Review: @MyArcadeRetro and @bionikgaming Bring the Past and Future of Gaming to the Present
In this day and age, all sorts of games are out there as well as all sorts of devices. As technology advances, the gaming industry has found its way to keep up with the times. But even as we progress towards the future and all it has to offer, people are nostalgic beings. Because of this, of course retro games are coming back into style. And now, we get to experience both the past and the future of gaming in this present day and age.
It’s easy to see how retro games are coming back in style, especially as we look at the amazing reception games like Cuphead has garnered and the revival of the NES consoles. Not only are the styles and the aesthetics back, people continue to play arcade games. While some standing arcade machines still exist, they’re not exactly accessible to everyone. MyArcade has a portable and smaller versions of those machines that feature classic games like Pac-Man. Even at E3, people lined up and crowded around these machines to play and dive into the nostalgia.
But the cool thing that MyArcade offers is essentially what is a smaller version of those machines. Called the Micro Player, these are miniatures of the giant arcade games and they seem to function just like those retro games. And that’s not the only gaming product that they offer; like I said, retro gaming is in again and MyArcade definitely knows that. They even offer a wireless gamepad for the SNES and NES. Heck, it can even connect to your Wii or WiiU. You can finally be the hipster you’ve always strived to be with MyArcade products later this year when their products officially are available.
On the flip side, Bionik Gaming focuses on the mechanics of gaming now and for the future. Their products cater to making gaming more efficient. Honestly, some of these things are pretty nifty and I would be completely interested. For example, they showed me accessories and products for the Nintendo Switch. My favorite was the commuter bag, especially the one that was super sturdy and built to really protect the Switch (aka if you either have kids or if you are like me and are super clumsy). There are also some cool accessories for console charger stands for both PS4 and XBox One if you really want to be fancy.
What I really liked the most though was the headset that Bionik had. I wish I had taken a picture of it because it does seem pretty cool for gaming. What’s cool about the headset was it had a sort of open ventilation so that (after hours and hours of playing obviously) your ears don’t get all sweaty. Granted, I have no clue how great it actually works, but it seems cool in theory. And like MyArcade, Bionik’s cool and hi-tech products will be out later this year.
The duality of MyArcade and Bionik Gaming was an interesting indication of what gamers and players like now. Though gaming technology continues to advance, there will always be a soft spot for the nostalgia that comes from retro gaming.
