nostalgia
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Microsoft resurrects its most iconic mouse
The Surface Precision Mouse isn't the only new input device in Microsoft's arsenal. The company's Surface site has quietly teased the Classic IntelliMouse, a wired peripheral directly inspired by the legendary IntelliMouse Explorer 3.0 you might have used in the early 2000s -- yes, this is the second time Microsoft has brought back the iconic design. The company isn't saying too much about what this revival will entail, but it'll have more precise tracking (up to 3,200DPI) while preserving the "firm" scroll wheel you knew from the days when Windows XP was still hot stuff.
Play Atari's 'Centipede' on a tiny, authentic arcade cabinet
There's something special to playing a vintage arcade cabinet, but it's usually impractical to own one. It's no mean feat to lug a gigantic machine into your home, and you'll probably have to restore it to recapture its glory. Atari and New Wave Toys think they have a better idea. They've partnered on Replicade X Centipede, a 1/6th-scale cabinet replica that lets you play (what else?) Centipede in an authentic-looking system that won't chew up tons of space in your den. The 3.5-inch LCD won't recreate the experience you get with an old-school CRT screen, but everything else is surprisingly close. It's made of metal and wood, the art is sourced directly from Atari's vaults, and you even steer the game using a tiny trackball.
Nokia remakes its remade 3310 with... 3G
As companies continue to pull open our wallets through the nefarious magic known as nostalgia, Nokia is back with another attempt to syphon some more disposable income from millennials and... whichever generation came before them. The re-reheated Nokia 3310 3G has, yes, 3G, which upgrades the 2.5G of the relaunched dumbphone, but still trails the LTE (4G) speeds we're used to. (Not that technical specs matter if you're interested in buying one.) It'll arrive with new Azure and Charcoal color options -- and silver buttons -- but that's pretty much the only other things that have notably changed.
VR throwback 'Duck Season' arrives September 14th
Stress Level Zero's Duck Season caught our eye for a number of reasons. It's not just a VR callback to the NES hit Duck Hunt, it's a broader celebration of '80s culture... with a horror twist, to boot. And now, you'll get to see whether or not it's as fun as it is weird. The studio has announced that Duck Season will be available on both Steam and the Oculus Store on September 14th. Yes, despite the early Vive-focused experience we saw in June, it'll be available for the Oculus Rift as well.
Lomography's all-analog square camera uses familiar film
Do you prefer to shoot photos with a completely analog camera, but wish you could get in on the square photo trend that's all the rage with the Instagram crowd? Lomography thinks it can help. It's crowdfunding the Lomo'Instant Square Camera, a fully analog instant camera that takes the same square Instax film you'd use in Fujifilm's semi-digital Instax Square SQ10. You won't have to look far to restock, in other words. The camera itself, meanwhile, revels in its non-digital nature -- although there are some concessions to modernity.
Twitch starts its retro 'Starcade' marathon on August 28th
Twitch has nailed down the start of its Starcade marathon... and unlike many of its other marathons, it won't just involve playing episodes back to back. It'll stream the arcade-themed game show on Shout! Factory's channel starting August 28th at 2PM ET. The focus is on playing all 123 episodes digitized from the source tapes, but there's a modern twist: Geek & Sundry host and streaming veteran Erika Ishii will introduce games and provide context. You shouldn't be lost if you're too young to have played the games outside of an emulator.
Infiniti prototype melds a 1940s race car with EV power
As a rule, electric car concepts embrace the future. Even those with a retro flavor are clearly products of the 21st century. Don't tell that to Infiniti, however -- it's going deep into the past. Nissan's luxury badge has unveiled the Prototype 9, an EV whose design unabashedly recalls 1940s race cars (particularly those from Auto Union). And it's not just the long nose, spoked wheels and massive front grille that pay homage -- the prototype was even built using traditional techniques. Inside, of course, it's very much the product of 2017 know-how.
When tech nostalgia goes too far
Nintendo had a bonafide smash on its hands with the NES Classic. And it looks like the SNES mini console will fly off of store shelves just as quickly. But it's not the only company looking to cash in on your nostalgia. Nowadays, there are reboots of TV shows like Twin Peaks and MST3K. Oh, and how about Netflix's Stranger Things, a series that's basically a love letter to the 80s? These are all examples of nostalgia products done right. But not everything we've seen in recent years has been as great as you would have hoped. Because, seriously, do you really want one of the Furbys pictured above watching you sleep? And who would be caught dead toting around a Tamagotchi in 2017? You know what, maybe that is you, and who are we to judge? But if you ask us, these 10 things probably took our retro obsession a little too far.
