The following post originally appeared on attractmo.de, on July 7, 2014.
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Happy day July 4th weekend everyone! Hopefully everyone got the chance to enjoy some fireworks, grilled meats, and fun times with good friends these past few days.
Saw plenty of all three on my Instagram feed, though regarding the latter, quite a few added Mario Kart 8 to the mix. But William Kyle Gerardi chose something else a bit more appropriate. After all, this nation would founded on three basic principles: life, liberty, and bipedal nuclear weapons-equipped tanks.
And on that note, time for yet another roundup of game culture snapshots! Starting with a pic taken just prior to the patriotically tinged day that precedes July 4th, aka Memorial Day. That’s when the aforementioned last vestige of Chinatown in NYC’s video gaming glory days finally closed their doors (note Mario hiding behind the moving boxes)…
Thankfully they didn’t close for good, and instead moved shop elsewhere, to midtown. Which was the first place I took fellow Attract Mode Collective member Eric, when he came to visit for NYC the following week. Among other things, we finally swapped Miis…
Took him all over Manhattan, though the main event for him was that weekend’s Pulsewave. And one of the acts on the card was The Shortsleeves (which also meant another chance to see another out of town Attract Mode-r, Paul Owens)…
Back to local game shops, it was around that time that I discovered another local game store, hidden in my neighborhood (I live in the northern tip of Manhattan, Washington Heights, FYI). There I rant into Ryu and Christopher Reeve…
So I didn’t swing by E3 this year. Instead, I went to an indie wrestling match in New Jersey, in which one of the competitors was Starman. You know, from Pro Wrestling, for the NES…
… BTW, the mix of video games and professional wrestling is nothing new, and if anything, there’s been a marked increase in recent days. As evidenced by footage captured by JJSignal, who went to a match over the weekend that not only featured a number of World Warriors but the the hero of Hyrule himself.
Back to E3, yet sticking with the subject of folks dressed up as game attire, here we have Anthony Carboni as the lead character from Galak-Z, at Sony’s presser…
And here we have Mathew Kumar acting like Mathew Kumar at the EA booth…
The thing is, E3 is kinda lame. At least it affords one the chance to hang with buds and play some games together. Preferably outside of the confines of the LA Convention Center. Not sure where Mathew found an original Star Wars arcade game, but he notes it’s the very first controller he ever held. Am certain many reading this could say that same very thing…
Meanwhile, back in New York City, a brand new Barcade opened in Manhattan (and it’s much better than the one in Williamsburg, sorry Brooklyn-ites). Here we have yet another member of Attract Mode, Zach, playing Time Traveler, that laserdisc driven, FMV hologram game that Sega made back in the early 90s, as captured by Simon Ferrari…
Nina Freeman encountered Street Fighter 2 running in a Mortal Kombat cab, and her mind was understandably blown…
Area 5′s Cesar Quintero came across perhaps the greatest arcade cabinet side art ever, for the super obscure Punk Shot…
He also recently discovered what it’s like to play either Ms. Pac-Man or Galaga in Canada…
Him and the rest of the crew have actually been traveling all over North America, for Outerlands. Which included a visit with the man who gave birth to video games himself, Ralph Baer…
Speaking of groundbreakers, and back to E3 real quick, here we have Swery with one of my personal heroes, Yu Suzuki. Try and imagine what video games would be like without the likes of Virtua Fighter and Shenmue…
Another celeb I follow on Instagram is Tadanobu Asano’s (it’s a shame that most in the States only know him for the crappy Hollywood movies he’s awkward inserted in; instead check out Electric Dragon 80.000 V, Survive Style 5+, Funky Forest, and of course Ichi the Killer if you haven’t done so already). Recently, for whatever reason, he posted this old pic of himself with the dearly missed Kenji Eno…
… BTW, in case you missed it, the first BitSummit’s touching tribute to Eno is a must watch. And speaking of, here we have BitSummit’s chief architect sharing a warm and tender moment of a different sort, involving his kids, some hot dogs, and a Ms. Pac-Man cocktail cabinet running a game that I’m unable to identify…
Next is a somewhat similar heartwarming scene involving video games, though this time in the form of train ad that my buddy Dave Roman spotted when visiting Japan…
And here we have the real thing, courtesy of men_gunners…
As the saying goes, plus courtesy of miki800: the family that plays together, stays together…
Yet another person who recently stopped by Japan is Vincent Diamante, who notes that this scene is quite reminiscent of the game Journey…
The same goes for Kimika, who discovered that heaven is indeed a place on earth…
Speaking of Kimika, here we as the happy couple in Tomodachi Life…
Unfortunately, the above was part of a highlight reel that played out only after I said yes to another girl; had no idea that Kimika’s Mii look-alike was into me, nor that we were a thing in the first place, til it was too late. Felt so guilty that I haven’t played the game since…
Though others are seemingly enjoying healthier relationships in the game. Here’s Cory with his in-game gf, who is also his irl gal pal…
And here we have Thymine playing a DS game based on some anime show that most of probably never heard off…
Whereas, here we have Mister Raroo enjoying a GBA game that should hopefully be instantly recognizable to all…
Also, some good news: there is now an Oink Boy Color!
