(YouTube Link)

I think the Cold War may have kept this game from arriving in America, either that or the manufacturer didn’t feel like the reference to Mikhail Gorbachev would help sell copies in the U.S.

Whatever the reason, Gorby’s Pipeline never made its way to the Nintendo Entertainment System, and that’s too bad because it looks like it would have given Tetris and Dr. Mario a run for their money! Anyone remember the old school video game Pipe Dream?

–via Kotaku

The Nintendo Company has been in business since 1889, but it took almost 100 years for Nintendo to become a global household name for its video games. Along the way, Nintendo branched out into all kinds of ventures, some of which will surprise you (like the love tester and the love hotels). One of their earlier toys is the plastic grabbing tool shown. See the rest at Ranker. Link -Thanks, Brian!

Man, if this amazing little gaming device had been invented when I was a kid, I probably would have gone outside to play more often, although it would have surely been with this portable gaming console in hand. Called the HandyNES, it plays all the old Nintendo Entertainment System cartridges, and you can even use the light gun to play a tiny game of Duck Hunt.

Link

The Wizard

The trek to California is accomplished primarily by gambling — a series of double-your-money hustles instigated by the queerly parentless Haley. We actually get to see Haley’s trailer home at one point, though her father (a trucker) is on the road. In addition to video game-related hustles, the trio end up at one point in an actual casino, wherein Haley’s skill at craps allows an adult (“Spankey,” a mentally challenged “trucker friend” of her father’s, played by Frank McRae) to win hundreds. It’s later revealed that Haley’s deceased mother had a gambling problem, which apparently led to Haley’s hustling skills. Corey’s mother is also dead. And Jimmy’s sister/Corey’s half-sister? She’s dead, too. What?! Never mind that now. We have to get to California.

The climax involves a video game tournament, so you can guess the ending. It doesn’t make any sense, either. Read more about how a favorite movie from a writer’s childhood becomes completely nonsensical when he watches it again as an adult. Link

GameBoy has crawled out of it’s grave and is hungry for some computer brains! This nifty little figurine was made by Kodykoala, a guy who has created an impressive array of custom figures, most of which place beloved Nintendo characters in *ahem* awkward situations. Click on the link and check out Nintendo characters gone wild!

Link –via Destructoid

What better subject for a batch of Cake Pops than the fluffy pink Nintendo character Kirby? These cute and delicious works of art take hours to make, and only five minutes to eat. I don’t know about you, but I think Kirby’s next adventure should be in my belly!

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Link via Pinterest

Watch what happens when the Smash Bros.  take notes from Mortal Kombat on how to finish their opponents, with a FATALITY! Cute, bloody, and starring some of the most beloved video game characters of all time, this is my kind of vid!

Link -via GeeksAreSexy

Simba or the Beast may seem like the obvious heavy hitters, but I’m seeing potential for epic combos with Dumbo’s giant ears. And what will happen when Aladdin and Tinkerbell meet?

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Etsy seller Kevin Glenn made these two outstanding Nintendo case mods that resemble Star Wars vessels. The TIE fighter is a Nintendo 64 and a 1995 Hasbro kit. The snowspeeder is a Mini Super NES with a 1995 Hasbro T-47 kit. Both are fully functional (as gaming consoles).

Link -via DVICE

Reactions to this new bundle pack will range from “How much? No thanks…” to “Awesome!”, with lots of mehs in-between. But if you’re still using your Wii for anything other than Netflix, and you enjoyed the previous Legend of Zelda games, then you’ll probably want to check out the new Skyward Sword game bundle, even though it’s set to retail at $70. The collector’s bundle includes a golden Motion Plus Wiimote, game and 25th Anniversary Concert CD, so you can take your new theme music with you wherever you go!

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Unless you are an ultimate Nintendo fan, and know every game that came out on the console in 1988, you’re going to have a hard time identifying all of these great games. But really, who’s keeping score? These awesomely adorable illustrations are by Campbell Whyte, and have a quirky cute style all their own. See if you can figure them all out, and be sure to follow the link over to Destructoid if you want to see all 65 of these adorable illustrations!

