They all said pixel art would become a thing of the past, a relic of the gaming industry left to gather dust with the cartridge consoles.
But pixel art is still alive and just as square as ever, with gamers happy to play a game with pixelated graphics in-between sessions of their favorite amazing looking Next-Gen game.
Whether you're a lover of retro style, an old school gamer who still remembers those 8-bit days fondly, or you're simply a fan of super square art styles then the NeatoShop has a pixel art shirt for you!
A long, long time ago
On a planet full of geeks called Earth
Artists started organizing an array of different colored squares into eye-pleasing shapes
Then brought those squares to life with scripting
The age of video games was upon us
Fly You Fools Pixel by Karlangas
And it was gloriously grid based
Digital Revolution by tomburns
The amount of squares on the grids used by designers started out low
Pixel Skull by Platinum Bastard
But soon the grid squares multiplied, and things became much clearer
Dead Space by Bohsky
Game artists continued to hone their pixel plotting skills
New Pixel Sculptor by Alberto Arni
and began creating stunning works of digital art
PIXEL RENAISSANCE by Oakenspirit
Those of us who remember those 8-bit days grew up right along with the graphics resolution
Guardians Of Sunshine by BazNet
And watched as the gaming industry blossomed into an entertainment powerhouse
Expendables 2 8-Bit Game by Rodrigo Marckezini
Game designers gave players something to geek out about other than comics
Strange Things Are Afoot At The Circle K by Dave Song
And even brought our favorite movies to life as console games
8-Bit Charter by Warbucks Design
Some movie adaptation games didn't live up to the hype
I Found The E.T. Cartridges (Green) by Olipop
But movies that were properly brought to life with thousands, if not millions, of pixels
8-Bit 80s Action Movies by 8-BitHero.Com
Turned us all into total pixel art lovin' squares!
Pixel art has flown well beyond the realm of video games
And today even non-gamers enjoy the refreshingly square world of pixel art
New Girl Crew In Pixel by Inner Coma Clothing Co.
Because, let's face it, pixel art looks good on ya!
Some people would actually wear pixelated clothing if they could
And willingly break their boring old hi-res bodies down into 8-bit versions
That's how obsessed with squareness some pro pixel people can be
A Pocket Full Of Pixels by Thom2Maro
And thanks to the internet we can share our love of pixel art with our fellow fans
The Internet (NES My Life) by Amorphia Apparel
Keeping the world safe for pixel perfect squareness
Pixelate! Triplets by Mike Jacobsen
But let's not forget that video games started it all
Wild Kaiju Appeared by Samtronika
And without gaming pixel art simply wouldn't be as beloved as it is today
Pixel Fortress 2- Red by Unlikely Yuusha
Because there's something to be said for seeing pixels brought to life
And the great power that comes with controlling those colored squares
8-Bit Spider-Fighter by tomburns
Just don't let that power go to your head!
Pixel Fight! (II) by Demonigote
For those who like a little squareness mixed in with those slick hi-res designs there's the NeatoShop, a place for geeks to go and get geared up.
The Neatoshop features thousands of geeky designs, including tons of superbly square pixel art pieces, and every sale benefits the indie artists from around the world who feed our geeky needs. So head to the NeatoShop if you want to make sure your wardrobe pixel perfect!