Category: Retro

Do you long for the days when software shipped on a bunch of floppy disks? Yeah, me either. But I do have a soft spot in my heart for collecting retro technology and art that celebrates it out of a sense of nostalgia.

Back in the day, I was a serious SEGA fanboy. The SEGA Genesis and Dreamcast are still two of my favorite video game consoles of all time, the Japanese brand offering an outsider’s approach to gaming, releasing offbeat and edgy titles that Nintendo and Sony wouldn’t have dreamed of at the time.

While VHS tapes clearly won the format war against Betamax, I was always more of a Beta fan because I’ve always been an outsider-slash-tech snob. Regardless of the kind of videotape you chose back in the day, your blank tapes almost certainly came in a boldly designed box with colorful line art graphics.

You know what? I’m surprised that they never came up with a vaccine for Pac-Man Fever. I mean, I’ve had it for nearly four decades, and it’s not getting any better. I suppose if you’re still a Pac-Man fan like me, you might want something like this sweet Pac-Man-themed synthesizer by Swedish artist and vintage gadget fan Love Hultén.

As a fan of classic video games and LEGO bricks, I was pretty stoked when they released the official LEGO Nintendo Entertainment System in 2020. The 2600+ piece set lets you build a detailed model of an NES along with a TV set, a game cartridge, and a gamepad.

Short Circuit is one of those classic movies that every self-respecting geek should see at some point in their lives. After all, the star of the show is Number 5, aka Johnny 5, a charming and inquisitive robot who craves input and understanding from the human world.

So you’ve collected all of your 1-up, fireball, and super-growth mushrooms in the real world. Now it’s time to chop them up and throw them on a pizza. Don’t use just any cutting board. Use this awesome NES Cartridge cutting board from CuttingBoredom.

Most people treat squirrels like unwanted pests. But if you’re among the animal lovers who prefer to feed the squirrels in your yard, you might want to get a squirrel feeder. And if you love classic arcade games, you’ll want to get this squirrel feeder that looks like a miniature arcade cabinet.

Marvel has been taking the X-Men in all sorts of crazy directions in its comic books ever since it got the movie rights back from Fox. Freelance illustrator Lucas Pereira has a cool idea for the beloved and feared mutants with his ongoing Instagram series, which sees the X-Men and other Marvel characters dressed in clothing and accessories inspired by traditional Japanese culture.

Back in the days before streaming, MP3s, and CDs (and dinosaurs still roamed the Earth), all the cool kids had a Sony Walkman. This portable cassette player was a revolution for those wanting to listen to their tunes on the go and sold more than 200 million units by the time Sony stopped production of its cassette-based Walkmans in 2010.

The never-ending post-apocalyptic nightmare has started to affect even the supply of gunpla. So what do you do if you can’t get your hands on a Gundam model? Be a Gundam model. Bandai Namco’s silly Narikiri (“roleplay”) line features boxer briefs and socks based on Amuro Ray’s RX-78 Gundam, Char’s MS-06S Zaku, and the mass production MS-06F Zaku from the first Mobile Suit Gundam show.

Taiwanese toy shop Bid Toys won toymaker of the year in my books with its Soul of Animal GX Go Kitten, a parody of the OG Voltron that replaces the Lion Force with cats and boxes.

Presumably, because its previously released time-traveling DeLorean playset sold like hotcakes (and how could it not?), Playmobil is releasing another set, this time in the form of Marty McFly’s often overlooked pickup truck (affiliate link). I’ve already bought two – one for playing with and one for keeping mint in its packaging.

Prolific designer toymaker Fools Paradise is releasing a beastly figure that sees a rugby player wearing parts of the RX-78-2 Gundam as protective gear. The figure is called Lowfool Steel of League Team 01-GD. Yep, the toymakers are saying it’s for a robot rugby league, despite the face mask.

Someone at Walmart slipped up, and Christmas has come early for toy collectors. A few lucky shoppers were able to grab what appears to be a 2021 reissue of the Turbo Man action figure from Arnold Schwarzenegger’s classic holiday movie Jingle All the Way, in which the action star plays a dad who goes to great lengths to obtain the fictional (and shortly real) toy for his son.

Here’s a version of Megatron that Optimus Prime would allow to flourish. Hasbro and Mighty Jaxx’s latest team-up with toy designer Quiccs is a 9.5″ x 11″ x 7″ vinyl bust that sees the Decepticon leader brandishing two silver spray paint cans.