February 2010
Monthly Archive
NES Stadium Events Game Sells For $41,300
Matt 27 Feb 2010 | : Ebay, Video Games
Back in late 1987 Bandai released Stadium Events, a game part of the Family Fun Fitness series. Early the next year Nintendo bought the right to the series and re-released it as the the Power Pad. The two Family Fun Fitness-branded games that had already been released, as well as Bandai’s version of the running pad accessory, were pulled from shelves and destroyed due to Nintendo’s new Power Pad brand. In that time period there are believed to have been only 2000 copies of Stadium Events created and out of those only 200 sold to the public. Stadium Events is possibly the rarest game for the system that turned around the home console video game industry in the late 80’s which has been booming ever since.
Recently an Ebay auction popped up featuring a serious video game collectors dream, a sealed copy of Stadium Events. A copy of the game with the box included can go for over $10,000 but a factory sealed copy which was thought to not exist just sold for $41,300 in an Ebay auction.
Here are the words of the seller:
This was bought over 20 years ago so my memories are fuzzy (we have over 175 games – which, btw will be going up for auction in the coming months - all with boxes! – some unopened). What I remember is that we bought it thinking that we could play it by itself and then realized that we needed the pad (?). Somewhere in there it was recalled so the pads weren’t available when we went to purchase it. We never got around to returning the game…lucky us!
Missile Command 30th Anniversary Game
Matt 25 Feb 2010 | : Video Games, Web
To celebrate Missile Command’s 30th anniversary, Atari has released a remixed version of the game for the web. The website says it best: Chock full of power ups, tricky enemies and intense boss battles, Missile Command by OMGPOP has the makings of a modern classic. This game actually has some amazing control with your mouse or laptop trackpad. You can play the OMGPOP updated version of the game or the original Missile Command.
Give Your Friend Peggle Nights For Free
Matt 23 Feb 2010 | : Video Games
Send the hit game Peggle Nights to a friend or relative — absolutely free! All you need to do is sign up for the PopCap Passport, your first-class ticket to fun! You will also receive exclusive offers, game previews, contests and more! Peggle Nights is a very fun, addicting game that usually costs $20. Not sure how long this offer is good for so you may want to act now.
More @ PopCap Games.
Life Cereal vs The Game of Life
Matt 22 Feb 2010 | : Comparisons
| Life Cereal
A breakfast cereal made of whole grain oats, distributed by the Quaker Oats Company. It was introduced in 1961. The cereal’s advertisements currently sport the slogan “Life is full of surprises”. |
The Game of Life
A board game created in 1860 by Milton Bradley that simulates a person’s travels through his or her life, from college to retirement, with jobs, marriages and children (or not) along the way. |
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| Price:
$2 – $5 |
Price:
$15 – $25
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| Time it takes to enjoy:
Usually about 10 minutes for a bowl in the morning. |
Time it takes to enjoy:
Usually about 30 minutes to an hour depending on how many players.
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| What is has to do with real life:
In real life you need energy to survive. With it’s whole grain goodness, Life cereal provides you with that energy. |
What it has to do with real life:
While you work your way through the board game, you encounter real issues that you may go through in real life, preparing yourself. |
| Fun factor (1-10 scale):
7. The cereal tastes great but the box is usually a boring read. |
Fun factor (1-10 scale):
8 but only because of the awesome spinner that comes with the game. |
| Average time to clean up:
5 minutes. 3 minutes if you have a dishwasher |
Average time to clean up: 3 minutes. |
| Winner:
Life cereal.
Ask me this question 15 years ago and I might have said The game of life but because I don’t play board games very often anymore, I’ll take a bowl of Life cereal over the game of life these days. |
Charge Your Cell Phone By Rocking
Matt 20 Feb 2010 | : Inventions
I know that it can be difficult to find an outlet when you’re at an airport or bus station and desperately need to charge your cell phone or laptop. This concept is a chair that the user sits in a and rocks back and forth with their power plugged in to the built in power chord in the chair. Instead of taking electricity from the building, that chair actually transfers the energy you’re creating by rocking into the gadget you’re charging. Hey rocking is fun anyway so why not kill two birds with one stone.
More @ Inhabitat.
Code Organ: Play Website Code Music
Code Organ let’s you type in a website URL of your choice and it will play music based on the code of that website. It will actually analyze the code of any website based on what’s inside the <body> tags and will based on an algorithm, define chords, synth style and drum patterns. The music results are surprisingly and randomly catchy.
More @ Codeorgan.
2010 Lincoln One Cent Redesigned Penny
Following the 2009 bicentennial pennies that were released last to celebrate 200 years since Lincoln was born, the U.S. mint is releasing an updated penny with a similar look to what we’re used to. Not much changes on the heads side. The tails side gets a slight redesign but also looks somewhat familiar.
Specifications:
- Composition: Copper-Plated Zinc: 2.5% Cu, Balance Zn
- Weight: 2.500 g
- Diameter: 0.750 in., 19.05 mm
- Thickness: 1.55 mm
- Edge: Plain
More @ usmint.gov.
Video Game Icons Used In Store Logos
Matt 17 Feb 2010 | : Video Games
Across the country stores are misrepresenting our favorite video game characters by using them as part of their marketing.
The Pawn Shop (ft. Mario) in Maryland:
The Fox Pizza (ft. MGS) in Liverpool:
Pallmall Smokeshop (ft. Sonic) in Russia:
More @ Kotaku.
Street Fighter IV Dragon Punching Onto iPhone
Matt 15 Feb 2010 | : Apple, Video Games
Capcom has announced that Street Fighter IV is headed to the iPhone later this year in March. The above picture is how many fans hope it would look on the iPhone but the truth is that the iPhone can’t pull off what the latest generation consoles can do. Another serious question gamers may have is how on earth can anyone pull off Street Fighter combo moves without a D-pad or buttons? With a virtual pad and buttons of course.
