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We got really excited when Hyperkin announced the RetroN 4 gaming console, which was supposed to be capable of playing NES, SNES, Genesis, and Game Boy games with one console. Hyperkin was supposed to debut the RetroN 4 at the Midwest Gaming Classic this weekend, but they didn't. Instead, they introduced the RetroN 5. So what was the fifth element in the new console?

You kids can all get excited for the PlayStation 4 and the next Xbox, but I'm pumped for this thing. Hyperkin has announced their RetroN 4 console that plays NES, SNES, Game Boy Advance, and Sega Genesis cartridges, though sadly not all at once. It's an upgrade from the RetroN 3, and besides adding Game Boy Advance games into the mix, Hyperkin has made a few additional improvements. It will be like a fifth grade sleepover every day of your life.

Emulation is a great way to get your jones when you're really fixin' for some old-timey goodness. But while it's incredibly easy to download an emulator on your computer, it's not quite the same; there's no console and no controller. Redditor woolydawg5's Ultimate Nintendo Gaming Machine solves those problems. Built into an original NES, woolydawg's device is actually a computer that can emulate the NES, SNES, Game Boy, and the N64. For extra fun, it also supports the original controllers, so you can get that authentic feel, even when it looks like you're playing Super Mario 64 on an NES.

This adorably evil, blood-spattered anthropomorphic papercraft Nintendo Entertainment System was created by Alex Huret, adding to just how mind-bogglingly impressive papercraft can be. Also, adding to the collection of anthropomorphized children's toys reproduced in paper. Head on past the break to see more pictures of the cute little guy, and download this PDF if you'd like to try your hand at making your own.

We've already brought you the NES briefcase for the businessman on the go who needs to bring a little bit of the good old-fashioned 8-bit goodness around with him, but what if you're a little tyke and you want to be just like daddy? The NES Lunchbox has you covered. Complete with a sandwich slot and handy controller handle, the NES Lunchbox will handle all of your carrying needs until you grow up and sell your soul (just like daddy did) and have to trade your lunchbox full of GoGurt for a briefcase full of broken dreams and silent, midnight tears.

The lunchbox is the brain child of redditor Masennus who embarked on the project once his NES had stopped working. Best possible use for a dead NES? I think so. More pictures after the jump.

Find yourself in need of a portable 8-bit system that can make you look like a hip, on-the-ball, businessman from the 80s? Look no further than the briefcase NES. Need a few really awful "portable system" jokes? Look no further than this post. The new Nintendo ZS (get it? zero screens! HA!) is everything you could possible need for a long day at the office. Except controllers. And a television. And the applicable wires. And maybe a light gun if you want to play Duck Hunt. Maybe two, because the one of them only registers every other shot, but you're little brother isn't quite old enough to notice yet. Yup. A long day at the office. It's not entirely clear if this is an actual briefcase made from the hide of an NES that wasn't quite mobile (ha?) enough to get away from its attacker or whether someone just bolted a handle onto their trusty system, but either way, it's awesome and I want one. Not to play with or anything, but to put on my shelf and use as an excuse for ironically bad humor. The best use for anything. (via Everything Random)

Anyone who has ever opened up an old NES cartridge knows that many of them were mostly empty, with the little board only taking up a small portion of the inside. Well, what better to take up all of that empty space than an entire, working Nintendo Entertainment System? Instructables user danny32412 achieved the above accomplishment by obtaining a Nintendo on a Chip (NOAC) board--which is usually a Famicom packed into a controller with an added game slot--disassembling it, then converting it to work with standard NES games and controllers. He ended up building a custom controller interface board so he could map the NES controller's buttons to the corresponding pads on the NOAC board, attached a 72-pin NES cartridge slot (as the NOAC came with a 60-pin slot), and added two controller ports and a power switch to finish it off. He gets extra points for testing it out with one of the best NES games ever made, Super Mario Bros. 3. Head on past the break to see a video of the modded NES in action.

Though the gaming industry was still a fledgling widdle baby back in when Duck Hunt released, and wasn't even close to encroaching upon staleness, it still mirrored the current industry trend of developing new ways to control games. Among peripherals like the Power Pad, the NES Zapper became the most popular, and its inner workings astounded many people way back when.

It turns out the magic behind the Zapper is actually more of a simple workaround, much like the controller for Nintendo's current console, the Wii (read: "sensor" bar so simple it can be replaced by candles). Basically, when one pulls the trigger on the Zapper, the television blacks out for one frame to give the light sensor inside the Zapper a reference point, then the game turns the in-game targets to white while the screen is still black, and if the Zapper's light sensor detects the change from black to white, the game knows you were aiming at a correct target. Read on past the break for a few more fun facts about the Zapper.

The people behind GetLoFi have forged this mighty implement of oak and steel and one secret ingredient. You may already have guessed what hallowed object, dripping with the sweet ichor of gaming history, was chosen to be crafted into a machine of completely other purpose. It may, in fact, be immediately obvious. It may, as it has been brought to our attention, be in the title of the post.

Pay special attention to the scale in this picture. See, that's no moon. It's a coffee table shaped like the old school Nintendo Entertainment System. Believe it or not, it is even more awesome than it looks.

Even in these trying economic times, a good number of us hold onto our old game consoles for the sheer nostalgia factor. They just don't make 'em like they used to. But eBay user "ronald3868" of Hawthorne, California demonstrated his business savvy when he listed a Nintendo Entertainment System package bundle on the online auction web site for $35,000. In comparison, when the 8-bit game console was first released 25 years ago, a NES Deluxe Set featuring the console, a R.O.B. accessory, a light gun, Duck Hunt, and Gyromite cost $249.99. Today, NES bundles typically go for under $100 on eBay. It now appears that ronald3868's item--which also comes with four controllers, a Game Genie, a light gun, an original Nintendo bag, a cleaning kit, and 42 games--has sold for $50,000. How was he able to manage such a feat?

YouTube user bornforthis43 spent a long time making this video, and it shows. Join him on his journey through some of the most popular titles for the NES with our favorite protagonists Mario, Link, Kirby, and others. There's something about the amateurish video production and choice of crazy, kid-friendly objects for the animation that make the video really endearing. My personal favorite comes at the end, wherein the Mario universe is comprised mostly of small vegetables. Also of note is gummi bear Link.

Two years ago, an enterprising game fan married two objects long overdue for a meeting: the NES cartridge, enshrined in Gnostalgic texts as occasionally requiring a little mouth-to-mouth action to get it going; and a harmonica. To the benefit of all, he then posted the how to and a video on the internet.

Now, if you don't have that how to magic, or if you don't have a cartridge to offer up in sacrifice to awesome, some one else has started selling them on Makers Market. But act quickly! Super Mario Bros/Duck Hunt is already sold out, but you might still be able to get your hands on Top Gun or Wrestlemania.

See the NES harmonica in action after the jump.