The Boston Globe ran a story yesterday highlighting a man who does repairs on EM machines.

Greg Nichols is one of a dying breed of technicians that can work on these fabulous machines that we've all come to love.  It raises an interesting question of what happens in the future and when does repairing an EM machine become more expensive than repairing a digital machine simply because the talent to work on such a device is slowly going the same way that the EM machines themselves are going.

This is why I think it's so important that those that are making the arcade repair videos such as Randy Fromm or the gang over at This Old Pinball are so important to our hobby.  The more of us that know how to repair these works of art, the longer we will be able to sustain this hobby.

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In seven days, one of the world's most recognizable video game icons will begin a new adventure in Super Mario Galaxy.

Now through November 11th, Nintendo is offering up a limited edition Mario coin to anyone who reserves a copy of Super Mario Galaxy.  To find a participating retailer near you head on over to the official site. 

Now, I know you're asking yourself; "Self, how is this retro-related?"

Well fans, we at RetroBlast! really want to know what you think of this game when it hits the shelves.  Initial reviews are touting it as an awesomely (is that a word?) fun game that does the Mario game line justice.

What we want to know, is from a retro-gaming standpoint, does it stay true to the Mario games we all know and love?  I'm not talking some new Mario Party type game, but a real Mario Adventure for a change! 

Drop us a line and let us know! 

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QJ.net has a story up this morning with news that Playboy Magazine's December issue is going to give their picks of the best video game centerfolds.

In addition to that, they've gone ahead and linked to a story done back in April, 2007  listing their top 10 Hottest Game Babes as of that time.  What's surprising to me is to see all of the older games getting recognition.  Given the advancement of video game technology and graphics today, I would have expected more modern games to take the front of the list.  It's nice to see mention of Samus,  Morrigan and even Chun-Li on their list.

So who's your fave? 

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So, uh, somebody forgot to remind Spielberg Films that Atari dumped a buttload of Atari 2600 E.T. cartridges in a landfill because the game was so lame.

This new mobile version has 40 mini games for your playing enjoyment all surrounding the beloved character that was ushered into film history back in 1982.

From Spielberg Films: "The game includes favorites that will be familiar to fans of the movie; BMX rides, hiding in Elliott’s closet in a block style game, Gertie sneaking along for the adventure, and of course, E.T. himself. A great touch to the game is the playroom, where you can play over 40 challenging games in E.T.’s hideout. There are many different types of logic, reflex, strategy and action style games to test your skills."

So what I wanna know, is, are they gonna load up a landfill full of old phones as a result because everyone gets so disgusted playing this that they start to hate their phone?

I'm just sayin'. 

Full Article Here

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Via Gamerpro , Arcade In A Box has announced a new Xbox 360 Controller.  It's available in both a 1 and 2 player model.

Now you can enjoy those Xbox Live Arcade games the way they were meant to be played.  Attack that new Pac-Man in style with a full blown arcade stick.

Can't wait to see who the first is to build a cabinet dedicated to the 360.  I mean, we've seen Xbox dedicated and Dreamcast deadicated, why not a 360 dedicated? 

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Pocketgamer.co.uk has a review of Space Invaders 30th Anniversary Mobile Edition.

From the website: "Space Invaders, as remade for mobile, is actually two games in one. Classic mode perfectly ports the original arcade game, whereas Modern mode remixes the space shooter with contemporary graphics and new stages. Both modes offer the same simple, yet intensely challenging gameplay that accompanies the Space Invaders name. However, there are distinctions between the two that might lead you to favour one over the other."

It would seem these days, we can carry around a full arcade on our cell phones. To think that today's cellular phone technology is more powerful than the 8-bit games that we all fell in love with just a couple of decades ago.

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It's that time of year again, and you are probably going to get tired of hearing about this and seeing it, but as a gaming hobbyist, what better way to give back to the community than via ChildsPlayCharity.org.

If you're not familiar with what this organization is, here's the rundown: "Since 2003, over 100,000 gamers worldwide have banded together through Child's Play, a community based charity grown and nurtured from the game culture and industry. Over two million dollars in donations of toys, games, books and cash for sick kids in children's hospitals across North America and the world have been collected since our inception."

Last year, RetroBlast! ran a contest surrounding the Child's Play Charity and we will look to do the same this year, so stay tuned for more details as the season progresses.

Be sure to check out the Child's Play website.  You'll be surprised to see how spread across the country the effort has become. I definitely will be donating via my local Children's Hospital and I challenge all of our readers to consider doing the same.

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Look closely at this picture.

That thing in the middle.  That's a beer tap.

And that shelf up above there, those are arcade controls.

Wait, what?  A beer tap plus arcade controls?  No way!  It can't be!

Yes gaming fans, you are looking at perhaps the world's first combined kegerator/gaming cabinet.

And the clouds parted and there was The Gamerator!  

As seen via Gizmodo and making the rounds across geekdom fast and furious, this unit is described as "A refrigerated interior capable of holding a pony keg of domestic beer, a 24 inch flat screen television, and two conveniently-placed cup holders to house your beverage while playing."

These cabs can be found floating around on e-bay starting around $2000.

Have a look . 

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BYOAC'r JimmyU pointed this out on the ArcadeControls.com forums. 

"You awaken in a large complex, slightly disoriented. Glowing dots hover mouth level near you in every direction. Off in the distance you hear the faint howling of what you can only imagine must be some sort of ghost or several ghosts."

And so it begins, in classic Zork fashion.  You thought Zork was nerve-racking?  Try this on for size ! 

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"Is that a game in your pocket, or are you just really happy to see me?" The manufacturer of the NES belt buckle is about to release something that should never be made - the very phallic looking 2600 Joystick belt buckle. Order your own online , just don't stand so close...

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