Retro-bit is manufacturing two items for the nostalgic gamers; the Super Retro Console and the Super Retro Adapter.  The Super Retro Console allows you to play original Nintendo, Super Nintendo, and Sega Genesis games.  The console comes with three different cartridge slots, six controller ports (supports both first party and third party controllers), an AC adapter, an S-Video connection, and an AV cable.  The suggestive retail price is $69.99 for your gaming pleasure.  The console looks sleek and compact, and the ability to play three different types of games gives gamers less clutter to have around the house.

The Super Retro Adapter lets you play Gameboy Advance games on the Super Retro Console. Another great thing about the Super Adapter is, the Super Retro Console is not needed to use the Retro Adapter.  The Adapter can play on the original Super Nintendo or any other third party 16-bit console.  It even has ports (cables sold separately) to connect up to three more Gameboy Advance systems to play four-man gaming.  The Adapter SRP is $39.99.  Buying both the Console and Adapter as a bundle, the SRP is $89.99.  With the affordable price points, Retro-bit is ready to give gamers a reason to look into the past.

Innex, Inc. is not only selling the Retro-bit gaming console, but they have been offering many other products such as video game accessories to “geek” inspired toys to the public.  With a ton of toys and gadgets for the public to buy, they have been offering unique products that can be hard to get elsewhere.  Innex, Inc. may only be selling to a niche group of consumers, but they have found a group that will always be enjoying the products they offer.

Innex, Inc. is going to be showing the Retro-bit gaming consoles at the E3 Expo this year, with a plethora of other toys and gadgets they have in their inventory.  Retro-bit is bringing a blast from the past for casual and hardcore gamers alike.  With a sleek design and an affordable price point, there isn’t anything for gamers to not like from the package.  Instead of finding, fixing, or paying high prices for working old-school consoles, the Retro-bit gaming console has you covered.

Visit Innex, Inc. to get your geek on!

The post Retro-bit Super Retro Console | Play Old-School Games Again appeared first on TechZulu.

Mike Gramling is a real estate mogul, turned game developer businessman. Mike was Founder/CEO of U.S. Model Home, LLC, a model purchase/lease back company that worked with some of the biggest names in the home building industry, and was riding the high of housing market boom until the 2006 real estate market crash. Mike told me “as Warren Buffet says” “when the tide goes out, you see who is wearing bathing suites”.

So by the time the homeowners crisis was in full effect, Mike was left holding properties that were not even worth half of what he had originally paid for them. In order to try to recoup some of his investment, Mike decided to see if he could find a creative way to sell his properties. So in 2009, he created a skill game similar to the board game “Memory” aimed at helping people sell their homes. Although he got over 100 calls from eager homeowners wanting to sell their properties, Mike realized that this skill game model was just not going to work.

Being the smart and determined businessman that he is, Mike regrouped and really began to study the “Social Gaming” market that had been gaining significant traffic since 2007. After studying the social gaming market, Mike decided to pivot  to the social gaming model, and in 2011 PopRox Entertainment was born. Shortly following, PopRox was able to raise a significant chunk of money. With capital fresh off the presses, Mike was able to create a stellar rock star team and partner with developers like ComAngle, that have worked on the such hit games like Wolverine.

With a solid team in place and a needed pivot, PopRox is now paving the way as a social gaming trendsetter! Race 4 My Place is similar to City Builder or The Sims Social, but they have now taken it to a whole other level and set the bar high. Unlike many other online social games that ask you for your credit card to make a payment to earn in-game tools, coins, etc., Race 4 My Place is 100% free and always will be! Mike says that they wanted to do what no one else is doing. Instead of having gamers play for free, Mike decided to give back to needy homeowners. Mike has been there and done that, and can empathize with homeowners who are in desperate need of mortgage to save their homes. So here is were Race 4 My Place takes social gaming to a whole other level. Race 4 My Place is currently the only gaming company that will award the enormous prize of winning a $200,000 mortgage payoff! Ok, so I hear you saying “but I don’t have a mortgage to payoff!” No worries my dear Watson, because Race 4 My Place still has you covered by providing you with a $100,000 cash!

