Arcade Lounge

Ion, the manufacturer of the first iCade, which started its conceptual life as an April fools joke, have released a few more models for Apple devices. Seen at the current CES show.

Below we have the iCade mobile (left) for iPhone and iPod touch. The device sits inside the iCade and connects by Bluetooth to give you that handheld gaming experience. The cost on this on is expected at around $80.

The iCade Core (right) is a stripped-down version of the original iCade. Communication is still via Bluetooth, but this will have the ability to charge your iPad in-situ.

Next up is the iCade Jr. This is a mini arcade machine, like the iCade, but for the iPhone. Again, the comms are by Bluetooth and there will be an integrated charging dock. Cost expected to be $50.

via macrumors

We’ve been extremely busy lately. We haven’t eaten, we haven’t slept, and none of our friends have seen us in months!

We’re now pleased to announce the launch of three new products. As with all other surface tension products, they are all produced in the UK.

First up is the Rubik’s Cube seat, which is also a table and a storage unit. Made from MDF, sprayed to a fine black finish and stickered with pantone-matched colours to give a real authentic over-sized feel… measuring 45cm³.
These are currently in manufacture and are available now for pre-order for Christmas delivery in the UK, Eire and Channel Islands only.

It has the old-skool retro Rubik’s logo on the side.

Everyone’s favourite colours!

Open it up and discreetly store all your junk before your friends come over.

Available now to pre-order for £199 from surface tension.

These pixelated playing cards are inspired by Space Invaders, bringing you some nostalgia from your childhood in card form. From the bringer of the Optimus Maximus Keyboard, Art Lebedev.

Made in Russia and costing 8 Euros ($12)

Space Invader playing cards

The most recognizable and unforgettable characters in the video game industry team up to bring you the Nintendo Collector’s Edition of the world’s most popular board game, Monopoly. No controllers are necessary this time as you join forces with Mario, Luigi, Link, Zelda, Kirby and others on a quest to defeat your opponents and own it all. I must admit that I’m not keen on the many different versions of Monopoly out there, being a bit of a purist myself I usually prefer sticking with the original but this one is something I’m looking forward to playing.

The Nintendo Collector’s edition comes complete with 6 collectible pewter tokens featuring Mario’s Cap, Link’s Iron Boots, Donkey Kong’s Barrel, Hylian Shield, Koopa Shell and NES Controller. Rules include a 60 minute speed play option for a shorter game with the same amount of fun. Now you can buy, sell and trade your favorite Nintendo characters for a whole new game-playing experience. From everyone’s favorite red-capped plumber to barrel-tossing Donkey Kong to bounty hunter Samus Aran, they’re all up for grabs in this cool looking version of Monopoly.

Available from Amazon for £31.46

DNA – The building blocks of life, and pretty much everything as we know it. In some ways DNA can be compared to pixels on a screen, the tiny squares on their own not meaning very much, but a few of them together can create amazing things. So to celebrate these stupendously important little squares we’ve found the 8-Bit Pixel Cube.

This nifty collection of 64 multicoloured bricks lets you build any 2D or 3D artwork in retro pixellated style. Each pixel is made from silicone, and has a magnet inside, making it easy to fit bricks together securely, whilst ensuring that any creations can be disassembled again when you want to create a new design. Just think of all those gaming characters you could release from their 2d prisons.

Available in the UK from Firebox at £18.99. 8 Bit Pixel Cube also has a Facebook page.

When the Rubik’s cube was launched in 1980 it was awarded the Best Puzzle of the year, to date it is still considered to be one of the top selling puzzles in the world. While many only aim to solve the puzzle there are others, including surface tension, who try to give it their personal touch.

Another of my childhood favourites were Lego blocks, even these days the fan following for both the Rubik’s cube and the Lego blocks is still huge. One such fan is Andreas Nortmann who has come up with this awesome fusion of both.

Take a look at his innovative idea and you will be amazed at the brains that have worked behind them. Both the creators of the Rubik’s and Lego would surely be proud of him.

Nortmann exchanged the stickers with 2X2 plates of Lego. Different colored plates for all the six sides. What you have here now is a Rubik’s cube with Lego blocks fixed all around them. You can not only solve the puzzle but also use it as a base for other creations.

The building technique being applied here is referred to as SNOT (Studs Not On Top). Since it is being applied with the Rubik’s and Lego it is termed as Rubik’s + Lego + SNOT and the result is ‘Awesome’. You simply have no other word for it.

Kudos to Nortmann for such a brilliant idea!!

Learning the Rubik’s cube is on my list of things to do before I die. Though there never seems to be the time.

Now, getting myself a robot that could do it for me would save a lot of time! Time enough to do the next thing on the list, whatever that may be. Luckily a bunch of students at Swinburne University of Technology, Australia, have created such a labour-saving device!

(Click for some youtube action)

Ruby managed it in just over 10 seconds, which includes the time to analyse. This is the fastest recorded time for a robot to solve the puzzle, though it’s still a few seconds off the fastest human time of 6.24s.

via :: technabob

I love this iPad arcade cabinet which will soon be available from ThinkGeek it takes me right back to the good old days of gaming. The iCADE uses Bluetooth to connect to the iPad so there’s nothing else you need to do. You’re ready to “insert coin” and game on!

There’s a full-sized joystick and eight arcade buttons ready to smash for some on-screen action. iCADE is compatible with 100 Atari classics including Asteroids, Centipede, and of course Donkey Kong and PAC-MAN.

Now for the really bad news….at the moment ThinkGeek can only ship within the US and we can’t find a stockist here in the UK. Anyone planning a holiday to America?

The online store Spinning Hat have a great retro cake mould up for sale, inspired by the classic Space Invaders. By ‘inspired’, I mean it’s not an authorised product, so contains an extra pixel here and there. Looks great though and I could really go for some of that cream-filled invader cake right now.

via :: technabob

I can hear nerds everywhere crying “Why didn’t I think of this”… yes, me included.

You can find out more details at www.alcoholandnightswimming.com

via :: Gizmodo