I think that instead of this virtual pad nonsense Capcom could have come up with a more creative solution. Look at what Konami did with metal Gear Solid Touch and what Sega did with Super Monkey Ball. It’s definitely possibly to create some unique controls on the iPhone without these silly virtual pads. With the iPhones built in motion sensor and multi-touch capabilities there are endless possibilities of how to pull of a great game.
More @ IGN.
Glyde: A New Way To Sell Games And More
Matt 15 Feb 2010 | : Ebay, Video Games
Glyde is a new, easier way to sell video games, cds, books and DVDs. Instead of using your own keywords while searching for media like on ebay, as you search with Glyde you will see a window below the search bar with all the things you can possibly be looking for. Instead of starting your bidding at a certain amount when selling your media, Glyde automatically lists how much it will cost buyers based on the curent demand for the media which is based on things like days since release, rarity and popularity.
Shipping the media with Glyde is easy. Glyde will send you a pre-paid envelope for you to put your game in and ship to the seller. When the transaction is complete Glyde will take 10% of the final value of the game. Using Glyde could save you a lot of money in the long run vs going to trade-in stores like Gamestop.
More @ Glyde.
Puppet Master Movie Characters
in 1989 a Puppet Master came out, a movie that so far has 9 sequels. The special thing about Puppet master are the puppets that come to life, each with unique weapon and killing abilities.
| Blade
Blade is in every Puppet Master movie ever made making him the most popular puppet. Although he has a great relationship teaming up with the other puppets, he is alaso independent compared to the others. |
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| Jester
Jester has a multi-paneled face, which will spin until he has decided which face best fits his mood. Jester doesn’t have any real weapons which makes him vulnerable so he does not wander around by himself often. He is very small and fast and can fit into tight places. |
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| Leech Woman
Leech Woman’s weapon is to vomit up leeches which will suck the life out of her enemies. You don’t want to mess with her. It does however take a while for her to fully vomit a leech so she is better at fighting enemies that are already weak and on the ground. |
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| Pinhead
Pinhead is the strongest and largest of the group of puppets but not necessarily the smartest. Although loyal to all the puppets, he spends a lot of time with his best friend Jester. |
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| Tunneler
Tunneler is a deadly puppet who uses a drill on his head to drill into the enemies. Although he prefers drilling into the head of victims for a faster kill, he can also be seen drilling into other body parts in movies. |
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| Six Shooter
Six-Shooter gets his name from his six arms, each with a handgun that shoots at his enemies. Before he is about to attack his bandana falls to cover his mouth. |
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| Torch
Torch is a dangerous puppet that shoots fire out of his right arm. He has a bad temper and is offended easily. |
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PS3 To Go 3-Dimensional This Summer
Matt 11 Feb 2010 | : Video Games
SCEA’s John Koller has revealed that after multiple 3D firmware updates this summer, PS3 will be able to play 3D games and movies.
3D is a major part of our initiatives in 2010 and we’re currently developing 3D stereoscopic games to come in conjunction with the launch of Sony’s 3D compatible BRAVIA LCD TV in summer 2010. The amazing thing about the PS3’s technology is that all PS3 units that exist in homes and markets will be able to play 3D stereoscopic games as well as 3D BD movies through separate firmware upgrades – something that other platforms are unable to do. We’ll be announcing actual game titles separately later, but we think that 3D stereoscopic gaming has a ton of potential, particularly in placing consumers within the actual experience.
More @ Pocket-lint.
Google Introduces Buzz
Yesterday at a press conference, Google announced a new tool called Buzz. Now Google wouldn’t be the Google Gods they are if they weren’t continuing to come out with new and better ways to communicate and socialize online. Google Buzz is a cross between Facebook, Twitter and Email. It lets you share images, videos and stories with your friends or with the whole world and it works in with Gmail which is great if you already use a Gmail account as our primary email because you will already have all the people you communicate with built-in. Instead of just emailing a story to friends with annoying attachments and links to videos and stories, why not just send them the pictures, videos, stories and your thoughts right in Buzz? It currently has built-in Picasa, Flickr, Google Reader, and Twitter integration. Google also rolled out a phone app that works with Buzz.
Features include:
- No setup needed: Automatically follow the people you email and chat with the most in Gmail.
- Share publicly or privately: Publish your ideas to the world or just to your closest friends.
- Inbox integration: Comments get sent right to your inbox so it’s easy to keep the conversation going.
Photo friendly: See thumbnails with each post, and browse full-screen photos from popular sites.- Connect sites you already use: Import your stuff from Twitter, Picasa, Flickr, and Google Reader
- See updates in real time: New posts and comments pop in as they happen. No refresh required.
- Just the good stuff: Buzz recommends interesting posts and weeds out ones you’re likely to skip.
More @ Google Buzz.
Blaster Master Overdrive: Blast From The Past
Matt 08 Feb 2010 | : Video Games
Back in 1988, Sunsoft came out with a game called Blaster Master for the NES that had some of the best music and graphics in a game for a home game console at the time. The game was controlled in two modes of gameplay, a basic 2-D display was used when the player controlled the car and a top-down perspective display was used at times when the player controlled the main character, Jason. The control was very solid. Over the years there were a few sequels that came out and Sunsoft just announced another one available for download on WiiWare. Although I have never played this game, I can tell from the video below that it very much resembles the original, complete with similar, amazing music.
More @ Sunsoft.
Moog Modular Software Synthesizer
Matt 08 Feb 2010 | : Technology
Althought I’ve never had any experience using a Moog Synthesizer I can imagine how complicated yet fun they are after looking at this computer software that replicates the Moog experience.
More @ Cool Tools.