Race 4 My Place has also really taken the “gamer” into great consideration. Instead of having annoying ads distract you as you play, they have made it to where the ads are integrated into the game. Mike says that this will actually enhance play because the gamer will begin to see these branded promotions within the game, and will be able to interact with brands, which actually helps get them to the $200,000 mortgage payoff or $100,000 cash option.

Mike is providing a solution for brands to now better interact with their fans and consumers, while still serving a great social good of helping individuals possibly pay off their mortage. All I can say is get ready, because the gates to Race 4 My Place is anticipated for public launch December 1st.

Remember to head over to the Race 4 My Place Facebook page and enter for a chance to win over $1,000 cash every 2 weeks up until their launch!

The post Race 4 My Place Brings $200,000 Mortgage Payoff To Social Gaming appeared first on TechZulu.

Time has run out for community voting on SXSWi panels and is now in the hands of the judges, but there is still time left to compete for fame and fortune via scholarships, awards and entry into the SXSW Accelerator.

SXSWi has listed the following information on their site:

• If you or someone you know is doing amazing work with technology to help their community, nominate them for a chance to win a scholarship to attend SXSW Interactive. Hurry, the deadline for scholarship applications is this Friday, September 14th: http://sxsw.com/interactive/awards/scholarship
• Want to share your digital masterpiece with the SXSW digerati this March? Show off your hard work by entering the 16th annual SXSW Interactive Awards: http://sxsw.com/interactive/awards/about
• Does your startup need a boost? Put your business in front of an audience of influencers at SXSW Accelerator for a chance to win money and make lasting connections: http://sxsw.com/interactive/startupvillage/accelerator/enter

In addition, to aid your discovery of pending panel options, TechZulu has compiled this list of tech and digital companies and their panel topics that might interest you. The final panels greenlighted will be announced October 15, 2012.

2013 Panel Submissions:

The 2013 SXSWi is shaping up to be very interesting! If you are local to Southern California and have a panel up for consideration, please let us know!

The post TechZulu Top 2013 SXSW Panel Picks & More appeared first on TechZulu.

Goko is backed by Redpoint Ventures and Aslop Louie Partners from whom it raised raised $8m in Series A funding.

According to the launch statement last week, Goko has licenses for 150 games, Mayfair Games, Rio Grande Games and Reiner Knizia’s Forbidden City, War Factory and All the King’s Men.

Goko wants to work with developers to across the world to reinvent the popular HTML board and card games. It has an SDK for developers to create, distribute and monetize HTML5 social games across iOS, Android, Facebook, Google+ and Windows 8 and the web.

Goko CEO Ted Griggs said that for long it was only big game companies that had tools for creating and launching social games but Goko was ending that.

He said,“Today we’re starting to release new games across Facebook, Google+, and Goko.com, Windows Store, Android and iOS. And we’re also turning all of the tools and services that we’ve created over to developers so that they are empowered to do the same thing.”

The Goko platform allows games to be built and distributed by developers either on their own or partnering with Goko due to its many licenses. It has an SDK giving developers the tools to launch and monetize engaging social games across many social platforms. The Goko platform has player authentication, leaderboards and achievements, game hosting and testing, virtual goods and virtual stores, and payments.

The  firms says it’s the, ”First platform to help developers ,build, distribute, & monetize HTML5  and social games”.

The post HTML5 Games Company Goko Launches and Raises $8M in Series A Funding appeared first on TechZulu.

1.     They’ve had a long time to get it right

Gates and Allen co-founded Microsoft in 1975, and Windows 1.0 came out in 1985. Since then, Microsoft has come out with product after product, always improving and innovating – and you can keep counting on it to keep doing so.

