Emily from Carolina Patchworks is at it again with another one of her pixel-y good video game quilts, this time with those pesky monochrome 8-bit invaders coming in for a landing.

The Space Invaders throw measures in at 48 x 67 inches, making it just big enough to keep your kneecaps cozy and warm while you sit on the couch playing one of your newfangled “next-gen” video games.

Each throw is custom made to order, and retails for $250. You can get your hands on this – or one of her other cool game quilts – over on Etsy. Got a special request for a video game quilt? Just drop her a note, and she’ll get you a quote.

It took North Carolina crafter Tracy Thomasson (aka ‘thomcatdesigns’) 71 days to crochet this beauty, featuring the likenesses of Mario, Koopa and a Goomba as they go about their everyday lives in the Mushroom Kingdom. It’s really hard to believe that the blanket started with this simple patterned background:

To check out the maddening amount of work that went into this awesome homage to 8-bit platform gaming, check out Tracy’s Flickr photostream.

Stitched by the arcade fans from Carolina Patchworks (who’ve also brought us some great Galaga, Mario and Zelda quilts), the 110″ x 50″ Pole Position throw is wide enough to keep four people cozy and warm under its race-car adorned surface.

The quilt can be found in their Etsy shop for $375 — or enough for 1500 quarters to pump into the original arcade machine.

Now with any article about Pole Position, I couldn’t resist throwing in this great video clip…

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Now wasn’t that worth it?

[via BBPS]

Philips recently filed a patent application for a video game system which uses a monitor that you can actually toss. The patent describes a durable, monitor which which can show images as it’s thrown around the room. A stationary sensor tracks the position of the ball as it moves, while player positions are tracked using ultrasound. The display can then display images that respond to its movements and position within the space. The patent, entitled simply “Gaming System with Movable Display,” begins:

An electronic gaming system comprising: a robust, movable display (101); a game controller(103), arranged to generate a game scenario, comprising generation of pictures to be displayed on the robust movable display (101); and – a trajectory mapping unit (105), arranged to map a virtual trajectory in space- time of a virtual world in the game scenario, with at least two of the pictures with unequal picture content corresponding to different locations of the virtual space-time trajectory, to a real trajectory of the robust movable display (101) in real space, so that at an appropriate moment the two of the pictures are displayed on the robust movable display (101)…

At this point, plans for an actual implementation are sketchy, but one could envision games in which the images on the moving screen could react to the players in the room. Imagine hitting the ball hard, and the display showing an image of a screaming face, or one mocking your opponent when it flies past an imaginary goal line.

The concept is still a little strange, and it seems to me that most of what’s described could be achieved with a combination of accelerometers and infrared sensors (like Nintendo’s Wii-mote). Still, I’m always intrigued by new and different ways to interact with games.

Can you guys think of some other good game ideas for a system like this one?

[via New Scientist Invention Blog]

A built-in LCD readout shows the distance you last threw the football. Keep in mind that the ball isn’t a true “pigskin,” and is made from foam, like a NERF ball. If you or your kids are into football, this seems like it would be a fun way to improve your throwing distance and control. The Virtual Distance Football is available from the Discovery Channel Store for $19.95.

[via Coolest Gadgets]