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Classic RPG 'Pillars of Eternity' is headed to consoles in August
Fans of classic role-playing games have had a lot to be happy about these past few years. The isometric genre has seen somewhat of a resurgence lately thanks to high-profile crowdfunded games like Wasteland 2 and the Divinity series -- both of which got console ports, no less. That trend continues with the news that Pillars of Eternity will make its way from PC to consoles as well. As the name suggests, Pillars of Eternity: Complete Edition will pack all the expansions and patches from the PC version when it is released August 29th on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
'Stranger Things' action figures cash in on '80s nostalgia
Netflix's Stranger Things is ultimately one long nostalgia trip for kids from the '80s, so it only makes sense that it you'd see tributes to every last facet of '80s culture, right? Funko agrees. It's preparing Stranger Things action figures that are bound to rekindle memories of playing with GI Joe or She-Ra toys as a kid. The collection will include two packs of three figurines that mostly center around the kids at the heart of the series, complete with character-appropriate props. Eleven has a box of Eggo waffles, for instance, while Lucas is packing a slingshot.
Atari 2600 fans get the revival console they deserve
If you want to play retro Atari 2600/VCS games, you're not short on options. There's eBay for the original console, of course. You can play some on mobile, buy one of those Flashback all-in-ones or splurge on the ultimate man/woman cave table. But for those who have the original cartridges but don't want to keep an old console on permanent life support or tinker with modifications under the hood, your options aren't so good. Enter the RetroN 77 -- the VCS reimagined for the modern age. Importantly, it plays most if not all of the original game cartridges in glorious 1080p and at a modern aspect ratio, right out of the box.
'Tech Hunters' uncovers the retro gadgets that defined their time
The first mobile phones weighed roughly the same as a small child. Early black-and-white TVs had a tuning knob that you turned to change channel. Looking back on them now, it's almost laughable how low-tech they were when compared to the flagship smartphones and 4K OLED TVs that appear on this site every week. But we owe these devices respect, not just for the technological achievement they represented back then, but for enabling the high-tech world we live in today. Without the PlayStation, you couldn't have the PlayStation 4. Without the indestructible old Nokia 3310, you couldn't have... the new Nokia 3310. To explore that legacy, we're embarking on a journey into the world of retro gadgets. Hosted by TV and radio presenter Julia Hardy, Tech Hunters will uncover the devices we were once obsessed with, looking at how they disrupted the tech industry, and what they're worth today. From the pocket pet obsession with the original Tamagotchi, to mix-tapes and Sony Walkman, Tech Hunters will explore the audio, visual, interactive and transport innovations that have shaped today's culture. The first episode of the 10-part series, produced by Engadget UK and aired weekly, will debut on Wednesday May 24th. We hope you'll join us.
Nintendo's NES Classic has been discontinued in Europe too
When Nintendo pulled the NES Classic from its website and retailers in the US, we knew it was only a matter of time before the same happened on the other side of the Atlantic. It took four days, but the company today confirmed to Eurogamer that the tiny retro console is no longer on sale in Europe, meaning it's now been discontinued worldwide.
You're never getting an NES Classic Edition now
If you've spent the last few months trying to get your hands on a NES Classic Edition, it's time to give up. Nintendo's tiny, plug-and-play retro console is dead. Or dying, at least. The company says the last shipments to North American territories will reach stores in April, advising buyers to check with their local retailers for availability. In other words, the NES Classic Edition shortage is going away, but only because the product won't exist anymore.
MWC 2017 showed us the power of nostalgia
Millennials may recognize the Nokia 3310 from the "Indestructible Nokia" meme, but us older folks will more likely remember it as the first cell phone we ever used. Here at MWC 2017, Nokia revived the iconic handset, giving it a 2-inch color display, a "smart" operating system and a 2-megapixel camera. Yes, those specs are atrocious in this generation, but thanks to the power of nostalgia, no one cared.
The Analogue Nt Mini wants to be the last NES you'll ever buy
Trying to play an NES cartridge on Nintendo's original, 30-year-old hardware can be an exercise in frustration. The console's ancient composite cables offer terrible image quality on modern televisions, and getting games to actually run is a ballet of reseating, jostling and, of course, blowing on game cartridges. Nintendo's own NES Classic Edition and the Wii U and 3DS virtual consoles offer refuge for the casual gamer's nostalgic yearnings, but collectors looking for an authentic, cartridge-based retro gaming experience have long suffered under the dark shadow of compromise. Is it better to play on the original, but unreliable, hardware, or an NES clone plagued with compatibility issues? With the Analogue Nt Mini, you may not have to tolerate either -- but at $449, Analogue's compromise-free Nintendo doesn't come cheap.
The Engadget Podcast Ep 17: Mansion on the Hill
Executive editor Christopher Trout and reviews editor Cherlynn Low join host Terrence O'Brien to talk about the week's biggest news, including: Pandora Premium, Fitbit's purchase of Pebble and the gaming industry's nostalgia overload. Then Chris will tell the panel about his investigation into a failed gaming accessory that's found a second life as a sex toy -- clearly things get a little NSFW. Then all three will talk about what Amazon Go and other advancements in automation and mean for low-skill and low-wage jobs.
NES Classic Edition review: The best and worst of retro gaming
"I don't want to sit on the floor while I play video games," my buddy Josh told me. "I'm not 7 anymore." My friend was parked just 4 feet away from my 40-inch television, playing Ninja Gaiden on the NES Classic Edition -- a tiny re-creation of Nintendo's original home game console. The diminutive game system has everything a nostalgic gamer could want: an iconic design, a built-in collection of 30 classic games and pixel-perfect emulation. But for Josh, the two-and-a-half-foot-long controller cables were a deal-breaker. It's a shame, too: Almost everything else about the NES Classic is perfect.