2.     1.0, NT, 98, ME, Vista, XP, 7

It doesn’t matter what it’s called – we all love Windows, especially at work. After all, over 87% of corporate desktops currently run on Windows. And 450 million licenses of Windows 7 were sold since its launch in 2009, making it the fastest-growing operating system ever, and showing us that Windows is going to keep controlling the OS market share.

3.     It’s not just about Windows

Sure, a great operating system is one of the things Microsoft is most known for, but there are dozens of other Microsoft products and services that help businesses grow. Every second, a copy of MS Office 2010 is sold, and a large number of those go towards corporate use. Over 73% of large businesses in North America use Microsoft Exchange Server as their primary email system. Bing Powered search now controls 30% of the search engine market share. Microsoft Dynamics CRM has over 30,000 customers and 2 million users worldwide. Cloud productivity services like Office 365 and Office Web Apps are now being used by more than 80 million people worldwide. The numbers keep going and going, because so does the number of products and services Microsoft keeps coming out with to support businesses.

4.     Sometimes, it is all fun and games

We know about the great ways in which Microsoft enables businesses to operate more efficiently, but we don’t all associate Microsoft with gaming (and gaming is a huge business). All we have to do is look at the data, though:

• Since its launch in 2005, Microsoft’s Xbox 360 has sold 66 million copies worldwide. That makes it the first in console sales.
• Last year, Xbox 360 held 43% of the overall current-generation console market.
• Xbox LIVE has nearly 40 million members, making it the biggest social entertainment network in the living room.
• Kinect for Xbox 360, released in November of 2010, sold 8 million units in the first 60 days of its release. That’s 133,333 units per day. For that, the Guinness World Book of Records recognized it as the fastest-selling consumer electronics device (higher than the iPhone or iPad).

5.     Giving back

It’s not just Bill Gates who gives back (the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is the largest transparently-operated private foundation in the world). Microsoft as a company also donates its products and services to help those less fortunate. Microsoft donated over $504 million worth of software to 43,650 organizations worldwide in 2010. It also distributed over 800,000 training and certification vouchers in the US as part of Elevate America – a program providing Americans with free technology training and certification to help them find jobs.

We’ve all used Microsoft at one point or another, whether it’s when we run Windows on our laptop, write up a report in MS Words, play the last game on Kinect, or send an email to a coworker through Exchange (using Outlook). And that’s just a few of the scenarios. The numbers speak for themselves, but so do the great products and services. And that’s why businesses continue to depend on Microsoft.

The post 5 Reasons Why Businesses Still Love Microsoft | Infographic appeared first on TechZulu.

Instead, the feel of the event was right at home with the Vita Hill Social Club naming and branding. I was greeted by a friendly staff who walked me through the registration and playing process. The social club felt like a new age speakeasy decked out with deep stained wood grain furniture and dark plushy couches, more appropriately placed in an old style cigar lounge. Large monitors, LED lighting accents, and wall projections brightened the dimly lit room, and the staff was available at all times to provide complimentary Vita Coco drinks and Kind bars.

They filled us in a little on some info: What Sony was aiming for with these limited run Vita Hill Social Clubs (in 8 major US cities), was to create an overall experience for interested gamers before the official product release (February 22nd and available for pre-order). The last day for the social clubs will be later this month on February 27th, but until then, they’ll be open to the general public, hosting the occasion tournament & kegger.

“Just think of it as a different way to try the product, it’s just more friendly, more comfortable here, a lot different than hanging out at a Best Buy, standing up for however long and glued to one posture as you play the unit off of the stationary mounting arm”, explained one of the social club reps.

