The graphics on the side and front of the tiny cabinet are reminiscent of the ones on Space Invaders, and it’s got a little joystick and fire button for playing its rudimentary Invaders knock-off (called Earth Defenders) on its LCD screen. Each time you drop a coin in the bank (yes it can even be a penny) you’ll get 2 minutes of gameplay. As time ticks down, you’ll get a warning when you only have 30 seconds left so you can put another coin in the bank.

Sure, it’s not as cool looking as that official Space Invaders piggy bank from a few years back, but at $19.95 (USD), it’s also way cheaper than that one. You can grab the Arcade Piggy Bank over at Kleargear.

The new Arcadie jumps into the iPhone arcade controller market with two key differences – one, it’s aiming for a reasonable price, and two, it skips Bluetooth, avoiding the battery drain for both iPhone and controller. It does this using a bit of “low tech” trickery, using a couple of pads and a series of wires which tap spots on the bottom of your gadget’s screen, rather than any sort of electronic connection. Clever – but I’m not sure how responsive or durable this setup will be.

The Arcadie looks like a miniature arcade cabinet, and comes complete with an 8-way joystick and a pair of buttons for your mashing pleasure. Just pop your iPhone or iPod Touch into the dock in the back of the Arcadie, flip it into place, and start playing. At this point, there are only a handful of games, but Zeon, the makers of the Arcadie say there will be “numerous games” from the App Store at launch for free. One thing to keep in mind is that the Arcadie intentionally shows only part of the iPhone’s screen, so games play in traditional arcade landscape orientation.

Looking on their website, there are at least six games planned – all of which are clones or similar to classic arcade games. I only wish that Apple would establish a standard API for third party controllers (at least up/down/left/right and buttons) – that way, all games could be compatible with all of these controllers. Oh well, I can dream, can’t I?

Zeon says they recently secured Apple approval, and will be releasing the Arcadie “very soon.” Pricing hasn’t been finalized, but they expect it to sell for just about £20/$30 (USD).

The system comes with 69 games, a 5 lb CO2 tank, a 24″ hi-def LCD, a quality sound sound system and a keg of your choice of booze. It can also play computer games and Flash games through a Wi-Fi or direct internet connection and it can hold and play over 15,000 games. Now you can finally see what it’s like to play Pac-Man drunk.

This kind of gaming and boozing convenience will cost you almost $4000 though, so it might be better just to boot up your Xbox 360 and grab a six pack case of the best beer you can buy.

[via Geeks Are Sexy via Neatorama]

Pokemon Tretta is amazing because it brings the beloved Pokemon cards into conjunction with the most addicting series of games ever created.  (Mass Effect excepted.)  With this cool machine, you can search for Pokemon in those sketchy patches of tall grass and try your best to become the very best.  (Mom always told me that someone would always be better than me, but she lies.  Ash Ketchum does not.)  when you catch a Pokemon, you will be given a plastic card called a Tretta – yes, these are not virtual - they are real.  You can see a few Trettas below -

These cards can then be traded and collected with friends, and are also re-usable in the game – when you slide in the cartridge, it recognizes that you have captured this Pokemon and can use it in battle.  Sounds like way too much fun not to be in America.  Nintendo, you are losing tons of money in sales – why not sell your products to a very eager market?  Seriously!  We’re begging to play with your shiny new things.

If you’re a huge Pokemon fan, like I am, then you’ll also want to check out the Adorable Pokemon Cupcakes and the Guy Who Proposed With A Pokemon Card.  Don’t check out the guy, because he’s married, but you know what I mean.  Don’t try to twist my words, you evil instruments of the biased national media.

[via Geekologie]

Jack Kieffer owns Cool Gizmo Toys, a site that loves all things geeky.

The cabinet was built by Reddit contributor Echoobrain, and it has a full arcade quality joystick and buttons built in. The system offers Link and Mario details on the side, along with a Triforce on the front – and it’s crowned with a proper Nintendo logo of course. While the arcade controller is limited to single-player gaming, there is a hidden controller in the front drawer that lets you play 2-player games too.

