Nubeo Watches: Ventana Atari Missile Command - Limited Edition Release

Jilliano Romano
13 hours ago
2 min read

With the recent release of the new Omega Seamaster for the latest James Bond game, or even the Call of Duty x Hamilton watch, it seems that gaming collaborations with watches are a hot commodity at the moment. While it would have been easier and arguably more profitable to collaborate with something like Minecraft or Fortnite, Nubeo Watches - a brand known for colorful, out-of-this-world designs and collaborations - chose to collaborate with Atari on creating a new watch that honors where it all started: Missile Command.

Nubeo Ventana Atari Missile Command The Watch Brief Jilliano

The History of Missile Command

Atari Missile Command Jilliano The Watch Brief

Missile Command is one of the original videogames released in 1980 to worldwide acclaim. Like Ms. Pacman or even the pinball machine, Missile Command was a mainstay in arcades, and although special effects and game mechanics have progressed beyond the traditional Cold War-era shoot 'em up style of Missile Command, many people - including yours truly - remain fond of this retro style. In the game, six different cities are being attacked by ballistic missiles, and as the player, you can move the crosshair with a trackball to target and destroy the missiles before they reach your city.

Ventana Atari Missile Command: Limited Edition, but Unlimited Creativity

Nubeo has created the Ventana Atari Missile Command to honor both the classic game, as well as arcade gaming as a whole. Unlike other brands who prefer to keep the metatextual references subtle, Nubeo have fully embraced their inspiration with everything from the packaging to the dial and even the caseback.

The watch is available in four variants and limited to 100 individually numbered pieces - Assault Yellow, Vector Red, Command Black, and Strike Green. Each variant has a rubber strap that matches their main color.

Nubeo Atari Missile Command Jilliano The Watch Brief

The dials showcase a compact version of the Missile Command interface, complete with the fighter jets, a pixelated score (0120 also acts as the 12 o'clock hour mark), and just to make things extra special, the minute-hand is denoted by an X-mark, while the hour-hand is a red sun symbol. The second hand is right at the center, and they've designed it so that it looks like the turret that's targeting the missiles. It's quirky, loud, and more importantly, very creative, and I love that about these watches.

The screwdown crown is located at 4:30, giving it 200M of water resistance, and the entire watch comes in at 50mm. No, that's not a typo. This is a big watch, and for something representing this particular game, I think that's the only way to do it.

This watch is simultaneously a love letter and a time capsule to the bygone days of arcade gaming. While arcades still exist around the world - particularly in Japan, where I'm based - they are no longer the only places where people can play games, just like how mechanical wristwatches are no longer the best way to tell time on the go.

Learn more about the new Nubeo Watch at the following link: NUBEO.