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Nintendo of Canada offers sealed NES, SNES, GameBoy titles for charity auction
Video game collectors have just been given a golden opportunity (and another thorn in their significant others' side). Nintendo of Canada is cleaning out their warehouse and is auctioning their collection of brand new, sealed retro games, with all proceeds going to United Way charity. The auctions, totaling 421 games in 24 different auctions, break down as follows: 70 NES games over 4 lots 169 SNES games over 13 lots 182 GameBoy games over 7 lots As of this writing, the highest bid in any auctions is US $1,013 for a collection of NES games that includes Mario's Time Machine, Dragon Warrior IV, The Great Waldo Search and – this is the big draw, folks – George Foreman's KO Boxing. There's some great games in the other lots, too, with Addams Family and Lost Vikings activating the most synapses in our nostalgic minds.Joystiq got in touch with Nintendo of Canada to confirm the auction is legit, so what are you waiting for? Bidding for all lots ends June 5.
Electronic Gaming Twenty Years Ago
Did you know that the first issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly (and the preview issue before that) was branded as U.S. National Video Game Team's Electronic Gaming Monthly? It's been a long time since we thought about that group, although one of them has come to notoriety recently. Team member Steve Harris is EGM's founder, and many of the guys worked as reviewers and "strategy consultants."The world of 1989 EGM is a different one than we know now. Companies like Taxan and Beeshu could afford many consecutive ad pages. FCI had its own strategy hotline. It was possible to write neutral-to-good preview text about the execrable Hydlide. And handheld gaming was just about to be elevated to the status of real gaming. Steve Harris's opening "Insert Coin" column refers to the rumor that "Nintendo may be leading the way with a mid-range cartridge system that will play a variety of games on a specially developed 2" LCD screen." Although the magic of that statement is diminished somewhat when a full writeup of the Game Boy, including a picture, appears toward the end of the magazine. Maybe he wrote that before that information came in.
Rest your DS in these oldschool pouches
Since we're unabashed game enthusiasts, we appreciate any opportunity to combine our love for modern day gaming with our nostalgia for gaming of the past. That's why we find these DS covers to be absolutely darling. The Game Boy cover makes more sense to have, since the system belongs in the same family tree as Nintendo's dual-screened handheld. Yet, the NES controller is a perfect shape for a DS pouch -- and who doesn't love a NES controller? -- so that works, too.Should you like these as much as we do, you can check them out at Janis13's Etsy store, along with some other DS cases.[Via Technabob]
7 great Game Boy games that got the shaft?
Let's face it: we all love the DS, but if it wasn't for the handhelds of yesteryear, we wouldn't be enjoying the dual-screened bliss we do on a regular basis. Instead, our reality would be dark and cold, our fear of what is right in front of us only challenged by our incredible lack of knowing what is right in front of us. It would probably lead us to suicide.But, lo and behold, the passage of time flowed in favor of Nintendo, as the Game Boy lead to the Game Boy Advance and the Game Boy Advance lead to that stupid Game Boy Micro thing the Game Boy Micro and then, finally, to the DS. But what about all of those great Game Boy games that time forgot?Well, now is the time to rustle up those nostalgic memories you have pattering around your noggin. The games are: Rolan's Curse 2 Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters Mole Mania Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge Mega Man V Kirby's Dreamland 2 Super Mario Land 3: Wario Land Personally, we would've liked to see Street Fighter II get some love (kidding!). What do you all think? What games do you like? What does this list need?[Via Go Nintendo]
Friday Video: Making sweet sounds with a Game Boy Pocket
Making music with outdated electronics is no longer relegated to the GBA Micro. Oh no, you can, in fact, make some great music with a plain old original Game Boy Pocket. And Clay Morrow, the man featured in the above video, is doing just that. Throughout his interview with Mahalo Daily's Veronica Belmont (videos by day, vampire hunting by night?), he explains the appeal of using a Game Boy, as well as how to use it. And, we also get to peep some of the sweet equipment he uses to make the whole thing possible. [Via Go Nintendo]
Busted Game Boy given life with Super Mario papercraft
Call us crazy (or just packrats, whatever), but we can't just toss a dead gadget in good conscience. Apparently, neither can Josh Burker, who decided to convert a busted Game Boy into a beautiful piece of vintage art. Similar to the playable Paper Mario game we spotted about this time last month, Mr. Burker used his papercraft skills to whip up a familiar scene of Super Mario Bros. and mount it within the space where the display used to reside. Gunpei Yokoi would be so proud.[Via DSFanboy]
