Your favorite classic video games are getting a killer makeover. But it’s not big-name game developers making the improvements: it’s independent modders. Most game updates require teams of designers and coders working for months or even years, according to a fascinating new feature in The Verge, but now many are using machine learning to expedite the process — allowing a single highly-motivated modder to refurbish a game in just a few weeks.

Yes, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and Zork are both included.

From "Super Mario 64" to "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2," mainstream video games have seen dramatic shifts in popularity over the years.

Shot by photographer and lifelong gamer Evan Amos, The Game Console: A Photographic History from Atari to Xbox does exactly that, as a visual history of video game hardware released by San Francisco-based publishing company No Starch Press. Photographed in intense, loving detail, the book quite literally unpacks 86 consoles and examines their innards, from the Magnavox Odyssey to the Atari 2600, Nintendo Entertainment System, and the Commodore 64, all the way to the Game Boy, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Wii U.

Nintendo's NES and SNES Classic systems have had an interesting time on the market over the last couple of years. Initially, consumers struggled to get their hands on the NES console as shipments sold out faster than they arrived, but things slowly started to improve over time and the SNES had a much smoother launch overall. Despite some fans being left out early on, the consoles have shifted more than 10 million units between them.

I’m at that age in life when the things you remember fondly in your formative years could be married, have kids, a mortgage and a mountain of student debt already. Such is the case with DOOM: the first-person shooter that defined a genre. This year there is still much to be excited about, with continued updates to existing DOOM mods and the impending release of DOOM: Eternal in 2019. Plus for me I had a great time working on what became one of my more popular YouTube videos over on AI and Games as I explained the AI behind DOOM (2016).

What is this? This is a project for Super Mario Odyssey that plans to recreate most of Super Mario 64. Peach's Castle Exterior, Bob-omb Battlefield (Seperate from this project), and Whomp's Fortress have been done.

Nintendo is terrible when it comes to the internet, and in a lot of ways, the Switch Online subscription service is no different. There are annoying restrictions around cloud saves, for instance, and voice chat is relegated to a mobile app. It can feel archaic, especially compared to Xbox Live or PlayStation Plus. But there’s one aspect of the service that has become an indispensable part of how I use my Switch: the free retro games.

Doom and Zelda don’t have a lot in common beyond heroes killing a bunch of monsters. But one modder, Exkodius, has spent the last three years trying to recreate the original The Legend of Zelda in the Doom engine.

Four months ago, I did what I previously thought was unthinkable. I gave up my iPhone. I'd been using Apple products since I was eight and had been locked into iOS and the iPhone since a bespectacled Steve Jobs unveiled it in 2007. The change came after much public deliberating, a few close calls, and a tip from my colleague on the tech desk, Antonio Villas-Boas, who called the $580 OnePlus 6T "the best smartphone you've never heard of."

Video-game graphics are progressing faster than we’ve ever seen — ray tracing, better models, shaders, textures, and faster hardware is making our games almost appear lifelike. But, they had there ups and lows.

Sega Genesis Mini / Mega Drive Mini will launch worldwide on September 19, Sega announced. It will cost 6,980 yen (approx. $70 USD) for the standard version, and 8,980 yen (approx. $90 USD) for the two-controller version. The mini console will include 40 titles. These are the first 10 confirmed titles: Sonic the Hedgehog 2 …

The first video game console I ever loved was a hand-me-down Game Boy from my sister who rebelliously outgrew video games to chase her dreams of starting a cool garage band. The handheld taught me a lot about video games, but it wasn’t until I stole a copy of my friend’s Pokémon Blue and secretly played it in the backseat of my parents’ car that I fell in love with gaming.

Earlier this year, reader Ilhan Ünal got started building his own Game Boy, which he only recently completed. It’s...a little bigger than Nintendo’s original version.

Dynamite Entertainment And Atari Join Forces For New Comic Projects - A new deal will see Dynamite creating new comics and graphic novels based on Atari properties as well as reprint old stories.

Old school "Snake" from the same developers makes a return on phones with updated graphics

Giant Bomb plays some old games. Games played: Awesome Possum, Michael Jackson's Moonwalker and Battletoads Double Dragon.

Brave Wave Productions is bringing the original Street Fighter II arcade soundtrack to vinyl and CD featuring remasters of the CPS-1 and CPS-2 hardware versions of the music. Scroll down their page a bit to see the cover art and more information.

One of my favorite lets play groups on YouTube, Game Grumps, play the NES version of Metal Gear on their GrumpCade show with special guest ProJared.

Over the past four decades the home video gaming market has gone from zero, to hero - adding eleven zeros in fact as global revenue for the industry is now approaching $100 billion. It’s been a crazy 

Byuu, the creator of low-level SNES emulator bsnes, explains the importance of accuracy in emulation.

Ah, the Amiga. Dear readers of a certain age will remember it well. I was a little late to the party; when I think of Amiga I think of my Amiga 1200 and swa…

Officially licensed wall clock recalls original PAC-MAN arcade console with authentic logos, art. Lights up, plays music and sound effects each hour.

As part of the Hot Wheels Pop Culture line of cars, Mattel is releasing a line of Hot Wheels cars featuring art from iconic Mario games from Nintendo. Super Mario Brothers 1, 2, and 3, Dr. Mario, Super Mario World, and Super Mario Kart will be represented in this set of die cast cars. IGN is reporting that they will be released in October of this year.

Mario's entering a whole new galaxy.

It's a fun short video by PixelNation, about Lemmings (from the Amiga game) trying to reach the end of a level, which is PixelNation's desk. Enjoy! :)

Recently, a video by twitch user DOTA_TeaBag was brought to my attention, in which he did an upwarp in Tick Tock Clock. I believe this is a new, unexplored glitch, but unfortunately I have been unsuccessful at recreating it myself. Thus, I'm putting a bounty of $1000 on the glitch. In other words, the first person to recreate the glitch and send it to me will earn $1000 from me.

The Retro Fighters NES controller is a next-generation 8-bit gamepad that utilizes modern design and compatible with NES, PC & MAC.

After 6 months of hard work we are pleased to announce the release of RetroPie 3.0. This retro-gaming project brings together a collection of popular emulators for those computers and consoles that you grew up with from the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s, all wrapped up and ready to run on the famous Raspberry Pi. From Atari 2600, to Sega Mega Drive to Sony PlayStation, all your favourite systems are covered. What are you waiting for – get playing!

The world is weightless, a black abyss we disguise behind shades of blue and brick. But when the paint washes off, you see this strange land for what it is: a place without death because no actual life inhabits it, a blackhole without meaning beyond the veneer we coat it in. You go right, not out of any real desire to, but because turning left would only get you further away from the end, where the promise of nothingness awaits. You take a drag from the cigarette clutched between your...

In part 1, I cover the limitations of color on older 1980's computers and game consoles such as the Nintendo Entertainment System and the Commodore 64.

Mariooooo Kaarrrtttt Skaaaaaatte!!!

Seems like it forgot two key IPs..., Konami. Everyone’s favourite publisher Konami has released a “heritage game survey”, asking players about some of its IPs (as seen...

In this episode I cover Apple II and Atari 2600 graphics modes.

A new adventure RPG is coming to NES thanks to the developers at Ludosity. Quest Forge - By Order of Kings is described as similar to The Legend of Zelda and has a dynamic battling system, leveling, upgrades, and power...