Link -via Destructoid

Obi Wan battling the Empire via breakdancing. The classic Nintendo crowd get together for a snapshot. Mulder and Scully expose alien life forms both humanoid and puppet. Sound like strange subject matter for paintings? Then you haven’t seen the colorful works of Aaron Jasinski, a painter who’s bringing the pop culture back to lowbrow art. ComicsAlliance has a cool gallery of Aaron’s colorful works, ranging from pop culture celebration to semi-traditional portraiture, and his choice of color is every bit as cool as his subject matter.You can see more of Aaron’s work at his Deviant Art page below.

Link -via ComicsAlliance

While many of us may have had Nintendo themed lunch pales we took to school  as young gamers, most of us probably didn’t actually go this far with our Nintendo love. One 8 bit  fan took his broken old Nintendo and converted it into a lunch box, complete with a controller for a handle.

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Twenty years ago parents were upset at the high cost of the new Super Nintendo video game system. Today those kids can be happy buying two hundred dollar video game systems for their own begging children (and themselves.)

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If Nyan Cat were around in 1988, he would the star of an NES game. And it would be in the bargain bin now. J. R. Baker took this idea and ran with it, designing both the front and back of the game case in the style of Konami games from the ’80s. See the expanded art and work in progress at his site. Link

deviantART member Mari Rosa Archambault, inspired by ukiyo-e prints, depicted Nintendo video game stars in feudal Japan. It took me a minute out to figure out that the figure on the right is Mega Man. Link -via Uniblog

These are just what you need for ducking down pipes, jumping on Goombas and saving pixelated Princesses. Converse has announced that their series of Super Mario shoes will be available to gamers and non-gamers alike this summer. A basic design featuring a repeating pattern of little Marios on a white or black background will be rolled out in July. The two designs set for an August release depict entire scenes of the game – the first level and the last level (shown).

Link via [Geeks Are Sexy]

Sadly, there was never a classic Nintendo game for Doctor Who. But YouTube user DoctorOctoroc has created an introductory theme that would have been perfect for it, in both graphics and music.

via Geekosystem

Got 40 SNES games and a little spare time? Then you, too, could be the proud owner of a urinal made from old video games. And it really works – there’s a video of it in action if you follow the link (don’t worry – it’s SFW).

Link via Geekologie

Students at a Dutch university have constructed the largest functional Nintendo Entertainment System controller in the world. It measures twelve by five feet. As you can see from the Dutch-language video at the link, they set it up in a public venue and let people play Super Mario Bros. on a huge screen.

Link (Google Translate) via Kotaku | Screenshot: Tweakers/Kotaku

For those of us who owned the original 1989 Nintendo Game Boy nothing is more exciting and nostalgic then playing some of those green and yellow video game classics of our youth. GameBoyOnline.com claims to have over 800 games that you can play in the browser without downloading an emulator. I know what I’m doing at work today.. rescuing that Princess once and for all. Link

DrunkenNES is a video game controlled by breathing into breathalyzer built into a modified game cartridge. It was developed by Baltsy Adams, pictured above. Points are awarded based upon level of intoxication (the drunker the player, the higher the score). This video illustrates game play.

Video Link and Creator’s Blog via Urlesque | Photo: dcpop

(Video link)

The alarming thing is, as someone who logged some serious hours on Michael Jackson’s Moonwalker I don’t find the prospect of a Dirty Dancing game terribly unrealistic. These less-than-fondly remembered Nintendo games of the ’80s have a real “it’s funny because it’s true” quality about them. The music and 8-bit graphics are so very on-the-nose, this compilation of phony forgotten titles is clearly a labor of love. And, I’m not ashamed to admit I would have happily whiled away the best years of my life counting pixelated toothpicks in Rain Man: The Game.

