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The classic arcade game Asteroids is so accessible and timeless that every time I see a vector graphics triangle, it acts as a reminder of the retro gaming era. The original arcade cabinet hit the scene in 1979, while the more familiar Atari 2600 title debuted in 1981. Forty-five years after the game’s debut, Atari worked with watch brand Nubeo to create a series of limited edition mechanical timepieces to mark the anniversary. I’ve slapped one around my wrist, and now, whenever I look down, I can almost hear the UFO sound effect warbling in my mind.
The company sent us one of the limited edition watches for review. Ours is the Nebula Blue, numbered 104 out of 125. The classic triangular ship in the center of the watch face spins indefinitely, acting as the seconds hand. Two flying saucers tick out the hours and minutes, slowly rotating around the center. The rest of the stenciled asteroids are merely decoration. It takes more than a few seconds of squinting to gauge the time on the crowded watch face. In dim light, the blue UFO tends to blend into the background.
© Adriano Contreras / Gizmodo What’s the point of a watch that’s not great for telling the time? Kids these days may have difficulty reading the hands on analog clocks, but the Nubeo and Atari collaboration seems very specific to the aging gamer with rose-colored glasses for a past age of gaming. The default silicon watch band and its fancy clasp are built for medium-to-large-sized wrists. I’m an average-sized adult male, and I needed to use the smallest bead on the band to keep it from sliding down while typing out this review.
The Nubeo-Atari collab is a hypnotic scene of floating rocks on a black field. It’s also a large watch face that is 50mm and 16mm thick. With those specs, the watch isn’t light either at 179 grams or nearly .4 pounds. At the very least, it’s a well-constructed timepiece. It uses a Japanese automatic watch system powered by wrist movement rather than a battery. It sports a sapphire lens with a stainless steel case in both black and brushed metal. To round off the aesthetic, so many little accents make this watch unique, from the Atari logo on the crown to the stenciled asteroids on the back of the watch.
All the different versions of the Atari-Nubeo collab are limited edition, and the version in my possession is currently sold out. The stated MSRP is $1,650, but we doubt it will ever leave the sale price of $500 before stock runs dry. Even that price point is a lot for a watch, especially for those not used to dropping multiple Benjamins on a single accessory.
There’s something to be said for gamer chic, but this seems designed for older nerds with deep pockets. The $500 price is more than many are willing to spend on a solid smartwatch today. An Apple Watch Series 9 starts at $400, and that’s at the high end of what you can get without opting for “Ultra” variants. I’m not one to regularly accessorize, but I was already such a big fan of the Timestop D-20 watch (which I still regularly wear to my TRPG table), I now plan to take the Nubeo on the road with me.
I’m not a member of the generation who could have played Asteroids in its glory days. Instead, I’ve played the classic game on aging cabinets in the odd barcade, or failed to keep my ship alive for more than a few levels on the Atari 7800+. The game is still one of the most interesting designs of the arcade era. Players don’t just need to factor in momentum, but the “hyperspace” mechanic where you and asteroids can dive through one side of the screen and come out on the other.
Before spending $500 on a watch, consider a few more things. For one, it’s only rated 5 ATM, which is water—and dust-resistant only to a certain extent. You should be safe dunking it in water but can’t snorkel with it. Each watch has a two-year warranty for any defect with the mechanics or materials. According to the watch’s manual, the warranty doesn’t cover damage to the lens or strap and normal wear and tear.
This is the watch I would wear to my nerdiest shindigs if I were inclined to show off. Already, people in my office were asking me about it, and if you want to strike up a conversation, there are worse—or at least more expensive—ways to make yourself stand out. If Asteroids were the kind of game to make time fly by, why would you want a watch to remind you how much time you spent playing?
