iCade the Arcade Cabinet for iPad from ThinkGeek

by ThinkGeek

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 10.5 pounds
• ASIN: B0053Q1LAO
• Item model number: 8475090003972
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #50,059 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)

Product Description

About the i CADE from Think Geek. When the iPad was announced, we all crammed into a conference room to watch live and drool over every shiny corner and reflecty icon. After the glow of the initial announcement wore off, many of us came to the conclusion that the iPad was actually pretty useless. "It's a giant iPhone!" some said. Others exclaimed, WTF, no Flash? Still, we knew that most Apple fanbots (us included) would have to have one anyway. Knowing that many of our loyal geeky customers would eventually get their retractable claws on an iPad at some point, we knew we needed to take it to the next level. What cool things could we do with the iPad that you, our lovely geek customers, would squee over? A few brainstorming sessions later, the idea of a MAME cabinet came up and we knew we'd struck gold. How cool would it be to slide your iPad into a desktop-sized arcade cabinet and rock it old school with some Pac-Man or Space Invaders? Enter the iCADE iPad Arcade Cabinet! To use the iCade, gently slide the iPad into the cradle. The iCADE uses Bluetooth to connect to the iPad so there's nothing else you need to do. You're ready to "insert coin" and game on!To bring the iCADE to life, ThinkGeek has partnered with ION. Atari, the first name in classic arcade games, also signed up to bring a huge suite of classic arcade titles including Asteroids to market with iCADE support built right in. When released, a friendly API will be made available to developers to add iCADE support to almost any game.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Adds to IPAD enjoyment July 4, 2011

By Tool Man

For anyone who likes video games, especially the oldies, you'll love the iCade. My daughter and wife bought it for me for Father's Day and once I downloaded the 12 excellent games from the App store, I was off. The bluetooth works well and the action from the controls is what you'd expect. Put down the blackberry, let the memories come back and have some fun (Scott)!

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars It's okay. More for looks than real gameplay August 26, 2011

By errorfound482

The iCade is pretty cool. The look and feel is really retro. It's a neat thing to have on the office table as you get looks of envy. The actual use isn't as fantastic.

The controls are stiff and rusty. Better than playing off the touch screen but not as good as the arcade or console controls. Worse is the control configuration for each Atari game.

The iCade comes with a button map to show what button and joystick does what for each game -- and you need that map. Control configuration varies A LOT from game to game. Some are intuitive. Some are not and has some learning curve. I love Tempest, but the joystick actually made it harder to play for me. And you still have to switch between using the touch screen for menus and to play.

And unfortunately, iCade only works on the Atari Greatest App. There ARE a handful of other apps that iCade works with but as of today not many (look up iCade on Wikipedia for the list of apps which support iCade).

But it is cool. I bought it for $99. I actually think it's worth $60, but I don't feel ripped off. This product is REALLY cool. It's just not a great controller.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Get that old arcade game feeling back! August 10, 2011

By Eddi6677

I got my iCade for the iPad because I found it to be a much easier way then make my own mame cabinet. And it's great!! I would recommend the ipad game "Warblade HD" for any galaga fans. It's absolutely fantastic on the iCade! My kids love to play on the iCade and fights for it all day. You can feed the iPad cable through a hole in the bottom of the cradle where it sits (in portrait mode) and charge it when not in use!

One of the best gadgets I have bought in a long time!