The Cash Money app creates cover art for your rap debut
Music fans of a certain generation will remember Cash Money Records' charmingly kitschy album art. Twenty years later the record label is capitalizing on nostalgia with the Cash Money 20th Anniversary app. If you've ever wanted to put your face on a Hot Boy$ album, this app will help you live out that fantasy. There are 20 stickers to dress your photo with, and even a Birdman and Lil Wayne tattoo pack to complete the look. As Billboard writes the first sticker pack is free, but everything else will run you $0.99 each.
USB-powered Sega Nomad gives you near-endless game time
Sega's Genesis Nomad was always something of a compromise (it was running 16-bit console games on mid-1990s handheld tech), but the battery life was a particularly sore point: it took six AA batteries just to get 3 hours of play time. Wouldn't it be nice if you could use modern hardware to play without constant (and sometimes expensive) battery swaps? The Sega Holic (aka Catch22 on NeoGAF) thinks so. He just teased a homebrew Nomad modification that lets the portable system run on USB power. You could play for hours on end with the same external battery you use for your phone, or rely on your laptop's power to keep playing in between meetings.
Swap your boring coffee table for one that plays 'Pong'
Remember that real-world Pong table that was supposed to become a product you could buy if everything went smoothly? Well, it's here... almost. The creators have launched a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign to launch a production-grade, coffee table-sized version of the design. If you're willing to pledge at least $1,100 ($990 if you were referred by an existing backer), you can get living room furniture that uses magnets, motors and optical sensors to recreate the classic 1972 game. You can hide the controls when you aren't using them, and the table even throws in USB charging ports, Bluetooth music streaming and a coin-op mode to recoup your investment.
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.
Gaming TV show 'Starcade' is making a comeback
Veteran gamers will have more than a few fond memories of Starcade, the first video game-oriented TV show. Well, it's about to come roaring back: Shout Factory has bought the rights to create a reboot of the series. It's too early to say how they'll modernize the format, but the early '80s original had a mix of game-specific trivia questions and competitive play -- we'd expect something in that vein. The new team is working with the original production company and creators, too, so it's not just a token nod to a familiar name.
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.
All the reveals from PlayStation Experience 2016
It definitely feels like Sony showed off more games during the PlayStation Experience keynote today than it did at E3. Which is pretty impressive, when you think about it. The show started out with a glimpse at the next chapter of the Uncharted saga and ended with, well, the next chapter in the The Last of Us. Both were extremely unexpected treats from developer Naughty Dog, but in between those bookends were a ton of other teases and announcements from the company's 20-plus years of gaming history. If you wanted fresh versions of Parappa the Rapper and WipeOut, or even an updated take on the obscure Windjammers, you're all set. Oh, and how about the next game from Housemarque, the Robotron-esque Nex Machina? Now, let's get to the videos.
Nintendo is reviving the NES' hint line for one weekend
When Nintendo releases the NES Classic Edition on November 11th, it won't limit the nostalgia to the hardware you take home. The company is marking the launch by resurrecting its classic Power Line for that weekend. Call 425-885-7529 between 9AM and 10PM Eastern each day (until the night of the 13th) and you can get both hints for "several" games as well as stories from people who manned the phones on the original line back in the 1980s. The tips are pre-recorded, alas, but this could easily rekindle memories of a pre-web era when your best bets at help usually involved calling the Power Line or asking a friend. Our main question: will the phone line stick to the same tips you got as a kid, or offer a few juicy secrets?
iPod marks its 15th birthday in a changed world
If you're a gadget fan of a certain age (cough), you're about to feel ancient: Apple's iPod just turned 15 years old. Steve Jobs unveiled the first version of the media player at an event on Apple's campus on October 23rd, 2001. To say that it had a wild ride after that would be an understatement. Many credit the iPod as the device that took Apple from niche PC maker to one of the largest companies on the planet, only to fade away as smartphones took over. But how did it get to where it is now? And is there any room left for the iPod 15 years later? Let's take a quick look back at how the iPod has evolved through the years.
The After Math: Sentimental Sunday
It was a top notch week in terms of longing for the simpler times of yesteryear. The action was capped off with a ringing endorsement from none other than Clint Eastwood himself. But while that angry old man busied himself with yelling at clouds, Sony put the Kibosh on its helpless superhero series. The US announced it will let a private company land on the moon. Archive.org posted a gaggle of old Nintendo Power issues. And Apple stayed insanely rich. Numbers, because how else are you going to know how long it's been since you could get away with being openly racist?
Disney 16-bit classics including 'Aladdin' coming to GOG.com
Nothing says '90s gaming like the Sega Genesis and 16-bit Disney classics like Aladdin. You can bathe in that nostalgia again thanks to GOG.com and Disney's re-release of Aladdin, The Lion King and Jungle Book. Those titles, originally developed for the Super NES and Sega Genesis, were groundbreaking at the time for the hand drawn "Digicel" tech used. All were eventually ported to the NES, Amiga, PC and other systems, but GOG cheekily said that the Aladdin update is based on the "obviously superior" Sega/PC version.
