'From Pong to Virtua Tennis'

This weekend (and Monday, too) is all about fuzzy balls in our household. And by "fuzzy balls" I mean tennis balls, of course.

Anyway, I've got (tennis) balls on the brain right now because the final "Grand Slam" tournament of the year, the US Open, is about to reach its climax. (Both the men's and women's semifinals are being played today, followed by the women's final tomorrow and the men's final on Monday.)

As such, I've also got tennis games on the brain--which is why I was immediately drawn to the following photo, taken by Clément Gault (aka designrecherche), when it appeared in the "Your Contacts" section of my Flickr homepage the other day.



Although I'd hardly describe the triptych (of sorts) as stunning, I quite like how it shows the progression from the first-ever tennis game, Pong, to the first somewhat-realistic one, Virtua Tennis.

But I thought Nintendo was killing off the DSi XL?

File this piece of news under "things that make you go hmmm," folks:

According to Amazon, the "metallic rose" (aka pink) DSi XL seen below will be released in North America on Sept. 18. (Pre-order it here.)

As if that isn't strange enough, said DSi XL will be sold at the same price ($169.99) as the still-trying-to-gain-a-foothold-in-the-hearts-and-minds-of-consumers 3DS.



Now, I'm no business guru, but wouldn't it be better/smarter to, say, release a pink 3DS rather than a pink DSi XL at this point in time?

All that said, I'd totally pick up one of these DSi XLs if they were the same color as the "coral pink" DS Lites that took up space on North American store shelves a few years ago.

You've never looked better, Donkey Kong

The following pair of Donkey Kong-inspired illustrations recently popped up on one of my favorite art blogs, The Autumn Society, and because I consider myself quite a fan of the big ape, I thought I'd post them here, too.

The illustration below was created by an artist who calls himself (herself?) Chogrin for the "8-Bit Champions" show that's set to open in Paris on Sept. 15.

This piece, on the other hand, was produced by artist Jayson Weidel for the "Old School Video Game Show" that will kick off on Sept. 16 in Santa Monica, California.

Now, please forgive me while I play a few rounds of Donkey Kong on my trusty Twin Famicom.

(Via theautumnsociety.com)

Poor li'l grim reaper

Until now, I'm pretty sure I've never felt sorry for the grim reapers--or any of the other baddies--that populate Capcom's arcade classic, Ghosts'n Goblins (aka Makaimura).

You can't help but feel sorry for the little guy that's being assaulted in the painting below, though, can you?

This piece was produced by artist Alex Leighton for the "8-Bit Champions" show that's set to open in Paris on Sept. 15, by the way. Check out more of his stuff at xanderthurteen.deviantart.com.

(Via theautumnsociety.com)

Reason #396 I could be considered an 'eccentric' (aka bat-sh*t crazy) gamer

How's this for eccentric (or bat-shit crazy, if that's the terminology you prefer)? Not only am I a self-proclaimed "box-art whore"--as in, I buy, or at least I want to buy, certain games simply because of the art that graces their box covers--but I'm a box-art whore who often finds himself desiring games that he can't possibly play (because I don't own the systems that are needed to play them).

Here are a few recent examples:

Fantasy Zone II for the Mark III

Panorama Cotton for the Mega Drive

Rainbow Islands Extra for the FM Towns

Yume Meikyū Kigurumi Daibōken (aka Dream Maze) for the Super Famicom

I also really want to buy copies of Bubble Bobble for the FM Towns (cover art shown in this recent post) and Puzzle Bobble Mini for the Neo Geo Pocket (cover art shown in this post).

I can't be the only gamers who thinks this way, can I?