Arcade Machine Coin Slots Gashapon Toys: Insert Coin to Play Anything

Modeled after the coin gobbling slots of vintage arcade machines, this Japanese gashapon (plastic toy capsule) series from Tama-Kyu features life-size realistic coin slots. They’re perfect for providing a constant reminder of just how many quarters you’ve pumped into machines over the years. My personal guess is somewhere in the tens of thousands.

The toys come in four styles: black and silver ‘light up’ models (probably the ones we’re most familiar with in the U.S.), and more traditional Japanese style black and gray flush coin slots with a return button, which also includes a faux coin return. All include an adhesive backing so you can stick them anywhere. I’m going to stick one to my forehead and pretend I’m a pinball machine!

It’s a shame that arcades aren’t as popular as they once were. I remember when I was a kid, my family would go to the mall on weekends, and I’d bee-line it straight to Time-Out. There I’d turn my weekly allowance into quarters and line them up one by one on the Street Fighter II machine, only to get my ass handed to me by an opponent much more skilled than I was while I repeatedly tried and failed to perform Chun-Li’s Spinning Bird Kick. Looking back, those were the days – I just didn’t know it at the time.

[via SoraNews24]

The Finger Dance Machine: Like Dance Dance Revolution for Your Fingers

Fingers: after a long day of typing they just want to let loose. And what better way to let your digits go wild for a bit than with some rhythm-based finger dancing with this $43 Finger Dance Machine available from Firebox? Oh, no, my fingers are telling me they’d actually prefer a hot bath and manicure instead.

The Finger Dance Machine requires 4 AA batteries (not included) and uses your smartphone as its video screen. You just download the free Mini Finger Dance app, connect your phone to the machine via Bluetooth, and it’s time to put those fingers to a dancing test with “heaps of tunes – all with varying speed and complexity.” Needless to say, I will be playing nothing but the low-speed, low-complexity tunes and still failing to set any high scores.

But will playing it give me carpal tunnel? Or will it relieve carpal tunnel? What exactly is carpal tunnel, and did I really think it was spelled carpool tunnel until I just looked it up? Would I really admit it if I did? Yes and yes.

Konami is bringing ‘Castlevania’ and ‘Contra’ to modern consoles

Konami is celebrating its 50th birthday with three new compilations based on Castlevania, Contra and its early arcade games, each available on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Windows PC (via Steam).

Retro Games Controller: classic gaming for the masses

Retro Gaming Controller 2

A new gaming console has just appeared in the UK, and it’s aimed at nostalgic gamers who miss arcades. Learn all about this retro device in this story!

Image via Cool Smartphone

The gaming world has been growing non-stop for generations now, but it has always looked towards the future with the idea of predicting what is to come. THis is not the case of the Retro Games Controller, an extremely cheap gaming system (which costs only £11.95) that, instead of attempting to compete with your home consoles, aims to give older gamers a different option when it comes to enjoying games in their living-room. The Retro Games Controller is a tiny video game console built to be able to play classic titles, in the same vein of the classic arcade cabinets of the 80s, but without a physical box taking space in your living-room, and running all of the games straight from the controller itself. After supplying the controller with three AA batteries, you can plug it straight on your TV’s RCA port, and enjoy some of the simplest but most enjoyable games of the last few years.

Image via Cool Smartphone

The controller itself features an analog nub not unlike the ones from arcade machines, with two buttons that are used to perform the entirety of all tasks in the games, along with a select and start button. All of the games available for this console (which are over 200) have a very 80s feel to them, with retro graphics and huge pixels livening up your screen. When the console is turned on, you will be taken to a menu where you can pick your favorite titles, with games such as Racing Fighter, Aerial Warfare, Police vs Thief, PongPong, Space Base, Wonderball or Apple Chess among many others. When we say this is a very 80’s like machine, we refer to the period before the release of the NES, even, so forget the Castlevanias, Mega Man and other games like that. What is a real shame, though, is that titles like Pac-man or Donkey Kong are nowhere to be found in this machine, but both Namco and Nintendo have more of a reputation for being extremely protective of their IPs.

Image via Cool Smartphone

Just like we said before, this is not a gadget for gamers who already have a PS4 or Xbox One at home, but maybe for someone who was a teenager in the early 80’s and has fond memories of playing at the arcade while waiting for their pizza to be ready. This is a console for those who wish to wish to relive a time long gone, and even though the controller could be bigger, or it could have better options for a second player in several titles, this console does what it does extremely well.

The games are so simple and beautiful they are timeless, and with the holiday season just around the block having such classics ready to be fired up for the entire family doesn’t sound like a bad idea at all. Forget about the loading times and the cinematic experiences, this is gaming the way it was, and just the way you remember it.

Be social! Follow Walyou on Facebook and Twitter, and read more related stories at Retro Video Game System: Cartridges are back and Get a cleaner SNES & Genesis image on modern TVs with HD Retrovision.

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