Fly Mobile intros the MC100, doesn't mind how many laws you break
We've seen a lot of phones float our way over the years, and some of them have had emulation capability, but it's rare when you see a mobile phone-maker actually advocating that you pirate ROMs for their device. Of course, that's exactly what Fly Mobile is doing when it comes to its MC100 handset. The phone has all kinds of regular features we're sure you'd be interested in, like a 240 x 320 display, AAC, MP3 and MPEG4 playback, a microSD slot, and that handsome, "noble" dark brown finish. It all sounds good, but we know there's only one set of qualities you'll be laying down cash for: the phone's ability to play SNES, Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and NES ROMs. Just remember, your favorites "can be freele [sic] downloaded frim [sic] Internet." $270 and it's yours.[Via Mobile Magazine]
Keepin' it real fake, part CX: Game Joy micro
We've seen a couple fake Game Boy micros in the past, but none of them have been as faithful reproductions as this one here. Sadly, we've got little to go on as far as games or other functions in this "Game Joy micro," but it looks like at least Tetris is a shoo-in, which is really all that matters. Check after the break for a few other gems of fakery.[Thanks, Johnny]
NES/GB/GBC emulator handheld is powered by the Sun
No, friend, that's not a hip gadget from the new, unfortunately titled James Bond film -- it's a very real, very sexy handheld MP4 player capable of running old school Nintendo emulators using solar power. It also plays MP3's, stores e-books (which it can then read aloud to you, a consideration for our illiterate friends), records audio and displays images, all for a cool $123.32.Here's the best part -- it also has a USB port to connect with other portable devices and share the solar energy it has collected, like a mama bird feeding a regurgitated bolus to her young. That's right, not only can it play your favorite games from the 8-era, it's also an Al Gore-approved renewable energy source.
Demo Vision is one half of an odd and rare Game Boy devkit
If you dig giant hunks of metal with marker scribblings all over them, then you'll want to cruise by this eBay auction for a Game Boy Demo Vision unit. The dev kit allows your Game Boy game to be displayed on your TV, like with the GameCube's Game Boy Player, only without the border.As tempting as being able to use it may be, you will need a special kind of Game Boy unit in order to interact with this device. So, unless you have that matching bit, you're not going to be able to do much with this.[Via Go Nintendo]
PMP51 "MP4 MP3 super game" does it all
While a bit vague in the whole naming department, this new no-name OEM PMP51 PMP is actually packing a quite a spec sheet. The primary focus of the handheld is supposedly 32 bit gaming, but sadly SNES is nowhere to be found. But lucky for us there's Game Boy Advance play, in addition to Game Boy, Game Boy Color and NES. The 3-inch screen should show off that emulated Advance Wars just nicely, and the addition of a 1.3 megapixel camera and support for plenty of audio and video formats round out the piece nicely. You can also add memory with miniSD and play your ROMs on the big screen with video out. No word on price or availability.%Gallery-13478%
Pokedrive Red
Here's an awesome DIY project you can try out with an old Gameboy/GBC game that you're not too fond of -- turn it into a USB drive! Themadscientist101 has a photo guide showing how to cut open a window and shave off some of the inside wall to fit a USB drive into the plastic housing. You won't be able to play the game anymore after modding the cart, but if you use something crappy like Mortal Kombat, that shouldn't be a problem.Just think of how cool everyone will think you are when you pull out a Pokemon cart to show off the Pokemon strategy guides you downloaded from GameFAQs! The girls will be fighting over you. It'll be like the Axe Effect, but in Pokemon form. For real.Themadscientist101 also has a Lego USB mod that the ladies can't resist. Jump past the post break for photos of the brick drive.
DS Daily: What's missing?
We were at the GameStop, browsing through the old stuff as we tend to do, when we happened upon a copy of Heiankyo Alien. We were giving serious consideration to buying it, but in the end, the inconvenience of not being able to play it in our DS weighed heavily on our decision. So Heiankyo Alien sits unpurchased and unloved in a glass case, surrounded by copies of Mary Kate and Ashley: Crush Course.Backwards compatibility may be one of the worst ideas in gaming, but it certainly does come in handy. Game Boy compatibility on the DS would make for a much friendlier device, and one with which we'd be even happier. What single feature do you desire? It could be anything that a previous handheld system has had, or a new feature.
