If you want to make these yourself all you need is a sharp crafting knife, and be prepared to supervise your kids if you plan on letting them help. A sharp knife is being used after all. Check out Kate’s blog for the templates and directions.

[via Geek via Geeky-Gadgets]

Conceived by Cuusoo contributor Zombieattack, these simple sets would let you recreate classic scenes from NES games including Mario, Donkey Kong, Duck Hunt, Balloon Fight, and others using a mix of standard and custom LEGO blocks.

Each set would produce a small diorama, with LEGO representing both pixels and individual characters and objects from the games. These sets sort of remind me of the dotgraph kits that Namco released a few years back.

If you’d like to see these made into actual LEGO sets you can buy, drop by LEGO Cuusoo and show your support. Personally, I’d pay good money just to have that blockheaded dog and some square ducks.

It’s made even more distinctive because of the large, retro, Apple pixel logo on the back. The 8-Bit Bumper case comes in a variety of different colors and I have to say that I’ll probably order one because I haven’t seen any around. It’s also interesting, because it doesn’t make your iPhone too bulky. There’s nothing worse than a cool case that bloats up your iPhone to a ridiculous size.

You can get your 8-Bit Bumper case directly from Big Big Pixel for $24.95(USD). It comes in black, white or pink.

[via Ubergizmo]

The 8-Bit Sleeve is specially made to fit the iPad and both the 11″ and 13″ MacBook Air models, but obviously you’re free to stash other things inside it. It’s made from pixels and has no depth made from synthetic leather with matte finishing and has a soft fiber interior to protect its contents from scratches.

You can order the 8-Bit Sleeve from Big Big Pixel for not so big big prices: $31-$38(USD) depending on the size of the sleeve.

[via InsanelyGaming]

Modder Dablio started out with a Dynacom MegaBoy, which is a small, illegal Atari 2600 clone system. He reverse-engineered the circuit board from the MegaBoy to produce his own custom PCB, then added a cartridge port, and a VGA connector which provides power, controller and video signals to and from the console. In all fairness, though, the VGA breakout box is almost as big as the console itself.

He originally tried to build it into an Atari 2600 controller, but Dablio ultimately managed to fit the system into the plastic tube from a package of M&Ms, so the console is appropriately named the “Atari 2600MM.”

While some may say that you can buy an Atari 2600 built into a joystick, that’s not really fair, since those systems only play a limited number of games, and cannot accept an actual 2600 cartridge.

But no matter how much effort Dablio put into building his 2600 mini system, the games pretty much still suck. If you want to play games on a retro system, you should probably start off with an NES – many of those games still have replay value today. Or just buy a pack of M&Ms and eat them for even more fun.

Still, it’s impressive that Dablio managed to cram this entire system into such a small package. You can check out more pics and info (in Portuguese) on the build over at Dablio’s website, and in the video clip below:

[via Hack A Day]

I love all of the graphics on the Chop Shop’s Donkey King t-shirt, including the little cherry tree near Washington and that little red axe instead of a mallet. And those are cannonballs being rolled down by Donkey King in place of oil drums. Of course, Georgio’s goal is to free Lady Liberty from the ape King’s tyranny.

The Donkey King t-shirt is available for $23(USD) over at Chop Shop, and can be printed on an upgraded (and appropriately patriotic) American Apparel t-shirt for an extra $3. While we’re still a couple of months away from Independence Day, there’s no reason not to be prepared early.

Yep, what you’re witnessing before your very eyes is a Pac-Man ghost bookshelf, perfect for holding onto books, but even better for video game boxes, in my humble opinion. The shelf is made by Barcelona artist LightYourselfUp, and it’s just the right addition for a retro gamer’s home or office.

The shelf measures about 30″(H) x 28″(W) x 4″ (D), and can be customized in other colors, and even which direction the ghost’s eyeballs are looking. Me, I’d love to have a set of four, one each of Inky, Blinky, Pinky and Clyde hanging on my wall. They sell for €250 (~$342 USD) each though, so it’s not exactly an inexpensive proposition to build a larger-than-life Pac-Man game on my wall.

[via Geek Crafts via Walyou]

According to Google, the new Google Maps for NES will ship on a cartridge, offering internet access directly from your old 8-bit console. A gigantic farm of computers in the cloud are said to transform the regular Google Maps experience into a version usable on the NES.

Here, let’s let Google Product Management Director Ken Tokusei explain it for you…

You gotta love the part where you blow into the cartridge “to fix bugs.” For now, you can play around with the 8-bit style Google Maps over at maps.google.com, then clicking on the “Quest” button in the upper right-hand corner, or by simply clicking this link. Be sure to check out Street View for more pixelated fun.

Each of these posters is unmistakable for what it is: a tribute to the original movie, and there’s always a nice little twist. I had fun discovering these. The Kill Bill poster is one of the best. It would look great on a yellow t-shirt. The Titanic poster is pretty funny too. Check out more of Eric’s designs in the gallery below:

You can get some prints and other gear from Eric’s Society6 site starting at around $12(USD).

[via The Invader]

Stop looking for braaains for a second and vote for the 8-bit Zombtee to become a real t-shirt on Design by Humans. You can check out Luke’s other 8-bit t-shirt designs on his Behance page.

[via Fashionably Geek]

Our Hop Rocket infuses the character of Australian grown Galaxy Hops into an American Pale Ale, giving a unique tropical, almost melon aroma in a classic American style.

Forget how this brew tastes. I just love the graphics on the can. I would buy this just to look at it on a shelf and set it alongside some NES cartridges.