OK, I’m actually a little ashamed to admit that.

via CollegeHumor

In this video, Dan Meth imagines 80s-era Nintendo games based on the Chernobyl disaster, the movie Rain Man, The Arsenio Hall Show, and other icons of the 1980s. If you have any cheat codes for the Baby Jessica Well Rescue, please let me know.

GetLoFi built a functional six-string electric guitar from a NES console. You can view a video of it being played (as a musical instrument) at the link.

Link via Nerdcore

Previously: Nintendo Famicom Guitar

1.

2. While in development, the Wii was code named Revolution, but it wasn’t a secret. It changed to Wii on April 27, 2006. The name was chosen because it is short, simple to pronounce in many languages, and needs no abbreviation. The spelling We was considered first, but Wii was more distinctive.

3. Wii sales were launched in November 2006 in the US and December 2006 in the UK. The timing was either a brilliant marketing scheme or a planning disaster, as Christmas demand led to shortages in both countries. The shortage continued through 2007. Many began to suspect that Nintendo was orchestrating artificial demand for the product. For four holiday seasons (so far), there have not been enough Wii systems in all areas.

4. When the Wii was new, there was incident after incident of broken TVs and monitors caused by flung Wii remotes. Windows and household glassware were also victims. Nintendo urged people to use the strap to secure the remote to their wrists while playing games. The website Wii Have A Problem sprung up to document the damage caused by Wii remotes that “got out of hand”, so to speak.

5. Pink and blue Wii remotes were launched for Valentines Day 2010. Sure, it was a gimmick gift, but individual color-coded remotes are handy for families with more than one child, in order to keep track of not only scores, but who lost/damaged the equipment. Remotes now come in quite a few colors, or you can get colored covers for existing remotes.

Instructables user rpaxon made a bedding set that makes a bed look like a Nintendo console. He’s made it for his brother, who’s wanted one since the sixth grade. You can view more photos at the link.

Link via GearFuse

Flickr user mattcyborgelt created a coffee table shaped like a NES console. It opens up to reveal a functional controller scaled to size, as well as ports to use for computer and gaming peripherals. Check out the whole Flickr photo set.

Link via Geekosystem

Previously:
PlayStation Controller Coffee Table
Giant NES Controller Table

[YouTube - Link]

YouTube user Thretris modified an original NES with a custom Tron paintjob, and stuffed in some new hardware. Skip to minute 2 to avoid the technical stuff.

This NES has been custom painted using a hand mixed airbrush paint with glowing powder. The paint job not only glows BRIGHTLY in black light, but it charged and stays glowing on its own. The console also has NESmod installed which acts a dual mono “stereo” mod with boosted sound from an additional PCB with amplified audio.

Thretris has also customized a Gameboy.

Via Nerd Approved

The French graphic design duo Zim & Zou made a papercraft version of a Nintendo Game Boy. It even has an insertable game cartridge. At the link, you can view more pictures, as well as a papercraft Tetris game.

Link via Albotas | Photo: Zim & Zou

Dave, from Kansas, was impressed by the recent eBay auction of the original 80′s Nintendo Entertainment System which sold for $13,105. What drove the price so high was one of the games that came with it, an obscure release called ‘Stadium Events.’ The game was still in its original cardboard box, itself valued over $10,00.

Dave then decided to see what kind of treasures he might have.

“We had quite a collection (185+ games) that has sat in our basement for over 20 years,” Dave told Y! Games. “The games were on a list to be brought to Goodwill – in fact, within a month, Goodwill was going to have them.”

To his astonishment, not only did he find a copy of the same game that just fetched over $13,000 on eBay — highly sought-after collector’s item Stadium Events — it was in perfect condition, right down to the original shrinkwrapping and Richard Gordman pricetag. (A mere $29.99, if you’re wondering.)

“Now I’m not much of a collector, but I know that having a factory seal is good,” he said.

But he’s only just now finding out quite how good.

