Gizmodo Australia » arcades

Texminator Arcade Game Adds Competitive Edge To Texting

Jack Loftus — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 22:00:00 +0000

Meet the Texminator. It’s an arcade cabinet that tests your texting speed. It was also inevitable.

Seriously now, my youngest sister has a phone she never uses – save for texting. LOLs and TTYLs have long replaced spoken word and the clickity-clack of her slider phone keyboard easily drowns out the family small talk at the dinner table during holidays.

It’s only natural that some entrepreneur would turn this phenomenon into a game and make a little coin off of it. The game features arcade and race the clock modes, as well as a two-player competitive mode. The joysticks are toy mobile phones. Obvi.

And I’m just speculating wildly here, but since Rockstar didn’t develop this one I’m pretty certain there’s no hidden Hot Coffee sexting level. [ChipChick via Ubergizmo]

Japanese Arcade Game Lets You Flip A Table In Anger

Adam Frucci — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 18:20:00 +0000

Gaming is all about escape. You know, to a distant planet or to the Super Bowl. Or, in this Japanese arcade game’s case, to a world where you have the balls to flip a table when people piss you off.

Yes, “Cho Chabudai Gaeshi”, or “Upending the Tea Table Game” is an incredibly boring-looking arcade game where you “pound a soft table for combos and then upend it for the finishing move”. It’s based on a Japanese saying about flipping a tea table, which basically means you’ve had enough.

I’m looking forward to the American port of this, “Punching Through a Sheetrock Wall in Anger Game”. Should be a hit! [Kotaku]

Tour Michael Jackson’s Ultimate Mega Geek Den

Mark Wilson — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 12:36:13 +0000

After getting a glimpse of Michael Jackson’s personal arcade, I worry that I, too, may be suffering from Peter Pan syndrome.

The arcade’s been posted online as a fully explorable panorama. From Crazy Taxi to Guitar Freaks to Han Solo frozen in carbonite to the 360-degree spinning Sega R360 jet fighter cabinet, Jackson amassed a collection—much of which was auctioned off earlier this year.

It’s notable that the collection seems to be frozen in time during the mid 90s. That’s right around the timeframe of Jackson’s notorious $US22 million molestation settlement. Though, more fairly, it’s also the same era that consoles really started to cut into the arcade experience. [Pinesane via Kotaku]

Dutch Arcade Cabinet Carved From a Tree

Dan Nosowitz — Sat, 02 May 2009 14:00:00 +0000

Looks like “boom” means “tree” in Dutch, rhyming with foam rather than broom, but this is still a pretty sweet art piece. Check out the “wiring” on the back after the jump. [Uitschot va BoingBoingGadgets]

RRoD Xbox Turned Into the Stupendous Arcade Stick

Mark Wilson — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 23:00:00 +0000

When one gamer’s Xbox 360 went RRoD, he didn’t just give up. Instead, he gutted the system and transformed his dead Xbox 360 into a functioning arcade stick. Keep fighting the good fight, Seppun. [TechEBlog]

HDTV Pinball Machine Is Almost as Good as the Real Thing

John Herrman — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 09:47:00 +0000

Pinball machines are more or less a lost art, but one enthusiast really wants to bring them along for this whole “21st century” thing. Hence, the HDTV pinball machine.

Constructed from one large HDTV and a smaller LCD monitor, this machine, called HyperPin, makes for a surprisingly convincing pinball experience. The trick is in the software, Future Pinball. It’s a real-time 3D pinball simulator for the PC, with which enthusiasts can recreate and play on their favourite tables in a simulated arcade. Builder BadBoybill (indeed!) took this all a step further, adapting the app to display on two screens, giving the appearance of an actual table. Bumping, shaking and drink-resting are not recommended. [HyperPin via Digg]

Minutemen Arcade Takes Us Back to a Time That Never Was

Jesus Diaz — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 11:00:00 +0000

I just love this Minutemen arcade machine. Sure it’s just a Flash-based recreation of an 80s-style beat-them-up game that never happened, but I played for a few minutes and I want it for my iPhone.

The graphics and the music are just spot on, the controls simple, and the purpose is clear: Kick goons’ arse either as the good old shortie-panties of Nightowl or the sex-queen-on-two-long-legs Silk Spectre, who is like a superhero version of Virginia Bell, without the pasties.

The game is not a masterpiece, but it has plenty of charm. Enough that I wish the Watchmen production team actually released a version of this for the iPhone, Android, and Windows Mobile. [Kotaku]

Tiniest Vintage Arcade/Pinball Machine Models For Your Desk

John Mahoney — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 14:10:00 +0000

You can use these shrunken game machines to decorate a quasi game lounge to entertain your non-existent train set ghostmen while they’re waiting for the 12:10 to Rochester. Or you can decorate your desk.

Aside from all the vintage game machines (including Playboy pinball), the folks at J & C Studios also have a nice cell tower replica you can use, creating an RF field next to your coffee mug for the tiniest tumours.

[J&C Studios via TechnaBob and BBG]

Supermandolini High Quality Arcade Buttons Are Made From Arcade Buttons

Jason Chen — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 22:45:00 +0000

Kotaku’s Ashcraft’s book on Japanese arcades may document how well those gaming centres are doing in Japan, but arcades are pretty much on their last legs here in the US. These high quality Supermandolini arcade buttons are how you can keep hope alive. Sixteen euros ($US20) gets you ten badges, or buttons, that you can shove on your backpack or shirt or pants to show just how much you love putting quarters into things. Bonus: putting any one of these 10 on strategic areas of your pants can make for a funny joke. [Super Mandolini]

Coffee Table Makes Retro Gaming a Contemporary Experience

Mark Wilson — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 11:30:00 +0000

Half MAME cabinet, half pretentious furniture, this new coffee table by Surface Tension mixes worlds to adultise your gaming habit. Available in walnut or oak, the table features a 19-inch LCD, Shuttle PC with dual core CPU, integrated USB and HDMI outputs, 100W of speakers and two sets of high quality buttons and joysticks. With this hardware configuration, you can play games on the table or output the experience to your HDTV.

For those who already have a PC of their own to stick inside, the table is available gutted of its computer components but still packing all of the joysticks and handy ports. In this bare bones configuration, the table runs about $US4,000. Fully loaded with the PC and two packs of games, the system is priced at $US4,900. (Those prices include delivery and VAT in the UK.)

Of course, there are other options if your cheap or like your MAME furniture in black. But this Surface Tension table is the most stylish tabletop arcade setup we’ve seen yet. [Surface Tension via Bornrich]