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Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez guest-stars in a 'Donkey Kong 64' Twitch stream
Having conquered Twitter and Instagram, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez jumped on a Donkey Kong 64 Twitch livestream on Sunday to clap back at Aaron Sorkin and voice her support for trans rights. The stream in question was YouTuber H.Bomberguy's fundraiser for Mermaids, a UK charity that provides support for gender diverse and transgender children.
Nintendo won't release an N64 Classic anytime soon
The NES and SNES Classic consoles served as bellwethers for the retro gaming revival that's currently in full swing. Naturally, everyone thought the N64 Classic was next (with both an earlier trademark filing and controller patent adding fuel to the fire). And what better time to launch then Christmas, right? Wrong. According to Nintendo America President Reggie Fils-Aime, the company has no plans to release an N64 Classic now, next month, or for the foreseeable future.
After Math: Gaming the system
With Gamescom 2018 now wrapping up and IFA 2018 just getting started, there's more than enough video game news to go around. But the latest salvos in the console wars weren't the only things going on in the tech industry this week. VW announced that it's investing $4 billion in a proprietary connected car architecture, Facebook phased out 5,000 ad options in an effort to fight discrimination on its platform and the CBP actually did something right for once. I know, I'm shocked too.
‘Super Mario 64’ is an online multiplayer game thanks to hero modders
Super Mario 64 turned 21 years old back in June, but the classic title lives on in the hearts and minds of players. A new fan project has taken that collective nostalgia to another level with a downloadable version of the game allowing up to 24 friends to play through the (formerly) single-player adventure. But given Nintendo's extremely low tolerance for unauthorized versions of its games, play it now before the company DMCA's it off the internet.
The SNES Classic is probably the last retro console Nintendo will make
When Nintendo announced the SNES Classic earlier this week, nerd hearts everywhere were aflutter at another opportunity to relive old gaming glory. There was a hint of caution, though, as fans remembered how demand for Nintendo's first retro console -- the NES Classic -- wildly outpaced supply when it launched last fall. The company hopes to forestall shortages this time around and has improved a few other things (like adding a few feet to the controller cables). Either way, make your peace with the SNES Classic when it lands on Sept. 29th. It'll probably be the last retro console Nintendo releases.
'Zelda' fan creates an ocarina-controlled smart home
In the real world, an ocarina is a lot less functional than the magical one Link has in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. As Nintendo 64 lovers know, the Hyrulian hero can use his instrument to do things like manipulate the rain and switch between night and day. In our realm, ocarinas just sound nice. Allen Pan, better known as Sufficiently Advanced on YouTube, decided he was tired of playing his ocarina without mystical results. So, he did what any Zelda fan with the technological know-how would do: create a smart home setup controlled by an ocarina.
'Donkey Kong 64' player finds rare collectible 17 years later
The 3D platformer Donkey Kong 64 was lauded for its expansive worlds and multitude of well-hidden collectibles when it launched on the Nintendo 64 in 1999. Like many games of the era, it has enjoyed a peculiar afterlife as speedrunners blitz through it in record time under various conditions, like picking up each of the 976 banana coins found within. Unfortunately, all those completionist runs now seem to be invalid: 17 years after the game came out, streamer Isotarge has found a 977th coin.
The 'Ocarina of Time' soundtrack is coming to vinyl
In The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, music had a pretty big role. For instance, all it took to summon a rainstorm or change the time of day was playing a few notes on an the titular musical instrument. And now you can get in line to buy those iconic tracks and more on 180 gram vinyl. Hero of Time is scheduled to release second quarter of next year and will set you back $40 plus shipping. Rather than just pressing the MIDI score from the Nintendo 64 game to wax, however, a 64-piece orchestra performed the tunes. I see what you did there, iam8bit.
