Awesome 8-bit

A faction of the computer graphic Demoscene prides itself on creating visuals with the least code possible. Programmer Alcatraz turned up at the Revision 2024 demo party with this surreal scene – a post-apocalyptic black-and-white city created with just 256 bytes of Gopher code running on DOS. Revision posted some competing 256-byte demos here.

8BitDo’s latest retro computer keyboard is inspired by the Commodore 64. The 87-key mechanical keyboard is finished in C64 grey with rainbow graphics. It offers Bluetooth, 2.4GHz, and USB wired connections and comes with a joystick and jumbo-sized buttons. Compatible with Windows and Android. Pre-orders start shipping on 5.28.24.

veridiz vz•tv put together a full-length recreation of Pink Floyd’s classic album Dark Side of the Moon using 8-bit synthesizer sounds. After a very monotonous start with Speak to Me, things kick into gear by the time they hit On the Run and Money. veridiz has also made chiptune covers of Another Brick in the Wall, Echoes, and The Final Cut.

After releasing its Atari Gamestation Pro retro console, My Arcade is now working on a handheld version of the 8-bit gaming system. In addition to coming with more than 200 classic Atari 2600 games, the Gamestation Portable will have a 7″ display, joystick, paddle, numeric, and mini-trackball controllers built right in. Drops Q4 2024 for $149.

The Atari 400 Mini emulates all of the classic Atari 8-bit systems, including the 400, 800XL, and Atari 5200 game consoles. The modernized system has an HDMI video output and USB controller inputs. It comes with 25 games, including Berzerk, Millipede, Miner 2049er, M.U.L.E., and Star Raiders II, and you can load more via USB. An Amazon UK exclusive.

The Atari 2600 is back and better than ever. The Atari 2600+ plays both 2600 and 7800 game cartridges and has an HDMI output for modern displays. It’s got a widescreen mode, an less finicky cartridge socket, and a light-up Atari logo. It comes with a CX40+ joystick and a 10-in-1 game cartridge w/ classics like Adventure, Missile Command, and Yars’ Revenge.

The A capella group Maytree is really good at making mouth sounds. In this clip, they replicate the music and sound effects from Nintendo’s classic 8-bit arcade game, Donkey Kong. Though like many of us, they couldn’t make it past Level 1.

Do you need a break from your regular music playlists? Then open up this video, hit play, and drop it into a background tab. Jorf assembled this epic 10-hour and 53-minute mix of 227 tracks programmed by various chiptune musicians and played with the classic 8-bit sounds of the Nintendo Entertainment System.

Tactile Turn’s limited-run Spring 2023 pen features a design inspired by classic 8-bit game consoles, specifically the NES. The titanium pen has a two-tone Cerakote finish in grey and black with a textured orange pocket clip and a red “Reset” button to retract its ink cartridge. Available in Standard (5.8″), Short (5.3″), and Mini (4.6″).

Living Colour is one of those great bands that doesn’t get the kind of retro love that they deserve. The genre-defying group gave us songs like Love Rears Its Ugly Head, Glamour Boys, and their biggest hit Cult of Personality. 8 Bit Universe created this chiptune cover which gives the track a totally different and unexpected sound.

G-SHOCK and Nintendo created this sweet Super Mario Bros. watch, inspired by the classic 8-bit game. Its bezel and dial are done up in the color of Mario’s red overalls, while the bezel is the sky blue of the Overworld stages. The band features Mario pixel art print, and the LCD screen has an EL backlight with a Mario 1up graphic.

Engineer Linus Akesson shows off his typing and musical skills with a performance of Bach’s Prelude from Partita No. 3 on old Commodore 64 computers, along with a 1541 floppy drive which makes sounds with its motors. Stick around to the end of the video or visit his blog for details on the project.

Known for its graphical and sound abilities, the Commodore 64 personal computer was home to some of the best games of the 8-bit era. Engineer Linus Åkesson took advantage of its audio capabilities to build this unique accordion which consists of two C64 computers connected by bellows made out of floppy disks and tape.

A while back, Techmoan showed off the Atari Video Music, a device that produces colorful patterns from audio. YouTube channel Atari Video Music CRT Garage makes music videos with the 8-bit box, displaying its images on a roomful of TV screens. There are more than 40 videos in the series. Here’s a playlist of our faves.

The 1970s disco era collides with 1980s video game sounds in this great chiptune cover of the Bee Gees’ hit You Should Be Dancing. We can imagine a pixelated John Travolta lighting up the dance floor while Mario, Pac-Man, and Donkey Kong cheer him on from the sidelines.

The Muse track Knights of Cydonia is one of our favorites. It sounds especially great as a retro video game song. 8-bit Universe created this stellar chiptune version of the 2006 track which would have been perfect as the theme music for an old school Atari game like Ballblazer or M.U.L.E.

Fans of retro 8-bit gaming will love these colorful enamel pins inspired by the aliens in the top-down shooter Galaga. Etsy seller Wardingers offers a selection of handmade pixel art pins based on characters like the Bee, Butterfly, Scorpion, Galaxian, and Bosconian. Sold individually or in various combinations.

It might cost more than an actual Atari 2600, but this 2532-piece LEGO kit is still awesome. The brick-built 8-bit console and includes a joystick and switches that move. Plug in the Asteroids, Adventure, and Centipede cartridges and enjoy the accompanying 3D vignettes. Slide open the console to reveal a tiny basement scene.

These officially-licensed Nintendo notebooks look just like NES cartridges – if they got run over by a steamroller. They have A5-size (5-7/8″ x 8-1/4″) ruled pages, game graphics on their inside covers and come in a slip-cover inspired by an NES cartridge case. Choose from Super Mario Bros. or Metroid versions.

This teensy replica of the Atari 2600 comes with a miniature TV cabinet. It’s small enough to fit in the palm of your hand and is loaded with nine 8-bit video games, including Asteroids, Breakout, Centipede, Combat, Millipede, Missile Command, Pong Tempest, Warlords, and Pac-Man. They’re not the original 2600 versions though.

Go back to the ’80s with Retro Rifle’s arcade shirt. The black short-sleeve shirt is covered with vibrant neon pixel art inspired by the classic arcade shooter Galaga. It’s made from a custom blend of materials designed for stretch, durability, and sweat resistance. The first in a series of four arcade shirts.

Alan Becker revisits his Animation vs. series yet again. This time, his stick figure characters attempt to play classic arcade games on a MAME cabinet. As they fight over the joystick, things go off the rails and they crawl inside the machine in an attempt to debug the system.

Artist Susan Kare is known for her design of the system icons used on the original Apple Macintosh. In addition, she created the Cairo “dingbats” typeface, which can now be enjoyed on one of Areaware’s woven 50″ x 70″ blankets, crafted from 100% organic cotton. Available in black/white, green/pink, or grey/yellow.