Initial reactions to the Vita were pretty solid, the robust 4 core (ARM Cortex-A9 MPCore) processor provided fast performance with very little to no lag in gameplay rendering and loading phases. The feel of the unit was very much like its predecessor, the PSP, with a wide body, glossy black surface, and wide screen. The gigantic 5 inch OLED multi-touch screen was crisp and displayed details and color well (looked great on “Uncharted, Golden Abyss” as we controlled Drake through rooms of fire and exploding walls). Some new features to make the unit a true upgrade (and not just a faster rehash) was the inclusion of front and rear facing cameras (a-la iPhone), multi-touch capabilities, and augmented reality engines (in the game “Reality Fighters”) you can physically ‘mount’ your characters onto a table surface where they will fight it out. And in true augmented reality fashion, the characters stay on the table even when you move the camera angle.

Sony’s LiveArea interface was definitely designed for the social gamer in mind. With a playfully styled and easy to read button menu, the ‘desktop’ screen was ready to go with easy access to marketplace, social outlets, camera, messages, and a built in browser (the Vita is wifi, 3g, and Bluetooth ready). Third party applications (especially in the social networking sphere like Facebook, Twitter, etc.) will be available for free from the Playstation store.

Just like its limited run social clubs, it looks like the Playstation Vita is raising the ante on the overall experience. Click here to learn more about the (Sony) Playstation Vita!

The post The Vita Hill Social Club: A New Way to Game appeared first on TechZulu.

These days we rarely find startups or mobile applications being built to focus on the progression of a children abilities for learning and their growth of a wider knowledge based from a younger age. Go Go Mongo, steps into that realm and has helped children learn about healthy eating. They’ve creatively done this with making a game that’s simple and fun that has children wanting to learn and eat cauliflower.

I recently had the opportunity to speak with the founder of Go Go Mongo, Ahmed Siddiqui. In talking with Ahmed he mentioned that the core idea had originated from his desire to help teach his younger family members learn the names of different foods in English. As English was their second language (ESL).

Loaded with the idea, Ahmed headed over to Startup Weekend Bay Area in April 2010 and pitched to the crowd. From that weekend came not only a winning team of the weekend’s event, but what would be the basis of Go Go Mongo. With the gaming element created, a goofy cartoon like character was attached to the game and his name, Mongo. With the game created Ahmed was able to show his two year old cousin and without any instructions was playing and learning in seconds.

Go Go Mongo would grow it’s way into the Top 25 Educational Apps on the iTunes store. An exciting moment for the company. With the apps positioning, it quickly drew the attention of a particular market. The team started receiving thank-you’s from mom bloggers raving about the app being such a great healthy eating app. Though the apps main focus and core reasoning for being built was to help teach ESL. Noticing the demand and excitement around healthy eating, the team shifted focus towards healthy eating. Ahmed even received an email from a grateful parent that not only was the game cool but his daughter loved it and now wants to eat cauilflowuer. A vegetable that wasn’t even thought about before.

Try out the game for yourself. You’ll see not only the entertainment but also how great of a job Ahmed and his team have done with teaching kids about healthy eating. You’ll find it in the iTunes store. Oh and watch out for the cookies.

Prior to starting Go Go Mongo, Ahmed worked as a consultant for IBM. He had always dreamt of both owning his own company and teaching children English through gaming – as English is his second language. He decide to pack up and head west. Not knowing anyone Ahmed relocated to San Francisco where he would attend the Startup Weekend event that helped his dreams become a reality. Along with running Go Go Mongo, Ahmed also is working with Startup Weekend Bay Area.

The post Teaching Children Through Mobile Gaming | Go Go Mongo appeared first on TechZulu.

1. This is the first major exclusive game launch Kabam or any other major gaming company on Google+ and not on Facebook. While it won’t be completely exclusive to Google+ (Facebook’s launch will be later in Q1 of 2012), the release is for Google+ gamers only.

2. The Godfather: Five Families is Kabam’s fastest growing game coming out of beta by a wide margin.

3. The game is Kabam’s first licensed brand game

4. This is the first social game based on a major movie franchise on any social platform, period.

5. One o the first major brands to exclusively appear on Google+

The company has indicated that their decision to launch TGFF exclusively on the G+ platform was for a number of reasons including: Their continuing success with other games on the platform, the readiness of the G+ team, and the compelling marketing and promotional package Google offered to Kabam. According to an announcement at a recent Web 2.0 conference, Google+ Games has a user base of 40 million playing their library of 30 titles (mostly ports and re-boots off of Facebook).