[it8bit via The Drunken Moogle via That's Nerdalicious]

The game lets players determine Don Draper’s actions as he seeks to solve his problems. There are three possible endings, which can be explored by the order of the tasks that he needs to complete. After viewing a short animation, players will be given a choice of actions that brings them forward in the story.

It’s a pretty cool way to prepare for the debut of the fifth season of Mad Men, which will start tonight (3/25) on AMC.

[YouTube via designboom]

While tunes the original sounds of Super Mario Bros. will always have a fond place in my heart, today’s game consoles create a much more immersive experience with fully digitized sounds of everything from weapons fire and explosions to symphonies and recorded vocal tracks. But what would a modern A++ title sound like if it were made on an old 8-bit game console.

YouTuber Omega52 had the same question, and decided to answer it by replacing the 21st century, Dolby 5.1 cinematic sounds of Battlefield 3, and swap them out with some good old 8-bit beeps and blips. The results are pretty entertaining, if you ask me:

The sounds were all plucked from Contra and Top Gun, while the music came from Journey to Silius and Batman. And if you like that, there’s another BF3/NES mashup floating around with the Super Mario Bros. soundtrack. What other games would you like to hear remade with old-school soundtracks?

[via Destructoid]

You’ll be happy to know that when you place your phone in this pipe, it won’t be eaten by a Piranha Plant or fall through to a secret level. Though I guess that would be cool, but you’d have to dive in after it to get your phone back, and you probably won’t fit – especially if you’ve eaten any power-up ‘shrooms lately. Now that I think of it, if I had one of these, I’d make my lock screen picture a Piranha Plant.

The 8-Bit Warp Pipe Phone Dock is another creation from Richard Clinton (aka ’8BitBuilder’), who most recently brought us that amazing Link computer case. This dock is made using the same painted wooden voxel block approach he uses for his computer mods, but this thing only costs 50 bucks, instead of the thousands you’d pay for one of his computers. The dock should fit most smartphones, unless you’ve been crazy enough to buy one of those giant ones with a 5-inch screen.

If you want it, go punch some blocks to load up on gold coins, and head on over to Etsy.

The t-shirt is part of a limited run over at the Chop Shop Store, and they’ve called it President’s Play, a good play on the words of the upcoming holiday. Which world will you choose to play? The Revolution or Gettysburg? By getting this shirt, you can play both.

You can get yours from the Chop Shop Store for $23. For an extra $3, you can even get it printed on an nicer American Apparel shirt.

It’s definitely a fun and geeky way to celebrate President’s Day. Not that there’s much chance you’ll actually be wearing it by Monday – oh, well.

[via designyoutrust]

His minimal Star Wars characters remind me of Mega Man, which is appropriate since they’re supposed to be in Mega Star Wars. The funniest thing is that when I take my glasses off, the images become smooth, and less pixelated, which is cool, but reminds me that my eyesight is gradually going.

I wonder if we’ll ever end up playing as these characters in some retro platformer on Xbox Live. I sure hope so.

[via How to Carve Roast Unicorn via Thaeger]

Michael Crow of Mike’s Mosaics created these Mario and Mega Man mosaics using glazed terracotta and ceramic tiles, and they look awesome. I love that Mario is wearing his Tanooki look, though I think he’d have trouble getting off the ground with all the added weight of the tile and concrete backing board.

Mega Man looks mighty fine too, sporting his classic blue costume.

Mario is really substantial, measuring in at 27.5″ x 23.25″, while Mega Man is a bit smaller at 12.5″ x 15.5″. Since both have been sealed, they’re okay for indoor or outdoor use. I’d be so thrilled with these guys in my garden instead of gnomes (hint-hint). Mario is priced at $250 (USD), and Mega Man is going for $200. Both can be found over at Mike’s Mosaics Etsy Shop. Mike will also make custom mosaics of your favorite character on request.

In his original post, Kuwahara simply says “No you can’t scan this .” Perhaps the juxtaposition between QR codes and 8-bit gaming imply that QR codes are already a relic of the past. Or maybe he created it for fun. Let’s go with that.

It does make you wonder if it would be possible to create a QR code with an image like this that could still be scanned.

[via DesignYouTrust]

The massive controller measures approximately 12ft (w) x 5 ft (d) 3 in x 1ft 8 in (h), and weighs in at a whopping 265 pounds. It was built by Ben Allen, along with Stephen van ‘t Hof and Michel Verhulst.

The controller cost over $6,000 (USD) to construct, and yes – it does play games. The thing is so big that it takes at least two people to play a game with it, as the armspan required to use the D-Pad at the same time as the A/B buttons is too wide for even the likes of Yao Ming. Hence, my comment about Co-Op mode in the title above.

The controller was shown off at London, England’s Liverpool Street Station in celebration of the release of Guiness World Records Gamer’s Edition 2012. And no, you can’t have it in your living room.

[via EGM]

The console offers up a stunning automotive grade, clear-coated finish, with gold, silver and red accents, clearly reminiscent of the original Legend of Zelda gold cartridge. Ryan says they allowed the paint to cure for a full month between steps to ensure a perfect finish. I certainly would never have that kind of patience. But paintjob aside, the very best part of the design though is the intricate pixelated Link on top.

You might assume that it was laser cut, but it was entirely done by hand, which makes it way more impressive in its level of detail and clean construction. Utilmately, it took Ryan over 50 hours of cutting, sanding and soldering to work out the light up multi-colored Link character.

The icing on the cake for this mod is the accompanying launch video clip Ryan and his pals made, working with Avid Productions 479 on the video, and Will Chiles on the original Zelda-inspired score. It’s really a loving tribute to Zelda, and shows off the console in all its glory:

Now wasn’t that special? Seems to me that all casemods should come along with such a magical launch video, don’cha think?

[Thanks for the tip, Will & Ryan!]