playing cards
Latest
Hiroshi Yamauchi, the man who built Nintendo, dies aged 85
Hiroshi Yamauchi was Nintendo's third and arguably most important president. When he took the reins from his grandfather in 1949, the Japanese company specialized in the manufacture of playing cards for its home market -- first Japanese-style cards and then, under Yamauchi's guidance, Western-style ones too. By the time he handed over control to Satoru Iwata 53 years later, he'd overseen the creation of all Nintendo's game consoles up to the GameCube and become one of Japan's richest men -- in other words, not a bad innings for a man who passed away today at the ripe old age of 85.
Play some card games with the cast of Zelda
Some days are sad, some days are happy, and some are just packed full of Zelda for some reason. Today is one of those days and we're not complaining -- Fangamer is selling a pack of Zelda-themed playing cards designed by DeviantArt user Nelde, and they are utterly gorgeous.The face cards feature famous Zelda characters, including Zelda, Link, Dark Link, Mikau, Darmani and more. The suits have been updated as well, to rupees, swords, heart bits and triforces. Fangamer warns that the decks won't ship until May, but the good people of Zelda Universe say they already received their orders, so go ahead and take a chance on love. Or Zelda cards.Or both. It's just that kind of day.
Mac OS 7 logos turned into playing cards
Dr. Macenstein found these awesome old-school Apple playing cards, featuring logos icons from the olden days of Mac System 7, adopted for a standard playing card deck layout. There's no word on just what the origin of these is -- if they're official or unofficial -- but supposedly they've been seen on eBay for up to $150 before. [Yes, these were official but only available to Apple employees, as we pointed out when we posted about them last time. - Ed] The pack seen in the pictures was on sale but has since been purchased, so you'll have to hunt down your own copy if you want one for yourself. The rest of us will have to just sit back and enjoy the designs on this. I wonder what a playing card deck using iOS or even app icons would be like.
Rare official Apple playing cards up for auction on eBay
If your Apple collectibles case has an empty slot in it for something new, you may just want to check out these very rare Apple Computer Playing Cards up for auction on eBay. Brought to our attention by MacStories, this official Apple-branded set of OS 7 icon playing cards was purchased at an Apple campus store back in 1997 and is still in brand-new and unused condition. The cards come as a full deck of 52 cards plus two Jokers, and the icons are of OS 7 Bombs, Clocks, Mac Face and Trash Cans rather than the standard card illustrations of clubs, hearts, diamonds and spades. Bidding is now up to £205 with six days remaining in the auction. These sets were available only to Apple employees back in the day, so those of you looking for a rare Apple collectible may want to check them out. If £205 (and still climbing) seems like a little much dough to pull out of your wallet right now for these Apple cards, maybe something like a collectible iPad Cutting Board for US$19.95 is more your speed. Better yet, for the absolute low price of $0.00, Apple fans who are also playing card fanatics may want to check out Full Deck Solitaire, reviewed earlier today here on TUAW. [via MacStories and The Next Web]
Mario Trump cards trump most other cards
With the whole "video games" business a total failure, apparently, Nintendo is returning to the trade for which it was founded back in 1889: playing cards. Next month, Nintendo will offer three sets of "Mario Trump" playing cards through Japanese retailers. The "Dot" deck features sprites of Mario characters, with pixelated text and symbols; the "Standard" deck features hand-drawn Mario art; and the "Neon" deck features the 3D renders we've come to associate with Mario in the last ten years. While none of these decks is quite as lovely as the Club Nintendo hanafuda cards (in our opinion), they'll all be a lot easier to acquire. Instead of requiring imaginary currency accrued through the registration of Nintendo games, these decks will be sold for regular money: ¥1,050 (call it $11.50). Expect to see them offered from your favorite importer, like NCSX or Play-Asia, around their scheduled July release date. %Gallery-94193% [Via Andriasang]
iPhone playing cards use washable PVC touchscreen technology
Wanna spice up your next poker night? Meminos would love to help you out there with its deck of iPhone-inspired playing cards. They certainly look the part, as at first blush we thought we were dealing with an app, and are novel enough to appeal even to our cold and cynical souls. Another shot lies after the break, and you can grab your own deck for $25 through the read link. [Via Chip Chick]
