ThinkGeek's iCade gaming cabinet for iPad moves closer to reality
Since 2001, ThinkGeek has been compiling gag products for April Fool's Day. Some products are silly, some outrageous, and some are conceptually cool and show promise as a real product. The iCade gaming cabinet, one star of April Fool's 2010, falls into this latter category. The iCade is a retro gaming cabinet that hearkens back to the 80s and its arcade gaming craze. The table-top unit lets you mount your iPad as the display, while the cabinet itself includes a joystick, arcade buttons and Bluetooth to connect to your iPad.
After a few copycat versions hit the scene, ThinkGeek realized there is genuine interest in such a product and is working with Atari and ION to bring this concept to fruition. Atari is planning to release iCade-friendly versions of its classic arcade games, like Asteroids. These games will run on the iPad, and the action will be controlled by the BT-connected joystick and gaming buttons. An API will also be released so that current game developers can create iCade-compatible versions of their games.
The unit will start shipping April 2011 and will retail for US$99.99. Are any of you gamers out there interested in scooping one up when it becomes available?
[Via the gadgeteer]
