Here's hoping Glen Brogan gives us a 'Video Game Console Guys' calendar in 2015

So, artist Glen Brogan (aka Albino Raven) recently decided to concoct a calendar that features female pin-ups "inspired by the design aesthetics of classic video game consoles."

A few of the consoles that inspired Brogan while he illustrated the above-mentioned pin-ups: Atari 2600, Commodore 64, Game Boy, NES, Sega Master System, SNES, Vectrex and Virtual Boy.

The final product is 8.5 inches by 11 inches in size and can be purchased at albinoraven.com for just $20 (plus shipping).

As much as I like Brogan's style, and as much as I support this particular endeavor, I really hope that next year he gives us a similar calendar featuring male pin-ups.

'Honey, dontcha know, I'm more than Pac-Man with a bow!'

Did you know that Ms. Pac-Man sounds a lot like the late Ethel Merman? Well, she does. Or, she did in the following TV ad for the Atari 2600 version of Namco's arcade classic. (Ms. Pac-Merman doesn't appear until the 20-second mark, by the way.)



(Via twitter.com/mintypocky)

In my oh-so-gay opinion: The five most iconic cartridge designs of all time

What makes a cartridge design iconic? Well, it has to have some character, for starters--i.e., it can't just be a gray hunk of plastic. (I'm looking at you, Mr. Nintendo 64 Cartridge.) Also, it has to have captured at least a portion of the public's attention and imagination during in its lifetime.

In my oh-so-gay-but-not-so-humble opinion, only a handful of cartridge designs (five, actually) have checked both of those boxes and, as such, deserve to be called iconic. Here they are:

Atari 2600--I probably should add an asterisk to this entry, as the colorful labels affixed to Atari 2600 cartridges are chiefly responsible for them earning a spot on this list. Without them, they'd be little more than black rectangles. Taken as a whole, though, the carts are undoubtedly, unquestionably iconic.

Famicom Disk System--Admittedly, Nintendo's shockingly yellow disks aren't all that well known outside of Japan, but that shouldn't keep them from achieving iconic status, should it? Of course, the opposite could be said of the similarly iconic NES cartridge design, below, which is likely to be unknown among the people of Nintendo's home country.

NES--Bow down to what may be the most iconic (among Western gamers, at least) cartridge design of all time. After all, any American (of a certain age) worth his or her salt can identify these gray, ridged and textured hunks of plastic as Nintendo Entertainment System games.

PC Engine--Say what you will about the PC Engine's catalog (or, more likely, the anemic catalog of its criminally ignored American counterpart, the TurboGrafx-16), but you can't fault the sleek, sexy (yes, sexy) cartridges--or, rather, HuCards--that housed the system's games.

GameBoy--Is it just me or do the GameBoy's boxy, gray cartridges look like miniature versions of their NES counterparts? I guess that's why I consider them similarly iconic. Anyway, just between you and me: I prefer the GameBoy cart design thanks to the oval indentation at the top and the larger label space.

See also: 'In my oh-so-gay opinion: The five most iconic controller designs of all time'

In my oh-so-gay opinion: The five most iconic controller designs of all time

Well, I've become quite an opinionated old poof, haven't I?

Don't worry, I won't overdo these "in my oh-so-gay opinion" pieces--I just have to get a few of them out of my system before I return to the status quo.

Anyway, the focus of this one is pretty straightforward, don't you think? For those of you who don't think that, here's the deal: The five controllers below are the ones I consider to be the most iconic in terms of design.

Atari 2600 Joystick--If you're, say, under 30, you likely looked at the image above and thought: What in the hell is that? The rest of you, on the other hand, probably thought: Oh, yeah, I remember using that to play Crystal Castles! The latter response is reason enough to add the Atari 2600 joystick to this list, but it isn't the only reason. Another: It's the definition of sleek simplicity, which makes it the ideal bookend to the last controller on this list.

NES controller--If I had decided to put these controllers in order of iconicness (I know, not a real word) instead of in order of release, I would have placed the NES pad in the pole position. After all, it's pretty much a perfect storm when it comes to controller design--what with its understated, rectangular shape, its subdued black-gray-red color scheme, its game-changing (literally and figuratively) d-pad and its Konami-code-capacitating A and B buttons.

Super Famicom controller--In a way, Nintendo's designers didn't take all that many risks while developing the Super Famicom's controller. Basically, they added a couple of colorful buttons to the standard Famicom/NES pad and called it a day. Still, those colorful buttons and another seemingly simple change--which involved replacing all of the NES controller's sharp corners with ergonomic, eye-pleasing curves--were enough to secure this pad's place in the hearts and minds of gamers around the world.

PlayStation Dual Shock--I'm sure some will squawk that I decided to include this controller and not the controller that inspired it (the analog-enabled one that shipped with the Nintendo 64). The fact is, although I fully acknowledge that the folks at Nintendo were first to bring the analog stick to the table, I think Sony's staffers took the idea to the next level--from a design standpoint, at least--with the slick, sexy Dual Shock.

Wii Remote--Earlier, while describing the Atari 2600 joystick, I used the words "sleek simplicity." Well, those words ably describe the all-white Wii remote, too. Sure, Nintendo's designers may have stolen a few ideas from the folks at Apple, but you can't really blame them, can you? Plus, although it's easy to call their design choices "safe" today, they were considered shockingly risky when the controller was unveiled at the 2005 Tokyo Game Show.

See also: 'In my oh-so-gay opinion: The five most iconic systems designs of all time'

Speaking of Marios that scare me ...

I just came across this video of the Atari 2600 version of Mario Bros. in action (at the awesomely named toplessrobot.com) and had to share it with all of you:



If you were to play the arcade version of Mario Bros. while tripping on some sort of psychotropic drug, I'm pretty sure the experience would be similar to what's on display in the video above.

Now, please excuse me--I have an Atari 2600 emulator and a Mario Bros. ROM to hunt down.