Kabam indicates itself as the leading developer of hardcore social games, with titles like Global Warfare and Dragons of Atlantis, very little in the way of cutesy farm animals and social-based boardgame retakes like fellow social gaming giant Zynga.

According to the brand and play style that Kabam has built, their RPG MMO game-style design seeks to engage those looking for a deeper gaming experience. TGFF includes aspects of competitive interaction, territory building, resource management and synchronous game play create a more immersive game world allowing players to enjoy longer. There’s also a unique multi-level community faction system that reinforces individual play as well as group collaboration and support.

The Godfather: Five Families combines elements of MMO-style play with the connectivity and interaction of social networks. The company exclusively licensed The Godfather franchise for social gaming from Paramount Digital Entertainment and partnered with Paramount in developing the storyline and game. Once again, the first licensed brand game in the social arena.

The post Kabam Launches The Godfather: Five Families Exclusive to Google+ appeared first on TechZulu.

These past few months we have seen the rebirth of virtual worlds.  With sites like TurnTable.fm, Chill, and Shaker to name a few.  Although Worlize may be news to some they have been around for just over a year and they are based right here in Los Angeles. Worlize is a user-created social gaming and chat platform for Facebook and social networks including Twitter, MySpace and OpenSocial. The 2D platform brings together a new world of interactivity for users, including the ability to play and create their own worlds and games.

Worlize allows you to invite your friends to join from Facebook or via a tweeted link. Also, if you’d like to share a cool YouTube clip or live chat with your created world, embedded YouTube windows are synced for everyone and a live feed from your webcam as an avatar is an option.

Their latest addition to Worlize is the ability to for a “Chat Now” badge to be placed on your blog.  When the badge is clicked on your blog, it will transport your visitors to the entrance room of your world. If there are people chatting, the badge will also display the current population of the entire world.

We had a chance to catchup with Brian McKelvey CEO and Founder of Worlize recently.  Brian McKelvey is the founder and CEO of Worlize, Inc. Brian has over a decade developing and deploying cutting-edge technology within the entertainment industry. McKelvey has led, designed and deployed gaming and web technologies for a multitude of leading companies including Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Lionsgate, TNT, GSN and Live Nation.

The post Worlize | Virtual World Tied To Facebook, Twitter and Now Your Blog appeared first on TechZulu.

That’s right folks TechZulu has just struck the most amazing loot for all you gaming enthusiast out there.  TechZulu is sending 5 lucky gamers to the first mobile 3D gaming tournament being held here in Los Angeles to compete!  LG Thrill™ 4G in a partnership with Gameloft™ bring their gaming alive in a larger-than-life 3D gaming tournament and spectacle at Hollywood’s illustrious Hollywood & Highland Center and Rolling Stone LA Lounge on September 20.

Teams of professional gamers and consumers will use LG Thrill 4G – the only smartphone in the U.S. to feature a 1 GHz dual-core, dual-channel, dual-memory processor – as they battle it out in “Near Orbit Vanguard Alliance (N.O.V.A.) 3D,”. After multiple preliminary rounds, top scorers will go head-to-head for the chance to be crowned champion and win more than $10,000 worth of LG products.

Give Me The Loot!

Alright, so TechZulu wants to know how big of a gamer you really are.  Just answer the questions below in the comments and in a sentence or two tell us why you would be the most deserving to attend this event.  All entries must be made by 11:59pm Saturday 8/17/2011

• Name one of the first games Gameloft ever published
• What game is known to be the first 3D MMO game
• 1-2 sentence explaining why you should be selected

The LG Thrill is a great handset for on-the-move entertainment enthusiasts, LG Thrill 4G allows users to do it all in 3D – create, share and enjoy content in 3D. Gamers will love it for the real 3D games, amateur cameramen will love the ability to create and share in 720p HD 3D video and customers looking for one of the fastest, most powerful and capable superphones on the market will be delighted by the LG Thrill 4G.