Remember that box art featuring the cute anime butt from the 80s, from last time? Guess miki800 is also a fan…
And here’s a drawing of PaRappa the Rapper that Kris drew. Clarification: a drawing of PaRappa the Rapper looking constipated that Kris drew…
I always love it whenever Lamar Abrams draws Irene from Ninja Gaiden…
It’s also nice to see Mary Ivonskaya, or any character from Tobal No.1 get some much needed love…
Sailor Moon is currently the talk of the town, since the new series just made its debut. Well here we have an exceptionally well timed illustration by Campbell Whyte…
Next up is Mingjue Helen Chen paying tribute to The Last Of Us: Left Behind…
Kirby by Alex Savage…
I seriously need to get my hands on one of this zines, ASAP…
Dominique Ferland highlights a particularly awesome scene from an old Zelda Nintendo Power comic (volume 40 for those eager to see more)…
John Ricciardi recently posted highlights from what can be calls “the gamer’s bible back in the pre-Internet 80″, aka The Official Nintendo Player’s Guide, and I couldn’t agree more…
And here’s a sample from Tokyo: A Certain Style, which catalogues the tiny living spaces of Tokyo residents, circa the late 90s, courtesy of neoretro75…
Time to see what sixteenbit has posted as of late. And regarding that last pic; given how most Americans had a hard time accommodating the large AC units that were a staple of 16-bit consoles, despite their much larger living spaces comparatively speaking, one has to wonder how folks in Japan were able to deal…
To this very day, my all time favorite game-related logo is still the one for Sonic & Knuckles…
Am assuming that Mega Drive pouch is a CD wallet? Whatever it is, I want it. Also, the album you see is highly recommended, especially if you were a fan of the music from Ristar (it also contains the soundtrack to Virtua Racing, which I have a soft spot for, even though there was barely any tunes to speak of)…
Courtesy of jake74; man I love how Sega packaged all their 16-bit gear. So, so achingly late 80s/early 90s…
The cat’s out of the bag; apparently Kotaku recently wrote about Stu Brett. Whom we’ve been featuring here for some time now (just sayin’). Anyhow, here’s a recent sampling of the Super Fami boxes that have caught my eye; that crappy Lawnmower Man game actually looks like something I’d pick up (and thus the power of effective packaging)…
As for my own Super Famicom collection, it’s nowhere near as extensive as Brett’s, but at least I can state to the whole world that I own a copy of the very first Umihara Kawase…
Then there’s this box to something considerably more common, LocoRoco. But the key detail here is how it was used by Gus Mastrapa to kill a wasp (whose crushed dead body is underneath)…
Remember how this year’s Google April fools joke involved Pokemon hidden all across Google Maps? Well, if you managed to find all 151 scattered about, you received congratulatory business cards in the mail. Joseph Schutz just got his…
Please enjoy what appears to be a rather old pic of some friend of Heather Victoria‘s shredding a guitar with a Pikachu doll…
Sticking with Pokemon, tis the season for comic and anime conventions, which also means it’s the season for cosplay. So here we have Michelle Moorehead as Misty…
Plus her with the her crew…
… Ash is being portrayed by the ultra versatile Jenni Hashimoto. Here we she is as Chun Li (not only can you see more examples here, you can also purchase her outfits as well)…
Elliot Trinidad states: “The very idea of Link & Medley sitting together at a diner, SO CUTE”…
