Gearfuse

Have you ever noticed that the Atari logo might have been inspired by a certain Parisian landmark?

This is a TeeFury shirt so it’s only available for the next several hours for $9!

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Don’t ask me how they are going to make a movie out of a game based on outlined pixels, but apparently they’re willing to try. Universal Studios has picked up the rights for the “Asteroids” movie. The film will be produced by Lorenzo di Bonaventura with a screenplay by Matthew Lopez.

“Asteroids” literally had zero plot, unless you count a triangle shooting jagged pixelated shapes climactic. So it’ll be interesting, and most likely scary, to see it translated to the big screen if this project pans out.

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OK, look, I know I was just saying how much of a futuristic geek I am, but it seems I’m more stuck in my retro roots than I originally thought. All the proof I needed was the boner I got when I saw these awesome Asteroids Wall Decals. I remember first jamming out to Asteroids on a vintage Atari 2600 (a little before my time, so it was indeed a legacy machine). What can I say, it was love.

Anyway, these wall decals would look bangin’ in my home office. I know interior design is supposed to be the hobby of woman and womanly men, but count me in if we’ll be playing with decals like this. Grab your own “Space Rocks” decal set for $44.95.

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What is the deal with all these people ripping apart perfectly good video game consoles in favor of upgrading them with the latest technology? Sometimes retro is better!

That being said, this is a nice looking iPod dock. It’s a broken iPod clock/radio shoved inside an Atari 2600 shell. My guess is that this mod took no more than an hour. Drill a few holes for speakers, a little Gorilla Glue and voila, you’re finished.

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This ring is so pimp, like a geeky version of Xzibit, or whoever the kids are listening to these days. The 1981 ‘ATARI Ring’ is, as you might be able to guess from the title, a replica of the original chip used in the ATARI gaming system. 18 gold karats of geekdom.

While most men would much rather be playing ATARI than wearing the console’s chip on their finger, we still think this ring is pretty sexy. Dare we say, dope? Yeah, son. More photo love after the jumperoni. (more…)

This guitar strap fills me with geek envy. Renee of The Domestic Scientist made this cross-stitched guitar strap for her husband themed after the Atari classic Space Invaders. She is well versed in the art of geekery and even bakes her own 20 sided die cookies. That’s pretty geeky.

Next, she’ll be modding her husband’s guitar. We’re hoping she sticks to the Space Invaders theme she’s got going on. If not, well, there’s always Asteroids.

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For those not familiar with the 1979 Atari classic Asteroids, let me be the first to inform you: it’s about as hardcore as classic gaming gets. It’s an increasingly difficult game that tests the player’s reflexes, reaction time and nerves. The most difficult aspect of the game is either controlling the momentum of the player’s spaceship so you don’t crash into asteroids, or defending against little flying saucers. I hate those little flying saucers.
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Following his creation of a portable Atari 2600, Ben Heck was hesitant to make the 7800 portable due to the complexity of the motherboard. But Ben didn’t let that phase him as he’s finally finished the portable Atari 7800. The motherboard was larger than the 2600’s thus the unit had to be larger, so Ben slapped a 7-inch wide screen onto it to make up for it’s bulky size.

The system, with its corpulent form, still weighs less than a gallon of milk and runs on rechargeable batteries.  Even the Sega Game Gear is jealous of this thing! Though Ben claims it’s portable; it will never fit in your pockets like a Game Boy Micro will. Then again, the Micro doesn’t have quite the game library the 7800 has.

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There’s nothing I love more than making good electronic music from classic video game consoles. This video is a great example of someone using circuit bending techniques to generate sounds from an old Atari 2600. Using Paul Siocum’s Synthcart, the user is able to create original pieces using the 2600’s built-in sound chips.

Nothing beats the DIY instrument movement. If you have an 2600 collecting dust in your home, you should seriously consider getting yourself a Synthcart. At $25, it’s a dirt-cheap investment that will allow you to get started at creating your own chiptunes. The author even offers a downloadable ROM for free in case you want to try before your buy.

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The Atari 1980 masterpiece Missile Command is given a whole new take on interactive gaming thanks to Steven Mason. Steve wrote the clone for the multi-touch wall at Obscure Digital. It’s the same classic game, except you touch to shoot defending projectiles at incoming missiles. This adds a new element of game play and also gets your lazy ass off the couch. Chances are it’ll have you frantically slapping your hands against a wall for both exercise and entertainment.

We’ve seen this sort of technology before, even some with some newer games like Warcraft 3, but a classic such as Missile Command gives us a retro game with a fresh take on gameplay. I don’t see this kind of technology boosting the gaming industry’s innovation anymore than the Wii (a modern-day power glove), but seeing old Atari classics brought to life again makes me nostalgic.

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