New 'Shovel Knight' expansion haunts the chapel next spring
One of the best throwback games in recent memory is definitely Shovel Knight from developer Yacht Club Games. Last September (it's been that long?), the team dropped the free "Plague of Shadows" expansion for all platforms. This year, we have word of when the next add-on will release. "Specter of Torment" will come out sometime next spring, according to a tweet from Yacht Club. Not much else is known at the moment, but the team did offer a huge update back in June all about new protagonist Specter Knight -- wall climb! Dash slash!
Look at the Xbox 360's cancelled 'Goldeneye 007' HD remaster
It's one of those bits of gaming trivia that punches a specific generation of players square in the gut: There was once an Xbox Live port of Goldeneye 007 in the works, but it was cancelled. It's true -- Activation was porting the Nintendo 64 classic to the Xbox 360 back in 2008, but the project was canned when Microsoft and Nintendo couldn't reach a licensing agreement. The good news? Today we finally get a look at what the game would have been -- known leaker Rare Thief has posted 30 minutes of gameplay footage.
Analogue's beautiful, aluminum NES gets a smaller spin-off
The NES Classic is equal parts neat and limited -- after all, it has the correct look, but can't be expanded beyond the 30 games built into it and won't play nice with existing NES controllers. Cheap? Sure, though it's maybe not the tiny retro machine fans have been hoping for. That's where the makers of the custom-built Analogue Nt come in: they've built a smaller, less expensive version of the console called the Nt mini that's set to ship in January 2017.
Nintendo's Classic Mini is a tiny NES with 30 games
That dusty old NES in your attic might be rife with nostalgic memories, but it's a pain to drag out of its box whenever you get the hankering for a rousing game of Super Mario Bros. 3. Nintendo totally gets it, as well as the fact that you might want something a little more convenient to enjoy your classic games. Enter the Nintendo Entertainment System: NES Classic Edition, a mini replica of the original console.
My pointless quest to achieve perfect retro console fidelity
It all started about four years ago when I came into an old Sega Saturn system from the mid-90s. It was an entire console catalog that I completely skipped over back in the day. I hooked it up to my TV and soon I was knee-deep in classic fighting games like Street Fighter vs. X-Men and shoot-em-ups like Thunderforce V. The low-poly art style was gorgeously retro, but I quickly realized that the image was stretched and distorted on my HDTV. I Googled "retro console fidelity," and that's where it all went wrong.
Burger King Game Boy toy turned into real retro handheld
At the turn of the Millennium, Burger King handed out adorable tiny Game Boy Colors with fake Pokémon cartridges. Sixteen years later and a modder, armed with a Raspberry Pi Zero, has turned one of the dummy units into a working console. Paired with a two-inch display from Adafruit and Retropie's software emulator, the title will play Game Boy Color and Advance titles with its now working buttons. Although, of course, since there's only A&B, you might struggle with titles that need the shoulder bumpers too. It's not the first time that we've seen Raspberry Pi's tiny board being used in this way, with a full-size Game Boy being turned into an emulator earlier this year. Given how many broken handhelds are available on eBay, we imagine everyone's going to devote a weekend to building their own.
Nintendo and Vans team up on retro gaming sneakers
A Nintendo-themed line of Vans sneakers has mysteriously popped up online. A European store listed the range that includes classic gaming icons like Zelda, Mario and Duck Hunt, adorning some of Vans' most popular styles (like the Old Skool). Not much else is known about the collaboration, and the listing seems to have been removed (though a cache of it can be found here). The only other info being the collection will likely go on sale in June, priced at around €65 ($75). This isn't the first time we've seen Nintendo sneakers, but it's the first time we've seen them done in a way we'd actually want to wear.
Step back in time with a mysterious, unreleased Neo Geo game
The Neo Geo served as a launchpad for a handful of influential fighting game franchises like The King of Fighters, but there may be one more masterpiece buried in the 26-year-old hardware. About a year ago, Neo Geo fan Brian Hargrove bought an unlabeled ROM board at a Japanese auction for about $600 in the hopes that it would contain leftover data he could play with, USgamer reports. After a few failed attempts to extract its secrets, he got it working and stumbled across an unknown, unfinished fighting game prototype that might tie into Dungeons & Dragons lore. Happily, he's shared videos and images of the mystery title in action.
Chromecast in a '70s TV is wonderful and weird
You've no doubt seen some interesting attempts at melding vintage tech with the modern world, but few of them are likely to be as fun (and vaguely practical) as this. Gadget tweaker Dr. Moddnstine has modified a 1978 General Electric portable TV to include a hidden Chromecast, giving your YouTube videos a vacuum tube flair. It's impressive, and not just because he managed to get an HDMI device to talk to an analog set -- there's an auxiliary audio jack (the Chromecast can stay powered while the TV is off), and it'll even turn on and switch off automatically.
Atari Vault brings 100 classic games to Steam
At last, you now have a simple way to play hordes of classic Atari games on your PC without resorting to third-party emulators: as promised, the Atari Vault is now available on Steam. The Windows-only collection lets you play 100 arcade and Atari 2600 games, such as Asteroids and Crystal Castles, in an environment that strikes a balance between nostalgia (such as borders that mimic arcade cabinets) and modern-day conveniences. That includes online multiplayer play, worldwide leaderboards and advanced controller support -- Valve's Steam Controller will even mimic a trackball to give you a more authentic experience in Centipede or Tempest. The Vault costs $17 on launch (normally $20), so it's just inexpensive enough that you can relive the good old days without feeling regret afterwards.
