscope to see the pegs.
exactly, i have the attention span of a ........
(walks away)
Boo, I'm too old for this thing, but still, DO WANT
LiteBrite
peggle deluxe
LiteBrite x (8-bit wet dreams) = Luminodot
But can it run 1080p??
If by 1080p you mean 50p, then yes, yes it can.
let's say the pixel distance on this thing is 0.5 cm. Then the 1080p version would be almost 10 meters wide and 5 meters high. or for those of you stuck in inches it would be 378" wide and 212" high.
that's a lot of lite-brite.
That's a big twinkie...
dancing skeletons and skeletons riding horses...
what kind of hi-def world have children come to?
I like the idea of using it for stop-go animation... pretty sweet.
is it stop-go if it's animated? lolz
Yes... He didn't say stop animation.
You can use it to plot out the value of your Lehman Bros. stock.
but, i dont have the money to buy it. =(
I could soooo rig that thing to play Doom!
I think it's interesting, but who would buy this? I really can't think of any reason to buy one unless someone needs to keep their hands busy at all times. It seems very time consuming.
The very same reason everybody had a lite-brite. So you can use it once, put it in your closet, an experience the magic wonder of finding the pegs all around your house- in places you didn't even know existed!
Who would use it? Artists, Businesses that want a personalized illuminated sign, Animators, people learning about animation, kids learning about electronics, advertising, the list goes on. Yes, it's time consuming, but once you have created your masterpiece it's there forever or until you tweak it.
You obviously have never done 'shrooms.
Why buy LEGOs
Why buy fishing poles
Why buy XBOX
Why buy bowling balls
Entertainment!
8 bit heaven!
Maybe if it wasn't so expensive.
this could be very cool
also, engadget, i feel like i'm looking through fog when viewing comments!!!
I don't get it -- how does the animation part work? They've got shit moving around like a jumbotron but it's just colored pegs.
Ya... Something tells me the commercial, and the actual experience of using the Luminodot are extremely disparate. I would imagine that the commercial wasn't even made on the Lumindot.
I could also imagine some poor bastard getting really baked, and sitting in front of it... Then with a kaleidoscopic flurry of imagination comes to a few hours later with a couple pegs shoved in. ...and one up their nose.
Darn American children... swallowing toys... Makes it hard for us adults to get decent toys.
depending on the nature of the toy, i beg to differ.
anyone remember the firebolts? anyone?
:P
Make the map of the world with it. Then report news in front of it.
best title.... ever
Whats up with the gay and bear flags?
For god's sake, when will they learn? I fucking hated isometric when I was a kid, I fucking hate it now. Just make it a goddamn square grid! I DON'T WANT TO FUCKING FIGURE OUT HOW TO MAKE RACCOON MARIO WITH AN ISO-GODDAMN--METRIC GRID, YOU PRETENTIOUS FUCKS!
Seriously.
For a second I though you had a valid point, then I realised that the grid isn't even isometric and you're just a fucking moron.
For a second I thought I had a point, then I realized I'm...hey. Dude.
Harsh.
On the plus side, these aren't isometric. I'll take one! I'll take twelve!
Does this mean Ignignokt and Err can be twice as big and at a higher resolution?
The original lite-brite tried my patience as a kid. I can't even imagine playing with this thing.
wait, this thing lights up and animates your creations?! so i can recreate the famous pokemon episode that got banned for giving kids seizures? *many lawsuits followed and japanese businessmen and investors committed seppuku from the shame*
...and put it in the rear window of your car as you drive around
They should send one of those to Mumbles Menino.
J-pegs.
Wait a sec...only in japan?
Japan? come on...you have those damn thin TVs; 1 iPhone width to be precise, and you people come up with a rip-off of a toy from the 90s?
this aint no cheap rip off! i picked one up the other day and those suckers are heavy! expensive too. around 120 us dollars. looks amazing tho, ifi had the money i woulda bought it in a n instant
Will be used as a fake blinking bomb on a Boston freeway overpass near you!
Hey guys, http://www.yesasia.com/us/luminodot/1011081093-0-0-0-en/info.html offers free international shipping to US, look legit?
i'm surprised at the number of haters. no art students in the audience this morning? lite brite was one of my favorite toys, especially at night obviously, or on rainy days (you don't have those in CA, i know). i definitely got sick of it sometimes-- often because we'd run out of black construction paper-- but i always came back to it. the worst part was not wanting to wreck a picture you'd spent a lot of time on.
wow!! This thing is like -- right out of the FUTURE!!