The post World’s First Mobile 3D Gaming Tournament Hits LA | Your Chance To Compete appeared first on TechZulu.

Next, it asks you to choose your favorite spots from the big list of places in each category.  Now you’ve officially created your very own exclusive list of places to wine/dine/and play in and around your hometown, just for your friends to see.

So what’s the #TopTuesday? It’s a personalized update you receive each Tuesday with the top places you and your friends checked in and loved. The folks over at Scoville compile the data and rank them as the top locations in the city. Imagine it as a personalized group concierge service. Isn’t it nice to know that all those check-ins don’t just disappear into the abyss if you aren’t crowned mayor of a place. Plus, it makes it easier to keep up with and share those first time check-ins with your crew by adding them to your #TopTuesday.

Is it a Foursquare rip off? Well, its interface, fonts and icons are comparable but that’s where the similarities end. What Scoville does beyond Foursquare is worth checking out, especially since it’s almost summer. Longer hours to play means you’ll be itching to check out new places. Alleged to be gaining steam with users, people are signing up.

However, there are some obvious problems for Scoville, the first being commitment. When you join you have to get your friends to sign up for yet another site. Unless something is pretty revolutionary these days, most people don’t want another account, another password to remember or to grant access to their private data to another application. Do you see where I am headed? Signing up can be more of a headache that help. When I signed up and it emailed my Foursquare friends six of them signed up immediately. This means they signed up just because I was on not because they’d check out the site.

Second, sure it’s pretty cool that the application allows you to organize check-ins, share with your friends and ranks the best ones in your city, but a couple of Foursquare updates could ruin it for these guys in a major way. This way you don’t anger any of your friends with more “sign up now” spam emails. While, the interface is visually interesting and simple looking; technically it can feel rather complicated. Organizing my check-ins from the previous week seemed tiresome and chore like and I was bored after four minutes.

Understanding, the Scoville world is complicated too. Why does one earn points? Why do you need to unlock levels? Are Sims like characters going to appear on different levels of the application?

Overall, the aim of the site is good, but I think that as a Foursquare, Yelp, and Facebook check in user it’s going to have a pretty tough time staying around. If nothing else because those sites are already rumored to be on to phase two of check ins offering group deals. Everybody likes to save money.

The post Scoville: Why Should You Care? appeared first on TechZulu.

For those who may not be familiar with the LA Game Conference or the workshops:

Over 300 of the most influential decision-makers in the games industry gather for the LA Games Conference to network, do deals, and share ideas about the future of console, PC, online and mobile games. LA Games Conference – now in its 4th year – features a lively and fun debate on timely cutting-edge business topics, demos as well unrivaled access to some of the most progressive companies in Hollywood, Silicon Valley and beyond. We invite you to join us at the event and take part in the discussion with executives, creators, investors, analysts, press and gamers who will be instrumental in shaping the future of this booming business.

How Do I Win!

1. Like us on Facebook (Easily like us on Facebook to the right of this post)
2. In the comments below give us the game in the number 1 spot for best-selling video game for the consoles below:
   • Atari 2600
   • Xbox
   • Nintendo (NES)
   • Wii
   • Playstation 2

We will select the 4 winners with the correct answers.  Also, make sure to write which event you would like to attend (i.e. I want LA Game Conference).  If you would like a double entry  Tweet out ” Hey @TechZulu I want those #LAGameConf tix! ” (CLICK HERE to tweet message)

Contest will end Saturday April 23rd at 11:59pm PST.

Event info:

Transmedia Workshop: Click here for info

Gamification Workshop: Click here for info

LA Game Conference: Click here for info

The post DMW: LA Game Conference, Workshops and Free Tix For Our Readers! appeared first on TechZulu.