Aside from the slots for SNES and Genesis games, the Retrode 2 also has four controller ports, a pair each for both consoles. The device doesn’t need any driver so it should work with any operating system. However, like its predecessor the Retrode 2 will only let you access the data inside the cartridges; you’re going to need an SNES or Sega Genesis emulator before you can actually play your games. Although you can easily find free emulators online, the Retrode 2 would be a lot more useful if it already had emulators built-in, so so it could just be plug-and-play.

The Retrode 2 also has controller ports for SNES and Genesis controllers, which you can then map to play with your emulators. on your PC or Mac.

Press start on your browser and pre-order the Retrode 2 from Stone Age Gamer for $85 (USD). That seems like quite a lot to pay, when you can buy the Hyperkin RetroN 3, which is a complete emulator for SNES, NES and Genesis cartridges for just $70.

[via Engadget]

I’m anxious to see what else people can do with the PS Vita when it is available in all regions.

[via Tiny Cartridge via Kotaku]

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)]

You have Sega games on Nintendo consoles, you can even play old Atari games on any console. Many of us have  both a PS3 and an XBox 360. There’s no brand loyalty, just the love of games. However you can’t help thinking back to those days when something like this shows up. A Sega themed Wii? If you would have told me back then that this could happen, I would have laughed. But here we are.

This Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games bundle had to happen eventually. In case you’re wondering, this is the new version of the Wii. The Wii-Lite. (There’s no wi-fi and you can’t play Gamecube games).

They even make you do all of the work, providing a sticker sheet so that you can create your Sega themed Wii. Thanks Nintendo. I can already put stickers on things.

You get a blue Wii, a blue Wii Remote Plus, a blue Nunchuk, the game, and a sticker sheet. If you’re interested in this oddity, you can get it in Europe on November 18th for an unknown price.

[via Siliconera via Techcrunch]

Once you get past the slightly inappropriate Muppets, (or you just skip to about 0:38 in the clip), you’ll be treated to an awesome rendition of the classic Green Hill Zone  theme song from the original Genesis/MegaDrive Sonic the Hedgehog, performed by musician Sonaje. Here, check it out:

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

See, wasn’t that worth it? I especially love the fact that he’s not just playing the theme song on guitar and piano, but actually making the sound effects for Sonic grabbing up rings, jumping and spinning.

If you enjoyed the performance enough to put it on your iPod, you can grab an MP3 of the track here.

After watching this video I can only say that my jaw is still on the floor and that I would love, LOVE it if she and I could play video games together. She certainly knows how to work a joystick. And a Nintendo Power Glove. And old Atari paddles. And…

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You aren’t even reading this anymore are you? You are watching the video which shows off classics like Super Mario Bros. and Duck Hunt and many others. There’s even a Gamecube controller rumbling along her backside. Can’t say I blame it.

[via Hypebeast]

Modder c_mon created this Saturn laptop as a custom commission job, and it’s pretty special. It’s housed in a custom CNC-cut wooden case, which apes some of the lines of the original 32-bit game console.

I do find it funny that he used the logo from the Saturn automobile line on the top instead of the original Saturn logo. Apparently he put it there because he was having trouble getting the original logo to render with his CNC software, but I kinda like it. It gives it extra character.

This system is portable, with a built-in 5″ LCD screen from a Sony PSOne in the lid, and it runs on a 9-volt, 4 amp DC adapter. In order to make sure that the system stays cool, he also added a fan inside the case. You’ll also notice a couple of speakers built in so it’s completely self-contained other than the power brick. I also like the detail of the bright blue (or as I like to call it “Sonic Blue”) electroluminescent wire around the CD-ROM drive lid.

Check out more pics of this one-of-a-kind Saturn laptop over on the Ben Heck Forums.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

No one may hear you scream in space, but you can feel free to scream at the top of your lungs when you play this one in your own home. It looks like they took a lot of cues from the Dead Space games and merged them with the Alien movies. The result is a good looking game that seems to have great atmosphere.

You can expect the game to arrive in 2012. Right now it is still in development by Gearbox Software. It will arrive next year on the Wii U, PC, Nintendo DS, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360.

I’ve played several Sonic games over the last several years. Or tried to anyway. They just lack the excitement and fun of the original Sonic games and they always seem like they were rushed into production too. Is it too much to ask to give us a good Sonic game? Well, it looks like we may finally have one after all these years, judging by this gameplay footage of Sonic Generations.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

The only concern I would have is this: Hopefully these aren’t complete remakes of the original games. What we want is the old-school game play with some new elements added in. New areas to visit and new things to discover. Seeing the footage above definitely makes me want to take a closer look though.

