Given this is a video game blog, I can forgive you for not having heard of Ableton Live before. Originally released in 2001, it near instantaneously became an industry standard for the live performance of electronic music. So why on earth am I talking about it here?
A crafty DIYer who goes by the moniker of Jr Savage has built the most impractical Ableton controller on the planet - a stonking arcade cabinet with a rackmount PC, 19″ LCD, professional (read: not Sound Blaster) sound card, 2 octave MIDI keyboard and a custom control surface featuring 8 channels and joystick navigation.
As usual, if you’re asking why, you’re missing the point of DIY.
The official Street Fighter IV blog has confirmed that the game will be shown off and playable at this year’s AOU. The blog will also be beaming in updates from Capcom’s booth at the show floor throughout the event, which runs on February 15th and 16th.
If you’re scrambling for a gift for that guy who builds his own robots and always wears the same t-shirt with the nerdy joke you don’t get, then maybe you want to check out this Pac-Man hoodie. The downside of this plan is that you will have to go into a Hot Topic to buy one. Such a sacrifice is probably worth it when you consider the fact that the garment in question won’t be leaving your friends body for about a decade.
A report in the New York Times has pointed to a looming overlap of gaming and slot machine design. Rob Bone, marketing director for WMS Gaming had this to say about the future of slot machine gambling:
“We can’t just make a slot thinking about the 55-year-old lady who comes to the casino a few times a month. We need to appeal to new buckets of players, or we’ll die.”
Slot manufacturer Bally Technologies has signed a deal with Atari to produce Pong and Breakout style slot games to further pull in the masses. Many of the games will be mulitplayer to emulate the sense of community that people feel while playing games like poker. If you think you are going to go out there and clean up with your leet gamer skills think again, as skill will only get you so far - the machines are still designed to take more than they give.
I hope it is the 55-year-old ladies that embrace these machines. Maybe a move to a more interactive form of gambling could stave off at least some of the problems chronic slot junkies face. Even this level of mental stimulation might ward off Alzheimer’s in some cases.
Some diligent fans have crafted their own Metroid arcade cabinet. The guts of the system is a home-built PC with a 17-inch Samsung LCD and sound system with subwoofer. The outside is adorned with glowing buttons, every controller port you could want and a clay-sculpted Mother Brain.
Ever reached a stalemate in an argument over dinner and wished you had some virtual method to decide the victor? If so you need to get some therapy, because that probably wasn’t the application Eric Gradman had in mind when he made this awesome arcade machine in a table. Informatively called the IKEA MAME Dinner Table, it features a 15-inch LCD, Happ Controls and an Ultimarc I-PAC to run the system. Given it runs MAME you can pretty much play any old arcade game you have the roms for. More pics of the classy beast after the jump.
Attack of the Show have gone mad with power and decided to create the world biggest arcade machine. The monstrosity stands 13-feet tall and sports a 75-inch screen. A Guinness World Records judge was on hand at the unveiling to confirm that it was indeed the world’s largest arcade machine. To watch the unveiling click here. More pics after the jump.
We have done quite a few pieces on arcade machines over the past few weeks, but until now, nothing was taking it to the next level. Meet the future of the home arcade - because we challenge you to find any object that isn’t improved by adding easy access to cold beer. The Gamerator features 187 preloaded games, a 24″ flat screen monitor, a refrigerated interior, bar tap with overflow grill, and two beverage holders. It doesn’t come cheap, with bidding starting at US$2,000 on eBay…but we can’t really say it’s a rip off either. Now all they need to do is make one with a postmix system and some shot dispensers.
For those with space restrictions and a burning desire for an upright arcade machine, life has always been one of pain - until now that is. Homewares store Brookstone has added a miniature tabletop arcade machine to their lineup. The machine is adorned with Pac-Man graphics and includes Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man and Galaga. At the price of $1,995.00 it is rather limited, though surely someone will work out how to hack it.
