1) Cradle of life
Our chums on Edge magazine were kind enough to donate these pictures of Masahiro Sakurai’s now-defunct Smash Bros HQ. You may only see rows of HD TVs and abandoned swivel chairs, but we see the birthing ground for one of the Wii’s finest hours. And man alive, check out all those juicy GameCube pads – clear evidence of the proper way to play Brawl!
Plenty of people have had a go at making art out of Pong – notable examples include the PainStation machine, which whips players across the hands when they lose a ball, and some cute, limited edition clocks that play Pong on LCD screens while keeping the time. This one is a table embedded with thousands of LEDs and two trackpads. It’s on display at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
3) Link to the stitch
NGamer reader Kayley Caruana made this nifty Zelda-themed stitchy-art thing for her boyfriend as part of her university course. What a cushy way to get a degree! And she effectively gets double credit for it. Nice one.
Cult PC game Portal returns in this fan-made 2D version for DS. Called Still Alive, it’s a very professional project. Place portals, warp through walls and collect pieces of cake to complete the single-screen puzzle levels. It’s brain-twistingly ingenious, and you can even design and upload your own maps. If you’ve got access to some sort of device to play DS homebrew, you should check it out – it’s good enough to be a commercial game.
These are some of the classiest DS cases we’ve ever seen. Plump and accommodating, they’re based on traditional Japanese kimono designs and have woven covers with leather bindings. Simple, stylish and a bit expensive – they cost ¥7,350, which is around $70 (£35).
Teachers, hmm… They earn loads of money, they finish work at 3.30pm and they get about six months’ holiday every year. The easy life, for sure. And to cap it all, if they register for the Handheld Learning Conference, which is being held in London from 13-15 October, they’ll get a free DS and a copy of Brain Training. Perfect for keeping them busy next time they’re sitting around with their feet up, on strike.
