Welcome to another edition of Retro Newsflash, the bi-weekly column where we cover news and current events on the retro gaming scene. Forgive me if I seem a little partied out and hungover, because my birthday was yesterday, and the whole weekend was awesome. But moving on to more important matters: Bring on the briefs.

 

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Retro gamer working on massive Mario-themed chess set

Emma Chesney, who can be found on Twitter @chezgr81, recently contacted me to let me know that she enjoys working on craft projects with Nintendo character themes. Her latest project is an enormous chess set, featuring pieces over two feet tall each, as seen in the photo above. We have seen crafty endeavors with retro gaming themes before, but this one may best them all in terms of scale. There is a bonus image circulating online as well, of two Goomba pawns.

 

Pixel artist Al Creed back to regular posting

After a brief hiatus from regular posts, the 8-bit artist is back to blogging pixel creations on his Tumblr. He has long shown a penchant for pixel pieces, and can usually be counted on for a new work about every week, if not slightly more often. Creed also has a keen eye for pop culture and current events, as shown in his art, whether coinciding with the end of the NHL lockout or the induction of Mick Foley into the professional wrestling Hall of Fame.

 

WhatCulture website posts top 10 list of forgotten gaming franchises

Laurence Gardner gave me a heads-up on Twitter that he was able to post a top 10 list of retro gaming franchises that he believes deserve a comeback on WhatCulture, a collaborative content aggregate that 8-Bit Girl has also been known to post on from time to time. Now, I will keep my opinions to myself in this journalistic forum as to what I think of the selections on this particular top 10 list here, but let me just say that I believe you may find the choices very interesting. Consider taking a look at a provocative, intriguing piece.

 

Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker to receive high-definition remake for Wii U

With a new style that seems to ease the cel shading and add some bloom in the transition to high definition, Nintendo has announced that Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker will receive the remaster treatment for the Wii U, which will also include GamePad functionality. Fans of this unique entry in the Zelda mythos can rejoice at having another, different chance to experience one of their favorite adventures, possibly as soon as this fall.

 

Atari declares bankrupty

I hate to round things off on a sour note, but former gaming giant Atari has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, marking an ignoble end for what has been a glorious run in the video game sphere. Such is the widely recognized influence of Atari that its bankruptcy is basically being reported by every major outlet, from CNN to Forbes, acknowledging what a cultural force Atari has been in its storied history.

 

Follow-Ups & Quick Hits

Have you seen Patrick Scott Patterson’s This Week in Gaming series on YouTube? Consider checking it out for little historical tidbits, such as classic title Gun.Smoke celebrating its 25th anniversary this week. … Did you catch the retro-style game that Google featured as its Doodle on January 16th? I reviewed it. … Another interesting gaming anniversary goes to Resident Evil 2, which turned 15 years old last week. … So there is this new guy making noise in social media, by the name of Corey Buckner, busy promoting his retro game collecting social website Colexions.com. I have not had a chance to check it out myself, but there is some interesting buzz there that may warrant investigation.

 

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And that, my friends, is a wrap. If you have any news tips, please send them to me. Seriously, newshounds: If you have a lead on something, let me know, because I want to report it! Thanks for reading.