Stefan Mileschin

Just about every gamer we know has wanted to alter a game world on the spot, whether it's to cheat, fix game mechanics or experiment. Special Stage Systems' Ming Mecca system is built entirely around that concept -- and will definitely appeal to anyone with a fondness for analog electronics. Knobs and switches on its World Core synthesizer module adjust the game machine's maps, graphics, characters and even physics through voltage tweaks. Players only have to load assets on an SD card if they'd like a different look, and they even have access to the firmware and schematics if they want to go completely off the beaten path. Input is just as unconventional: a Control Core turns NES-compatible gamepads into signal generators that can be used just as easily for music making as for playing. Ming Mecca isn't expected to ship until summer 2014, and it won't be cheap at an estimated $999 for a World Core and $350 for the Control Core. Even so, we're sorely tempted to splurge -- it's not often that a gadget scratches so many of our nostalgic itches at once.

http://www.engadget.com/2013/05/04/m... ign=Engadget