gakken
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Trivia game offers quizzes about the unknown
Japan's eventual burial in highly-focused DS "educational" games continues unabated, with the announcement of Gakken Muu Henshuubu Kanshuu Choujougenshou Research File (Muu Magazine Editorial Department-supervised Supernatural and Paranormal Phenomena Research File), based on Japan's Muu magazine, a monthly publication about the paranormal.The game features over 2,000 multiple-choice, true/false, and fill-in-the-blank questions about UFOs, cryptids, and other kooky stuff. Answering questions correctly will advance your rank as an "agent" in some imaginary men-in-black type organization.We hardly think that trivia games are going to do much to sink the DS in Japan. In fact, a trivia game about the supernatural, featuring a guy in -- what is that, a bat suit? -- sounds pretty entertaining.
Gakken Super 8 projector kit brings hand-cranking back into style
As we've seen, there's at least a small, devoted following out there keeping the venerable Super 8 format alive, and it now looks like they'll soon have another tool at their disposal, with the retro-minded folks at Gakken set to release their new Super 8 projector kit. While it's practicality may be in question for serious Super 8 enthusiasts, they will at least get a bit of an understanding of how things work by piecing it together themselves, not to mention a mild workout by hand-cranking the film through the projector. It's not all old school, however, with Gakken turning to white LEDs to light up your masterworks. If that's got your interest piqued, you'll apparently be able to get your hands on one of these in Japan next month for ¥8,000, or about $80.[Via Gadget Lab]
Gakken amplifier kit brings vacuum tubes to your iPod
Gakken's no stranger to build-it-yourself retro audio gear, and it now looks to be trying to bring some of its old school ways to your iPod with its new Vacuum Tube Amplifier kit. As you can see above, however, while the company is apparently pitching it as an iPod dock of sorts (like we've seen before), it'll also work just as well with any other audio device, as it relies on nothing more than a headphone jack to hook things up. Of course, you'll only be able to do that after you put the kit together, but judging from the number of parts that doesn't look to be too daunting a task, and at about $150, it's not all that unreasonably priced either (the shipping from Korea could be another matter though).