Rumor: Nintendo to offer flash cards for Game Boy downloads
You might remember that yesterday we linked to a rumor-rich story that Animal Crossing could be going the MMO route. While we still have no idea on the validity of that, buried within that story was the equally interesting (and equally rumored) nugget that Nintendo would be releasing a DS flash card designed so Nintendo could sell Game Boy and Game Boy Color games though some sort of download service.As you know, GB and GBC carts do not work in the DS, because, scientifically speaking, they would look stupid, so we're happy to see some of the classics become available. That said, the big question (just after "Is this actually happening?") is how much we'll be paying. As we've learned, where Nintendo's concerned, nostalgia can often come at a premium.[Via DSF]
Nintendo of Japan drops Famicom hardware support
Well, it had an amazing run.Unless you're a citizen of Japan and own a Famicom system, this bit of news is likely to not affect you. However, should you fulfill those requirements, you might like to know that Nintendo of Japan has ceased to support the old piece of hardware. You're probably one who still plays the thing, we imagine, so you might want to take it easy on the old gal, as this goes into effect on the 31st of this month.Also of note, Nintendo of Japan will be dropping support for the Super Famicom, N64, Game Boy and Game Boy Pocket, as well.[Via Arcade Renaissance]
Camelot on Golden Sun 3
Back during E3, everyone got all excited because they thought some screens for a new Golden Sun game had leaked onto the intertron. Of course, it was fake as we soon learned why someone would play with our emotions in that way. Shame on them.But, hope returns, as in an interview with Game Informer, Camelot reveals that Nintendo has told them that they want another game in the series. And, like a mob boss running shop on your neighborhood, you best listen to them. Camelot said "We have to do it! Not just that we have to do it, but we want to do it. Nintendo has asked us to please make it. But at the same time we haven't gotten around to making it. We're not really sure why (laughs)...One of the reasons that we haven't made golden sun is because there are so many fans of the game and we don't want to do something half-assed. We want to give it the time it deserves."While we appreciate the care on their part to create a quality game, one deserving of the Golden Sun name, we think 4 years has been plenty of time to come up with a third installment.[Via Codename Revolution]
The DS Life: Our Digital Yard
The DS Life is a weekly feature in which we scour the known world for narrative images of Nintendo's handheld and handheld gamers. If you have a photo and a story to match it with, send both to thedslife at dsfanboy dot com.The electronic blips and chirps, mingling with the crickets and other evening harmonies, are what draw you in at first. Against a building wall, a projected game of Super Mario World plays, but it's not any level you've ever seen. Nearby, a group of people sit around a Powerbook, one of them shaking a Wii remote while the others watch. Above them all, eleven Game Boys and a tangle of wires hang from a tree. What could be going on?
Artist's Game Boy concerts get machine-based visuals
A gentleman who goes by the name Gieskes has created an interesting conflation of seemingly opposing mediums. The DIY'er / artist in question has combined Game Boy-based music with a low-fi, mechanical system of lights and motors, which create kinetic-art visuals that are synced to the sound. The concept is to build screen-saver-like displays which are actually created with analog equipment. The device features three components -- cans, lights, and a camera -- all of which can be "sequenced" much like the Game Boy, thus producing constantly changing (and changeable) effects. Want to see it for yourself? Watch the video after the break (especially towards the end) to learn how it all takes shape.[Via Boing Boing Gadgets]
Gunpei Yokoi passed 10 years ago today
If you think of it today, take a moment to remember Gunpei Yokoi, who passed away 10 years ago on this date after a car accident. The only man responsible for draining more AA batteries than Phillip J. Remotecontrol, Yokoi was the creator of the Game Boy, and the father of some of the portable console design tenets that still appear to govern Nintendo today.Though he followed it up with the Virtual Boy (a misstep by anyone's approximation) Yokoi's legacy lives on. The only tragedy is that the tech wizard never saw the Game Boy's progeny not just play second fiddle to home consoles, but become a true force of gaming.[Thanks, Samuel]
Singapore Airlines passengers get emulated GBC games
While riding the friendly skies with Singapore Airlines, one of the crew over at Siliconera found themselves in for a treat. Well, kind of. See, the airline offers emulated Game Boy Color games for use during your flight, to help you stab that foul beast called boredom directly in its disgusting, black heart. While a nice gesture, it turns out the emulation software has some issues.First of all, there are only two categories of play: Pokemon and Adventure. Also, the titles under the Adventure category suffer from choppy frame rates and overall sluggish play. As far as the Pokemon games go, there is no save feature, hardly making an effort to actually progress in the game a meaningless one. Other flights, however, featured different titles. Some flights featured The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages and Wario Land 3. Others even had Picross 2. All in all, seems like a good idea executed somewhat poorly.
