Awesome 8-bit

Sonicware’s little electronic music maker cranks out some seriously fat sounds. It packs four synth engines, including 8-bit frequency modulation, as well as a step sequencer, effects, and looping, all for less than 200 bucks. It has 27 keys, MIDI in/out, stereo in/out, headphone out, and can run on batteries too.

This high tech art toy lets you take any image and convert it into a pixel art template. Use your phone to upload a pic, and the smART Pixelator’s LEDs light up so you can place colored pegs, beads, or sequins in the right spots. With its interchangeable frames or hot-melt beads, you can save your designs permanently.

The 70s, 80s, and 90s gave us tons of classic arcade games, and along with them came lots of great pixel art. Typeface designer Toshi Omagari’s book catalogs some of the many cool pixelated fonts which were used for displaying scores on arcade machines. ReadOnlyMemory has a limited-edition hardcover version as well.

This cheap and tiny handheld gaming system comes packed with 268 retro games. The titles are from the 8-bit Nintendo era, and while some appear to be based on legitimate game ROMs, others are clearly homebrews and obscure titles. Still, for just 16 bucks, it’s a fun little stocking stuffer.

The 8-Bit Big Band offers up another phenomenal cover of a classic video game tune. This time, they take on block-stacking fun of Tetris, adding a bit of swing and a cinematic flair to the Soviet-era sounds of the theme song.

Celebrate your love for classic arcade games with this set of fun drink coasters. Each plastic coaster features a motion puzzle inspired by an 8-bit game, including Donkey Kong, Pac-Man, Q*Bert, and Space Invaders. Sold in a set of four.

Fans of classic video games will love this nearly 2-hour-long recording, featuring symphonic arrangements of 8-bit game music. The audio was captured during a performance by C64Audio and Hull Philharmonic Orchestra at Hull City Hall. Available for a limited time, so listen now, or better yet, buy the box set!

If Garfield the lasagna-loving cat starred in a survival horror on the Game Boy Advance, it might look something like this bit of insanity. This pixel art short film by animator Lumpy Touch is some serious nightmare fuel, so you might not want to watch it right before bedtime.

Artist Ditty Laser Designs creates cool works of art for fans of arcade games. Their Etsy shop offers small laser-etched wood panels featuring imagery from classics like Space Invaders, Dig Dug, and Donkey Kong. They also make a series of fun laser-cut Pokémon cards.

Build your own Nintendo Game Boy games without writing code. GB Studio is a free, easy-to-use visual editor lets you load in graphics and audio files, create levels and logic, then export it all as a ROM playable on Windows, MacOS, Linux, in a web browser, or even an actual Game Boy.

The 8-Bit Big Band breathes new life into the soundtrack from the NES classic Super Mario Bros., with an energetic performance of the theme music from the game’s first two worlds by a full orchestra and a chorus providing vocal accompaniment.

You’ll shoot your eye out, kid! The guys from 8-Bit Cinema retell the oft-quoted holiday classic as a pixelated console adventure game. They really should have had a minigame where you have to glue the leg lamp back together.

Musician AaronGrooves puts a seriously shiney new coat of paint onto the theme music from the 1980s arcade game Pac-Man, playing the classic 8-bit tune on xylophone, drums, ukulele, cowbell, and a loop machine.

If you never played the 1980s computer game California Games, load up a copy today. French creative studio ELMØ decided to reimagine the game for the 21st century, amping up the intensity to 11 for today’s crowd with extra zombies, gore, and garbage.

With their feet in the air and their head on the ground, 8-Bit Universe pays tribute to Pixies with a wonderful chiptune interpretation of their ubiquitous track Where Is My Mind?, with a nod to its use in David Fincher’s 1999 classic Fight Club.

The classic 8-bit computer jumps on the mini bandwagon with a 50% scale version. It comes with dozens of games, a joystick, and has HDMI output with CRT and scanline emulation. The mini keyboard isn’t functional, but you can connect your own via USB. Drops early 2018.

Transform yourself into Nintendo’s classic ’80s game console with this surprisingly stylish official NES hoodie. It’s decked out in the classic grey, black, and red color scheme, and even has Power and Reset buttons. We’re assuming you jam a cartridge in your mouth to play.

A handheld edition of the classic Atari 2600 game console with a 3.2″ color display. It comes pre-loaded with 60 games, and can also play game ROMs loaded onto an SD card too. Has a built-in rechargeable battery, and can connect to a TV with RCA composite inputs.

Using the classic Nintendo game Tecmo Bowl, YouTuber irishkidd84 replicated all of the scoring plays from Super Bowl 51. No matter what resolution you watch the game in, the Patriots’ comeback is just as mindblowing. The only thing missing is a pixelated Lady Gaga.

Cinefix and animators Norwood Cheek and Dilara Mundy take on the tale of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story as if it were a classic video game. We’d like to play through this with Chirrut Îmwe as our character.

The NES Classic Mini was one of the hottest holiday gifts. But if Santa didn’t bring you one, you can still score one without having to dig into your pocket. Drop by The Awesomer Shop to win your own, along with an 8Bitdo wireless controller and Retro Receiver. (Ends 2/8/17)

Animator Paul Robertson created this awesome pixelated version of the intro from Rick and Morty. We’re hoping there’s a dimension like this and they’ll do a whole episode there. Maybe they can address the whole “it’s not 8-bit, it’s 16/32/64-bit” argument once and for all.

Cinefix animators The Dutton Brothers take on Netflix directors The Duffer Brothers with their latest 8-bit remake. Given the fact that Stranger Things already takes place in the 1980s, it seems completely at home as a video game of the era.