Rare US N64 disk-drive retail prototype found in Seattle
If you subscribed to Nintendo Power in the 90's, you probably remember reading about the Nintendo 64DD, a console disk-drive add-on design to bring higher storage capacity, a real-time clock and internet connectivity to the Nintendo 64. You may also remember that it flopped in Japan, badly. The N64DD never made it to the US market -- but it may have come closer to hitting store shelves than we previously thought. A collector in Seattle has stumbled upon a working US Nintendo 64DD prototype.
N64's 'GoldenEye 007' goes modern with Unreal Engine 4
Ah, yes. GoldenEye 007. One of the classic Nintendo 64 titles and a memorable first-person shooter is certainly a game that I spent a lot of time with. Now we have a glimpse of what the game could look like if it was made with the tools available to developers today. YouTube user Jude Wilson recreated a portion of the Facility Map using Unreal Engine 4, offering a bit of nostalgia for those of us who are familiar with the title. Wilson isn't the first to do this, as Mario and Sonic have already been given the UE4 treatment. It's an interesting take, but don't take our word for it, go through the level yourself via the video down below.
Rare shows the 'Conker' game that never was
If you know your Rare history, you probably know that Conker's Bad Fur Day began life as a tame, kid-friendly game and evolved into the foul-mouthed 'mature' title that reached your Nintendo 64. Have you wondered what that original squirrel adventure looked like in action, however? Rare is happy to help. It just posted unreleased footage of the game when it was still known as Twelve Tales: Conker 64. To say that this early version was playing it safe would be an understatement. As you'll see below, Conker's companion Berry (aka Berri) wasn't nearly so sexualized. Meanwhile, the gameplay mechanics involved innocuous things like unicycles and differently-themed hats -- no feces monsters here.
'Rare Replay': gaming classics at their best-worst
It wasn't until after I'd repeatedly pummeled an oversized rat's testicles that I realized why preserving video game history is so important. Were it not for Rare Replay, an anthology of 30 games spanning 32 years, I'd never have played Battletoads Arcade and would've missed one of the finest moments from one of gaming's most storied developers. Replay is an invaluable record of developer Rare's legacy, but it's neither complete nor perfect. Before Microsoft purchased the studio for $375 million in 2002, Rare made games almost exclusively for Nintendo. GoldenEye and the Donkey Kong Country series (arguably its biggest hits) are absent here thanks to publishing and licensing deals, while other games have been scrubbed free of Nintendo references entirely. While Replay's remastered contents are the best they'll likely ever look, games aren't movies, and visuals are only one part of the equation here. So can a slick, modern package make up for any shortcomings that result from playing decades-old games? The answer isn't so simple and it fluctuates wildly from one classic Rare title to the next.
Play 'Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time' on your Wii U
At long last, you can play one of the best Legend of Zelda games (often considered the best) on your Wii U. Nintendo has released a Virtual Console version of Ocarina of Time for its latest TV console on the eShop, giving you an easy way to relive Link's classic time-traveling adventure without taking your dusty old Nintendo 64 (or original Wii) out of storage. You might not relish the thought of plunking down $10 for a 17-year-old game, especially if you've already bought it twice, but it beats watching a groundbreaking title fade from memory.
Nintendo backs off of bringing Super Nintendo games to Wii U
Bad news for Super Nintendo fans: your Wii U fix is about to dry up. Nintendo's Virtual Console, the download service offering older games on its consoles and handhelds, has never had the most robust selection. With Nintendo turning its eye towards N64 games, though, SNES releases are being left behind. According to Natsume, a publisher with a plethora of SNES games primed for re-release, Nintendo is done with 16-bit for now.
JXE Streams: The wild and weird 'Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask'
This week -- tomorrow -- Nintendo is re-releasing its polarizing Nintendo 64 third-person action game, The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask. But today -- at 3PM ET! -- we're streaming the game and hosting a rousing discussion. No "expansion pak" required! Though we'd love to show you the re-release for Nintendo 3DS, there's simply no way for us to stream from our handheld game systems. As such, today we're streaming the original Nintendo 64 game. No, we don't have a magical Nintendo 64 with HDMI-out, but we do have a Wii U, which has a Wii built into it, which has Virtual Console. All that to say this: we're streaming the Wii re-release of Nintendo 64 game The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask. The future! We're in it!