Echoobrain doesn’t say much more about the build, but it’s pretty great in my opinion. The only thing better would be if it could play ALL Nintendo games, not just the SNES – but sometimes less is more, and it’s not like the SNES didn’t have a ton of great games. Echoobrain does mention that he might add a small MAME system inside the cabinet that he could toggle to for other arcade games down the road though.

[via Reddit]

Sure, that’s a lot of quarters, but just having saved the quarters I pumped into lesser games like Popeye and Kangaroo, I would have been able to afford this. Damn my 80s arcade games addiction!

[via Boing Boing via Neatorama]

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]

This wacky mod [JP] transformed the handheld PS Vita into a full blown arcade system, with joystick controller optimized for fighters. It’s cool, if you don’t mind the tiny screen, that is. Check out the video, which shows it in action.

It’s worth noting how great the PS Vita version of Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 looks on the console. It looks every bit as good as the PS3 version. This fight stick mod on the other hand, though very impressive, just looks silly being so massive compared to the itty-bitty PS Vita. The whole setup makes this dude’s hands look huge.

[via The Verge via Geeky-Gadgets]

This amazing image comes from Axel Pfaender, who never published it as a print because of concerns about copyright issues. Stupid lawyers. Regardless, I’d like to thank him for bringing back some good memories. When I saw this I was transported back to those days when arcades were new and amazing and nothing like them had been on the Earth before.

[via Nerd Approved]

The idea is that you are chasing Smithers and Mr. Burns to save Maggie as you battle through eight familiar Springfield locations. Are you guys going to buy this one? Let us know in the comments.

[via Major Nelson]

For starters, there’s the new iCade Mobile, which enshrouds your iPhone 4, 4S or iPod Touch with a proper D-pad and gaming buttons. This should be great for playing arcade games on the go, especially ones better suited to a gamepad than a touchscreen. ION expects about 100 games to be compatible with iCade Mobile by the time it launches.

It adds about 1-1/2″ inches on each side of your iPhone, so it is a bit wide, but those added sections provide ergonomic gripping areas which seem make sense. The gadget works in either landscape or portrait modes too, although it does look a little funky in portrait mode.

If you’re thinking more about classic arcade gaming, then check out the iCade Jr., a miniature version of the popular iCade arcade cabinet, stuck in the shrinker ray for your iPhone or iPod Touch. It’s basically a mini version of the iCade, though it only has four buttons on front, instead of eight. It also has four “rear trigger buttons,” though I’m not sure what those look like or what purpose they serve.

Last, but not least is the iPad-compatible iCade Core, which takes the same arcade quality joystick and eight buttons found on the original iCade, and does away with the cabinet. Sure, it doesn’t look as cool as the iCade, but it’ll likely sell for quite a bit less than the $100 original. ION also announced that Namco’s Pac-Man for iPad is now compatible with iCade – and I can’t think of a more perfect game for it.

All three devices use Bluetooth to communicate with their respective iOS devices. ION Audio is showing off all three at this week’s CES show, and expects to release them sometime in 2012. The iCade Mobile will retail for $79.99 (USD). Prices haven’t been announced yet for the other models.

This 100% cotton quilt was made by David McFarling (aka “McFrogling“) and it features the likeness of DK himself, Jumpman (not officially known as Mario at that point), and the damsel in distress (definitely not Princess Peach.) The pixelated characters are placed into a larger-than-life setting of girders and broken ladders, just like in the arcade game.

It measures in at 60″ x 58″ and definitely would look good on a full size bed (or probably a queen too), so this isn’t just for the little kid’s room. I like how Kong id dropping a barrel nowhere near the plumber, so he hasn’t had to whip out the sledgehammer yet. On the other hand, it looks like the only ladder up is broken, so his chances of reaching his ladyfriend are pretty darned slim. Oh well, it wasn’t designed for its gameplay accuracy? Creative license and all, right?

If you want to cover you bed with some Donkey Kong goodness, head on over to Etsy, where you can order it up for $175(USD). While you’re there, hop on over and check out McFrogling’s just as fun Frogger and Super Mario quilts.

