Swedish Designer, Love Hultén, has built a new arcade machine specifically designed for home entertainment and it is a limited edition (only 50 will be made), hand-crafted multi-game arcade machine called Pixelkabinett 42 (also known as PK42).
The popularity of retro arcade games is experiencing a brand new high, not just among the older generations looking for a bit of nostalgia, but also through a new audience found in the millenials who appreciate the alluring challenge of simplistic game play that gets harder and faster until you crash and burn in a blaze of 8-bit glory.
To get this experience at home can often be expensive and a lot of people don't like spending the money on something that doesn't look all that nice in a home setting. Many people want just a generic looking cabinet, without the stickers, decal, or crazy colours all over it; many people just want something that will look like a nice piece of furniture, even when it's not being used. That's why there are so many DIY sites and forums helping people build their own cabinets.
For anyone out there who would like the arcade experience at home and doesn't want an arcade machine that looks like an arcade machine, but doesn't have the skills to do it yourself, Love Hultén has created the answer in PK42.
PK42 is a stunning version of the classic video arcade machine. Forget flashy lights and giant headers: this ash veneer wooden cabinet features soft colours (the first cabinet released was in a pistachio/light green colour) and an understated light decoration at the front representing our solar system, with a light for each planet and a bigger one in the centre for the sun. These lights "glow and breathe softly, much like the light on the side of a MacBook".
It also features American walnut wood for the control panel, in a retro styling, and a saturn cutout over the speaker. The monitor is housed inside a liftable dust lid. When you wish to play, simply lift the monitor up, and when you are finished, close the lid again and the machine transforms back into an attractive plinth or stand. This works well for it's size too, as it is 47 by 20 by 16 inches (lid closed).
The PK42 (the number is a pun that refers to the machine’s two-player capability) isn’t a computer-generated product either. Like all the products in Hultén’s portfolio the PK42 is made entirely by hand, and assembly requires 150 hours of labor.
“I’m a perfectionist and a control freak,” confesses the Göteborg native. “I do all the work myself, everything from the first sketch to nailing the shipping crates.”
"The standard version comes with an original jamma board of your choice, but the cabinet can aslo be customized to run a built-in modern computer, emulating all your favorite games through MAME."
If you want extras added in, you simply have to make a request to the designer. Every machine will be made-to-order making customization easy, but it will add to the cost of the machine.
Regarding the quick and positive response Hultén has had from customers across the globe (pre-orders have already been taken in Asia, North America and Europe), the 31-year-old-designer said, “We live in a world of liabilities, stress and uncertainty. It is only natural that some people wish to reclaim their childhood. The PK42 may enable them to go back and be that playful child once again.”
“I want my customers to be enlightened—not just feel nostalgic. Nostalgia is involved to a certain extent, yes. But this is not looking backward. It is taking steps in different directions simultaneously by using fragments from both the past and present, creating a unique and balanced object.”
For more information you can see
Wired for their coverage, as well as check out Hultén's
website.
Images from
Wired.