Nintendo 64 mod promises HDMI output, soldering burns
If you have a Nintendo 64 kicking around, it's probably not hooked up to your television. It's not that you don't love the classic console, it's just that many modern sets don't support the machine's archaic video cables. Don't worry, it can be fixed. RetroActive, a one-man mod team, is working on a circuit board that will gift the aging console with digital outputs. The kit promises to pipe audio and video out through DVI, HDMI or VGA (assuming you have the appropriate cables), but its creator is considering building an HDMI-only version. Either way, it won't be easy to install -- RetroActive says that it attaches directly to one of the Nintendo 64's main processors, and "it requires fine pitch soldering skills to install." RetroActive has set up a notification page for folks interested in project, adding that the device's Q1 2014 release date is only tentative. "To be honest it's one of many things I have going on and I'd rather not release a crappy product," writes Marshall, the man behind RetroActive. "It'll be done when it's done." Fair enough, we're not that handy with a soldering iron anyway.
Nintendo Wii U's spring update, Panorama View arrive next week
Nintendo's Wii U game console is getting its promised spring update next week, said company president Satoru Iwata in a Luigi-filled video presentation this morning. The update is said to launch software dramatically faster than before, as Nintendo demonstrated in a video last month. Iwata also said the update adds continuable downloads while the console is off, and that Virtual Console won't arrive until the following week -- should you wish to directly launch into the Wii menu, you'll be able to hold down the B button as the console is starting up. That said, if you wanna play those VC games directly from the Wii U menu, you'll need to re-buy them for $1 apiece for NES games and $1.50 for SNES games. A variety of games were shown off as available at the Virtual Console's launch, including classics like Super Mario World and Punch-Out! Apparently GameBoy Advance and Nintendo 64 games are planned for inclusion on the VC in the coming months, but no definitive date was given. He also said Panorama View will arrive next week for free, and it sounds like it'll be a separate download from the software update.
Hailrazer stuffs a Nintendo 64 into a GameCube GameBoy Player (video)
Hailrazer is clearly a fan of the Nintendo 64 and GameCube, but his projects have kept the systems as separate beasts. Until now, that is. His latest mod puts a Nintendo 64 into a GameCube's GameBoy Player add-on, linking the audio, power and video to those of the more modern system. Gamers just have to plug in relevant controllers and flip a switch to play whichever console best triggers a nostalgia trip. About the only setback is the absence of space for a proper Nintendo 64 cartridge slot, which effectively mandates using a not-quite-above-board storage format instead. Given that the two-in-one console is strictly a personal labor of love, it's still quite the achievement -- and it guarantees that Hailrazer's inner circle won't have to travel far for a trip down memory lane. [Thanks, Jon]
Switched On: The old adventures of new 3D
Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology. In the unmarked office of 3-D Vision, Inc., you can see a television or PC display a videogame or movie with a convincing stereoscopic effect. That might not seem very unique. However, the television is a CRT from the 1990s, the video game is Super Mario for the Nintendo 64 and the movie is The Wizard of Oz, made in 1939. Despite the growth in 3D television sales, the requirement to wear 3D glasses has loomed as one of the most significant barriers to adoption. 3-D Vision's technology still requires glasses, at least for now. However, with some caveats, it overcomes some of the other, oft-overlooked barriers to 3D adoption by creating 3D video from 2D content on 2D (or 3D) displays. On televisions, this is achieved via a small set-top box -- a prototype of which approaches the size and noise level of a mini-fridge -- that plugs into the video source and the TV and converts the video in real-time with virtually no latency. The box should be available early next year.