These bras are completely washable and have been thoroughly tested. You can wear it as an everyday bra if you want. Bra sizes apparently include all of the USA Standard Bra Sizes. For ladies with really big power pellets, maybe they can make you a special Super Pac-Man bra from the game where our hero was giant.

It’s just $29.99(USD) from Rainbowkidshop on Etsy. If you have to cover them up, you might as well do it with Pac-Man.

[Reddit via Fashionably Geek via Geeksaresexy]

Europeans have had this arcade stick for a little while, and now it’s our turn here in the States. As you can see it features several characters from the Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 game on the base of the controller itself. Each one has an arcade-quality joystick, eight gaming buttons, and a turbo function. The Xbox 360 version also has a connector for newer headsets.

The Hori Fight Stick for Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 is available for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 for $149.99(USD). You can get one from Hori’s US website. It’s a bit late for Christmas, but hell, you deserve one last gift.

[via Capcom and Ubergizmo]

Mad Dog McCree is just $4.99(USD) from the iTunes App Store and it even has some remastered game footage. Though there’s nothing you could do to fix the horrible acting and dialogue.

[via Joystiq]

I love these drinkUP coasters which look like giant versions of classic arcade buttons. They look just like those concave Happ buttons you’d find on your favorite arcade machines.

They come packaged in sets of four coasters, and are available in either a four-color pack, or with buttons for 1 through 4-player modes. Why not buy a set of each? You can order them over at Surface Tension, where they sell for £9.99 a set, or £17.99 for both sets including UK shipping, and £12.99 (~$20 USD) a set, or £21.99 (~$35 USD) for both including shipping outside of the UK.

This real-world version of OutRun was built by a guy named Gustavo. It has little cars which speed down an endless-loop racetrack as the driver steers to avoid obstacles. The controller has a steering wheel from an R/C car, and miniature gas and brake pedals you can control with your fingertips. A scrolling backdrop contains the obstacle cars, while your vehicle is on a motorized track that moves it side to side. LEDs and photosensors are used to detect when your car reaches the edges, and magnetic sensors detect when you’ve collided with another vehicle. Here’s a video showing Gustavo’s analog OutRun game in action:

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

The funny thing about this is that SEGA’s 1960s arcade game Grand Prix was actually analog, and used similar mechanical principles, as you can see in the video below:

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

[via Microsiervos (ES) via FaseExtra (ES)]

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

If you love classic arcade or Atari 2600 games and own an iPad (and don’t own an iCade), you must check this out. It is available directly from Discovery Bay Games and Target today and in Apple Stores and Toys R Us starting in November.

Turns out, he was pulling a different kind of all-nighter, at the an Internet cafe located near the school, that is. I don’t think the Laundry Arcade Concept is targeted only to people who are like him, but I’m sure he’d be ecstatic with this design by Lee Wei Chen.

Basically, the Laundry Arcade works like this: you put your dirty stuff into the washing machine, insert some coins, and start playing. As long as you’re still alive in the game, your laundry will keep tumbling. When you run out of lives, you need to put it more coins to resume the game (and resume doing your laundry.)

I don’t think this will be a hit for those who are in a hurry to do their laundry, but it is a fun way to get the younger ones to do their laundry.

[via Design Week via Dvice ]

That’s right, what we have here turns your iPad into an old time Space Invaders arcade cabinet. The cabinet may only have one button and a ball-top joystick for your gaming, but it also offers a charging dock with stereo speakers and a headphone jack. This looks like a must-buy for Space Invader geeks like me.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

It will hit Japan on October 11. We have no idea if or when it will arrive on our shores. Unfortunately, the launch price for our Japanese friends works out to be about $205 (USD). Yes, that is more than twice the price of the iCade and Atari’s offering is expected to be  just $60. Both have more buttons. You are really paying for that Space Invaders branding. They may have to lower the price to compete, unless Space Invaders loving geeks are richer than I thought.

[@johnnyram via GameSetWatch via TUAW]