When I'm in Tokyo...

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...you’ll find me at the 8bit cafe. Ace!

Via (Another) great article from Pingmag.

Mario Kart Wii

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Finally got my hands on a Wii and Mario Kart Wii after holding out for months until the launch date. I'm a massive fan of Mario Kart and hammered the DS version to death. The Wii version has a more robust online play and some of the tracks are fantastic (Maple Leaf is my current fave).

So I throw down the gauntlet to any readers with a Wii and Mario Kart, my MK friend code is: 2148 8301 0963 — drop your MK friend code in the comments below and I'll see you on the highways of Mushroom City! 

Hikkoshi

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Hikkoshi is a really sweet physics based Flash game. Very simple and very fu to play. I challenge you to even land 1 object in it's intended spot.  Created using the equally awesome Box2DFlashAS3 physics engine for Flash. (Tip: press right on the keyboard to see other examples of it in action. Check example 2!)

Mario Kart Wii

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I'm a sucka for anything Nintendo especially Mario Kart so these fresh new screenshots have got me hyped hence the news post. Click on the picture to take a closer look at how the game is shaping up. Got me all excited for this Friday... only bad thing is it's not out until the end of the year - boooooo!

Anyways - to put bring some relevance to this post (not that I need to!) check the interface for the online friend matching (middle area). Amazing stuff.
A refreshing angle for a typical online game interface and a solid two fingers up to web based interface design. Go Nintendo!

(PS: link fixed) 

Soviet slots

Russian Slots

Wow — this link will take you to a photo collection of old Soviet arcade machines. This fantastic collection belongs to the Soviet Arcade Games Museum in Moscow (link to English site). They look so different to the arcade machines that I would play down on Blackpool Pleasure Beach! If i ever go to Moscow, this place will see a few of my golden nuggets.

Follow the break below to see my personal faves.

Thanks to Smilka for the link

Kids toys… wowee

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Aqua dots super studio

"The Aqua Dots Super Studio from SpinMaster just needs water and your imagination to create multiple designs using the included templates or your own designs! Adding water makes the Aqua Dots magically come together while the built-in dryer makes finishing off your creations quick and easy."


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Fisher-Price Smart Cycle

"The child must pedal and steer to keep the game-play going, and they will view the action on the TV screen. There are 3 modes of fun play. In Explore/Encounter mode, the child pedals to drive through various environments, learning along the way. In Arcade Games mode, the child can take a pit stop into an arcade game… The games reinforce important preschool concepts such as; letters, numbers, shapes and colors. In Race Mode, the child can race with other cars in the world or time race with a second player." 

THQ Games at Tesco

THQ

A little project we've been working on has just gone live. It’s a product catalogue micro-site for THQ to promote their games available with Tesco. We designed and built the site to work within the Tesco framework with a nod towards THQ’s own style. A content management system allows them to upload product and integrate into Tesco’s e-Commerce store. Product banners can be Flash or static images and the site features a screenshot gallery and media player.

Visit the site to view more.

Pong Screensaver

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Those nice Mac developers at Rogue Ameoba have created a nice little screensaver which emulates a game of Pong — complete with sound effects (optional).

“PongSaver is an OS X screensaver/clock which keeps time by using the score of a game of Pong. The left side wins once an hour, and the right side wins once a minute. Use and enjoy!”

(Finally) Nintendo does some good marketing

I’m a big fan of Nintendo - always have been since the NES days. But up until recently, Nintendo’s marketing has always been slightly off the mark. At times they try to be cool but come across as out of touch, other times they just reinforce their status as a manufacturer of childrens games and consoles.

Their recent self reinvention has seen some positive changes in their marketing strategy. It’s now cool again to own a Nintendo product (not that being cool should matter - Nintendo make good products full stop). This recent campaign for retro game downloads floats my boat — big time!

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Thanks to Paul for the original source link 

TRON Total Recall

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Now this is pretty messed up. I love TRON!

“The Department of Homeland Security has designated the 1982 film TRON as ‘sensitive’, and ordered Walt Disney Studios to turn over all copies of the film in its posession. Retailers are also receiving notices to remove all copies of the film from stock shelves and turn them over to Federal officials. The reports have industry insiders bewildered and outraged.”

They're not having my copy!!

PS: When hunting down an image for this story I found this website which has a load of pics of TRON concept art and film tests. Tasty!

I am 8-bit

I am 8-bit is an art exhibition currently running over in LA. Artists are invited to re-interpret scenes and characters from the 8-bit video game era of the 80’s. There’s no definitive collection on the web of all the artworks in the expo but a search on Flickr returns quite a bit of juice.

I love this piece below, it’s from one of my all time fave games, Fantasy Zone. I used to draw little Opa-Opa’s in my school books all the time.

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This one of Donkey Kong is equally awesome. Loving the art-deco vibe…

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I’m going to see if we can get involved in next years show. Would be great to do a piece for it.

Bubble Bobble Beats

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I downloaded a bunch of tracks from this site over the weekend. The site claims to have 21,000+ video game music MIDI files. A quick browse around and I found some real gems buried in there. Theme music from my fave old school arcade Bubble Bobble was my first download and the incidental music to animal life simulator Animal Crossing soon followed. And whilst I was at it, how could I forget this classic. I can almost imagine RUN DMC style 808 beats and rhymes over that!

Every Nintendo game

If your a Nintendo fan, you may want to follow the link below...

Games galore!
(Time to get your wallet out and brush away those cob webs Murphy)

Wii's in the house!

Wii

Our Wii’s turned up today. There’s 1 for us and a couple for our fave clients... they were meant for Xmas but... well... it was nigh on impossible to find them. So it’s time to get practicing for the imminent inter-client Wii Sport Olympics. Team TAK! for gold!

TAK-miis

Get fit, play games - simple.

"Six weeks ago, I began what has become a huge obsession of mine. It is called the - Wii Sports Experiment - I outlined a 6 week game plan for myself, the idea being that I would continue ALL normal activity and eating habits, and simply add 30 minutes of Wii Sports to my day. For the past month and a half, I’ve stuck to these guidelines very strictly."

Read all about it and see the results...