The latest (fifth) revision to the system could be the best design yet, inspired by retro arcade cabinets, complete with a mock coin slot that lights up, and arcade-style buttons and joystick. The new version also bests all prior versions by including 12 classic arcade games inside. In addition to Pac-Man, the all-in-one console includes arcade versions of Bosconian, Xevious, Galaxian, Galaga, New Rally-X, Pac-Man Plus, Super Pac-Man, Pac & Pal, Mappy, Pole Position, and my all time fave DigDug.

While the best price I was able to find over on Amazon was $48 (USD), you should be able to find one for a bit less over on eBay if you dig under the appropriate rocks.

[screenshot via 20th Century Gamer]

Created in celebration of Pac-Man’s impending 30th birthday (boy, I feel old), these limited-edition series of Zippo lighters from Banpresto includes shiny, butane-filled versions of Pac-Man, Galaxian, Xevious and Dig Dug. Each one features the pixelated likenesses of the classic 8-bit games – although I have to say I like the tiny little tactile Galaxians the best. Although I would argue that Galaga was the true classic. And while I don’t smoke, I’ll buy just about anything with Dig Dug on it, so I’m sold.

They sell for ¥8400 (appx. $93 USD) each, so I guess I’ll have to skip meals this week so I can afford one. For now, I’ve only found these in Japan, but hopefully somebody will export these for all to enjoy. Smoke ‘em if you got ‘em.

I love these custom-painted Dig Dug Dunny vinyl toy bunnies by Reactor-88. I can’t tell you how many quarters I blew playing this game when I was a kid.

[via ToysREvil]

Here are some videos of my favorite game tributes so far:

You’ve gotta love Little Big Pac-Man (wokka-wokka-wokka):

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Even I could build square blocks with the level creation tools, but this Tetris level takes block-building it to the next level.

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This Dig-Dug level still needs a little work, but I just couldn’t leave Fygar and Pooka off the list:

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This Sonic The Hedgehog Green Hill Zone level really blew my mind. It’s even got the original game music and a Dr. Robotnik boss battle.

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Of course, what retro game collection would be complete without Space Invaders?

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I’m just waiting for someone to figure out how to do Battlezone, Tempest or Pole Position, and I’ll be truly impressed.

The Arcade Gold connects to any TV and lets you play Pac-Man, Super Pac-Man, Pac & Pal, Pac-Man Plus, Galaxian, Bosconian, Dig Dug and New Rally X. For those of you playing at home, Jakks has basically combined their Namco Classics and Super Pac-Man systems into a single package, but kept the price under $20 bucks.

All games play with the original arcade graphics and sounds, and the big red ball joystick controller is perfect for retro gameplay. An added bonus over the original models is the built-in memory that lets you save your high scores even when the power is off. The only bad news is that the joystick is only a 4-way stick, making the diagonal-dependent Bosconian all but unplayable. Oh well, whaddya want for $20 bucks?

You can find the Jakks Pacific Arcade Gold game system over on Amazon.

[photo via CrankysArcade]

Dig Dug was one of the first games I mastered, so if anyone wants to make these for me, feel free. In fact, seeing these inspired me to fire up my Firenes app and check out how accurately these pillows were rendered. Of course, I ended up playing a few rounds. The verdict: I am no longer a master. So I’m gonna have to wrap this up and get back to practicing.

Flickr user manicmaiden made them for her brother’s birthday. What a sweet sister!

[via Craft:]

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Just crank up your speakers, click play on the clip and stare at the screen capture above. Pretty soon, you’ll drift back to those kinder, gentler days when violence in video games consisted of blowing up Fygars (the green, fire-breathing dragons) with an air pump and crushing Pookas (those red goggle-wearing critters) to death under the weight of a boulder. Ah, memories.

Pac-Man, his ghost pals Inky, Blinky, Pinky, Clyde, and a slightly out of place Pooka from Dig Dug are all realized in three squishy dimensions. The pillows range in size from about 8-inches to 12-inches tall, and will look great sitting there on your sectional sofa next to the cat.

You can pick up the whole set for $99 at ClubNAMCO.

Namco Classics Sound Drops play actual sound samples from 80′s classics like Pac-Man, Dig Dug, Galaxian, and Xevious among others.

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They’re available for a limited time from Play-Asia for just $2.32 each, but you’ll probably have to buy several of them, since they’ll just ship you a random pick from the eight available designs.

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I especially enjoyed the book cover for “If I Did It” (with forward by Bea Arthur) about Pac-Man’s involvement in the mysterious death of Inky, the blue ghost.

[via Kotaku]