Now, if you feel like telling the world that you love video games, but cosplay is not your thing, you’ve got options. Like a customized iPhone case from TiffyCuppyCake, like the one kimi_cakes just nabbed…
One can also customize one’s skin, like Erika Szabo just did…
Or you could just customize the skin of your console, like this Friday the 13th X PlayStation 4 combo, courtesy of Meghan X Munster…
A disembodied Toad head in the hand of Carlos Lopez…
Just as small, but not nearly as creepy, is this custom mini TMNT arcade cabinet that Shawn Robare‘s girlfriend commissioned…
Joel Carroll recently assembled a Vic Viper, one of my all time favorite shump ships. Too bad it’s the somewhat poopy Sky Girls version. Oh well…
Two recent pics in ketta_gg toy/model-specific feed caught my eye recently, both Virtual On related…
So my new favorite feed would have to belong to Adam Frost. Not only is the choice of subjects ace, but the execution is even better. I love how, for Kirby Tilt’n'Tumble, he almost innocently states: “Such a gorgeous cartridge… I was just hoping to capture that”…
Speaking of Game Boy carts, and thanks to Timothy Caraballo, I totally need to get ahold of a 3D printer…
Though I could simply ask Chris Furniss to borrow his. Thanks for the heads up Kyle…
Mark Essen recently whipped up a bunch of Nidhogg pins…
Again, I am amazed by Jennie Faber‘s skills when it comes to photographing Mass Effect. They look like still from silent 1920s movies…
A few more pics that illustrate the beauty of black & white; trevofour demonstrates how simply swapping a few parts in controllers can make them so gosh darn pretty…
It’s been a while since we featured the handiwork of joeteach…
It’s also been a while since we’ve seen Nullsleep do what Nullsleep does best (via Alex Bond…
Jeremiah himself came across some free Atari while on tour…
Have you heard the latest form Anamanaguchi? It’s awesome! I also love the song’s artwork, in all its various incarnations…
Oh, so Peter wants us all to say hello to the band’s newest member…
And Earl Gray III has given us all the sudden urge to for a Famicom Disk System on eBay…
Mike McWhertor recently attended BotCon and came across this bootleg Robocop that transforms in the Batmobile from Korea. The best part is how Robocop looks like Proto Man on the box art…
Once again, it’s summer time, which is the chance to a bit of vacationing. Hopefully, when you’re on the road, you’ll be able to find a McDonald’s with a Nintendo 64 set up. As Patrick Miller observes: “Smash revival is real”…
Though one way to save money is to simply buy groceries instead of eating out. That’s how Mortal Kombatants can afford to travel to Outworld for those tournaments (via sixteenbit)…
I need to ask Theo Baer if he has any idea what the hell this truck is about…
The worst part about this time of year is the heat. Unfortunately, I haven’t come across any Instagrammed shots of game characters lounging at the pool, yet this one at the hot springs is too cute not to share (via miki800)…
The most important thing to do is to not stay indoors, hiding in an air-conditioned room. Go out outside and play something; hopefully there’s something similar to the Playful Arts Festival (which Patrick Ashe attended) happening in your neck of the woods…
Or if you absolutely need to play Mario Kart 8 (at stated at the very top, it’s everyone’s favorite at the moment), you can always simply find a small TV, in this pic that I’m borrowing from Eric’s primary digs…
And it might be best to play whenever, and wherever you can. Otherwise, you’ll never win the trophy from Israel Sundseth…