As it turns out, the game’s unopened condition makes Dave’s copy of Stadium Events three times more valuable: he sold it on auction site eBay for a breathtaking $41,300. It’s thought to be one of only two shrinkwrapped copies of the game still in existence.

OK, now, everyone run to the basement to check your old games! Link

From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by Geekazoid.

Mario Question Block Coin Candy - $3.95

You never know what you'll get from a question block in the video game Super Mario Bros., but there's no question here. You'll get awesome coin-shaped candies from Boston America's Mario Question Block Coin Candy.

The candy, licensed from Nintendo, comes in a collectible metal tin and is now available from the Neatorama Shop: Link

More Super Mario Bros. themed stuff from the Neatorama Shop:

Super Mario Bros. Mushroom Tin - $3.45	Mario Bros. Super Star Candy - $2.95	Super Mario Bros. Power Up Energy Drink - $2.95

Link via Geekologie.

Photo: Erick Kwiecein

This throne, according to Internet rumor, is seven feet tall, can be found in Tokyo, and is made entirely of Nintendo game cartridges.

To be really useful for gamers, it needs to have a built-in toilet and a soda dispenser.

Link via Make

Love video games and jazz? Well, Scott Bradlee and Ben Golder-Novick teamed up to bring you this: classic video game music in piano and saxophone!

Love 8-bit Nintendo games but not necessarily 8-bit musical
instruments? Wish you could hear the soundtracks of those games
rendered by live musicians as you play?

Eight Bits of Jam will come into your living room and provide real-time acoustic soundtracks to old school games such as Super Mario Bros., The Legend of Zelda,
Mike Tyson’s Punch-out, and many more. All you have to do is put the television on ‘mute’ and Eight Bits of Jam will take care of the rest.

From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by vaughnadam81.

Whoa! This is awesome: Gajitz blog has a nice compendium of the various papercrafts inspired by the Zelda games. I remember fondly playing Zelda II: The Adventure of Link on my NES oh so many years ago.

Link | More at the excellent blog Nintendo Papercraft (you can lose hours there!)

Depending on how you feel about Nintendo and tattoos, you may love or hate this huge collection of Nintendo Tattoos. Some of them have some really great artwork, others…not so much.

Link

Image:Kent Smith, Gizmodo

Gizmodo held a photoshop contest for video game peripherals that will probably never be developed. Above is the…uh, animal husbandry Nintendo Wii controller by Kent Smith, which took 3rd place. There are 42 reader-submitted images at the link.

Link via GearFuse

Artist Angela Moramarco has a very odd belief about the innards of video game controllers.

I bet you didn’t know that the average Wii controller has all kinds of guts like this. Guts. I’ve seen a lot of guts projects lately. That one with the lego guy turning around and around, those KAWS Dissected Companions from a few years ago. It’s no longer a joke! But that’s ok, that’s not what this is about anyway. It’s about how physical therapists are using the Wii to help their patients gain muscle strength by playing games! Yay Nintendo!

Link

From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by chrisburns.

The American Heart Association is funding a student project to develop a CPR certification program that uses the Nintendo Wii:

A biomedical engineering professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham envisioned a program for home computers that could sync via wireless with the Wii remote, and train users on proper resuscitation of people who have suffered cardiac arrest. The students hope to make the program available for download this fall, free of charge, on the American Heart Association’s website.

Link

An intrepid Nintendo fan hacked a wireless doorbell together with a NES controller. It looks really cool, I just wonder which button actually makes the door ring.

Link

“A Nintendo training video from 1991 teaching retail workers how to handle customers with defective Nintendo products.”

From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by Jake.

Link via Geekologie

You know someone’s a hardcore Mario fan when they actually design a whole mosaic of Mario art on their wall using push pins. This must have killed their thumbs. I love how the art looks like it’s in pixels. This wonderful display can be found at the Student Computing Center at the University of Fraser Valley…good to know they spend their time studying over there.

Link Via YesButNoButYes