[via Joystiq]

Yep, despite all their recent hardships, Japan is still chock-full of weird and wacky ideas. The SEGA ToyLets game rewards players with points not based on accuracy, but the volume and intensity of urine they spray into the game controller (aka the urinal). Infrared sensors monitor when a contestant approaches, activating the game screen. Once you start doing your business, microwave sensors measure the speed and duration of the flow.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

As you can see from the video clip above, you’ll even be able to compete head-to-head (literally) with other contestants for the best stream. SEGA hopes that bars and restaurants will buy these and install them in their restrooms, since the game screen can also be used to sell advertisements. With a cost of about ¥170,000 (~$1729 USD) for the system, and another ¥10,000 (~$123) for the game, you might even consider installing one of these in your own bathroom if you’ve got a couple thousand bucks to spare on a conversation piece.

We can only hope that this won’t be turned into a Kinect game.

[via DigInfo.TV]

AtGames’ (aka Sapphire) Arcade Nano Sonic system is small enough to hang on your keychain or backpack, but packs ten games under the hood. Five of the games are classic SEGA Genesis games including Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Sonic Spinball, Sonic 3D Blast, and Alex Kidd. There are also five “bonus” games including Air Hockey, Naval Power, Cannon, Fight or Lose and Checker, all of which I’ve never heard of before, so I’m gonna guess they’re not all that. The tiny system has a built-in joystick and buttons, runs on a single AAA battery and connects to a composite video and mono audio jack on your TV.

If Sonic isn’t your thing, they’re also making Nano Columns and Nano Virtua Fighter 2 versions, each with their own collection of five classic and five bonus games. I’m not sure what games come with Columns, but the VF2 version packs in some good ones, including Shinobi 3, Golden Axe, Golden Axe 3, and Alien Storm.

If you have any doubts about these miniscule systems, here’s a video review of the Sonic one in action:

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

While it looks like the emulation isn’t 100% perfect, it still looks pretty playable to me, and these still look like a great gift for classic SEGA fanatics. All three Genesis Nano systems can be found over at Walmart for $19.96 each.

Apparently, the beverage is a specially packaged bottle of Awamori, a distilled alcoholic rice drink served in Okinawa. This particular batch is flavored with Shikuwasa – a sour lime-like citrus fruit also found in the area. From the sounds of that, this is going to be one intense, pucker-inducing drink – appropriate after a long day of zombie killing and gangland hits. Or maybe just for making Molotov cocktails.

If any of you guys live in Japan, pick up a bottle and let us know how it tastes. Given the questionable flavor track record for video-game themed beverages, I’m not holding out high hopes.

[via Japanator]

On display at the recent AOU 2011 Expo in Japan, SEGA showed off Let’s Go Island 3D, a 3D version of the on-rails shooter. The game will hit Japanese arcades this coming summer, introducing arcade players not only to an entertaining game, but drawing them into the 3D world without those annoying glasses. To enhance the 3D immersion, they’ve even got a compressed air cannon that blasts air at you at various times during the game. I could definitely see that technology put to use for evil, with the right deviant mind behind the programming.

Now before you get too excited – I’ve witnessed numerous glasses-free 3D displays, and while the effect is much more compelling than ever, I’m gonna bet that lengthy gameplay sessions will be just as headache-inducing as the glasses. That’s because no matter how hard we try to reproduce the illusion of 3D, it’s just that, and illusion – and illusions cause your brain and eyes to do extra, abnormal work  to process the faux 3D imagery that it doesn’t need to do with real 3D objects.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Over time, glasses-free 3D technologies will improve, and they’ll find even better ways to fool our eyes and brains, but I’m still unconvinced we’ll be sitting in front of 3D devices for nearly much time as we use our 2D devices anytime soon. I guess it’s a good thing that most arcade gaming sessions only last a few minutes.

[via DigInfo.TV]

Hand-painted by Flickr contributor Ozkunk93, the Jet Set Radio Dreamcast really speaks for itself. The design echoes the cell-shaded graffiti style of the original game, and looks just great splashed across the lid of the Dreamcast and onto the face of the controller.

Now if only SEGA would decide to update JSR and bring it back for the Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3, I’d be completely stoked. They did it for the original Xbox with Jet Set Radio Future, so why can’t we of the current gen consoles get Jet Set Radio Future Future? What about a version you play with the Kinect? Or maybe a 3D variant on the Nintendo 3DS? Are you listening SEGA?

[Custom Art via Albotas]

Despite the “110+” labeling, the system comes with a total of 40 games (the higher count includes all levels you can directly select). Included are 15 classic licensed games, 7 “interactive sports games”, and 18 “arcade games”. I found a full list of included titles here. The system ships with a pair of wireless controllers, which both appear to have a traditional D-pad (presumably for the classic Genesis titles), but also motion control (probably for the other titles).

Perhaps the most intriguing part of this oddity is the SD card slot which lets you “easily expand your gaming library beyond the games built-into the system.” So far, the only downloadable games I could find are these lame looking ones. I’m not sure if you could use the SD slot to load up your own ROM on the thing, but for just $35 bucks, it might be worth a shot.

In my experience, previous SEGA Genesis products from ATGames have had issues with wonky sound emulation, so you should consider that before plunking down your money. Others over on the SEGA-16 Forums have stronger opinions than mine – like this guy: “You can get more accurately emulated Genesis hardware by slotting an original cart between your ass cheeks, then sitting down quickly onto it and screaming ‘SEEEEEGGAAAA’”. Okay, so maybe you shouldn’t buy one.

If you still want one, you can get your hands on the ATGames 110 Games Motion Control Sonic System over at DDR Game.

One look at Techknott’s Dreamcast portable, you can tell this guy knows his way around casemodding. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that this is his third generation Dreamcast portable. The handheld has a custom-made CNC acrylic case with MDF walls, and a built in original Dreamcast control pad on front and triggers on back. The display is a PSone LCD, and if you look carefully under the screen, you’ll notice he’s even built in an a VMU (in addition to a removable VMU slot). The CD player is mounted on back for playing original discs, while there’s an SD card slot in front – presumably for playing games stored in flash memory.

He’s even managed to keep two additional controller ports, and a multi-A/V output for playback on a big TV too. Of course, the whole point of building one of these is to play Dreamcast on the go, and with 4500mah of battery power under the hood, Techknott can play without wires (although he hasn’t yet revealed how long the batteries last). You can check out Techknott’s Dreamcast Portable 3 in action in the video clip below:

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

…and for more discussion with Techknott on his excellent Dreamcast build, head on over to the Ben Heck Forums.

NKOK is releasing these The Sonic Speed Star and Knuckles Land Breaker R/C cars, based on the vehicles in Sonic and SEGA All-Stars Racing. Each one can reach speeds of up to 7 mph, and operate on separate frequencies so you can race against a friend. Plus, they both have working headlights so you can see where you’re going in case Dr. Eggman Robotnik is lurking in the dark.

You’ll be able to get the Sonic and Knuckles vehicles starting this month at Toys’R'Us and Sears Canada stores for $24.99 (USD) each.

Basically, it’s a set of 8 controller soaps, including all of the following:

• A realistic Xbox controller replica, Mountain Dew scented.
• A hefty, 9 ounce black PlayStation controller replica, black tea scented.
• A Wiimote controller replica soap scented with coconut lime verbena fragrance oil.
• A realistic Dreamcast controller, green apple candy scented. A giant 11 ounces!!
• A 6-button SEGA Genesis controller, watermelon scented.
• A larger, three button SEGA Genesis controller (9 ounces), rich dark chocolate scented.
• A realistic SNES controller replica with full color massaging buttons. Green apple candy scented.
• A realistic NES controller replica, Mountain Dew scented.

Of course, I don’t know if I could bring myself to spend $105 (USD) on 8 bars of soap, but if you have the spare change, you can grab this over at Digitalsoaps Etsy shop.

The only thing missing is the Atari 2600 joystick soap, which you can always pick up here for just $3 bucks if you need to finish your video game themed bathroom ensemble.

The only thing that doesn’t fit in the handheld mutant is the N64 cartridge itself, which protrudes several inches out of the top of the device. And because of the power needs of the N64 mobo, it normally has to be plugged into an AC adapter – although Evil Nod has a bulky add-on battery pack working with it too. Here’s a quick video showing off the N Gear 64 in action:

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Wanna see how it was done? There’s a complete build log here.

Great mod, Evil Nod!

[via Ben Heck Forums]

The compact system comes with emulators for the Super Nintendo, NES, Sega Genesis, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance, but if it’s anything like the other portable emulators out there, you can bet there will be more emulators, and probably a Linux build for it at some point. It’s also got a nice 3.5″ screen – making it significantly larger than, say, the Dingoo A320.

In addition to classic gameplay, the portable can play 8 different video file formats and 10 different audio formats, and offers a microSD card slot for expansion beyond the 4GB internal memory. It’s also got a video out, so you can connect it to your TV and play classic games on the big screen.

You can get your hands on the Letcool portable over at Chinavasion for $71.25 (USD). If you buy one, let us know how well it works!