View Full Version : Retrode 2 out now!
understatement
03-30-2011, 09:13 AM
I don’t know who has been keeping up with this but Matthias has sent out a new newsletter stating that the Retrode 2 is on the way, there is also a youtube video showcasing the proto!
Dear Retrode Enthusiasts,
Welcome to another issue of the monthly newsletter. This is really a quick
one, just to announce that I put a new video online, among other things
showing off my prototype of the (drum roll) upcoming RETRODE 2. It will
hopefully become available around June or July, both directly from me as
well as from retailers all over the globe. So if you'd like your favourite
retro gaming store to carry the Retrode2, feel free to give them a hint :)
Here you go:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzIljUmQhak
Discuss on the unofficial Retrode forum:
http://www.iainbutler.com/retrodeforum/index.php/topic,306.msg647.html
Cheers,
Matthias
badinsults
03-31-2011, 03:18 AM
Nice, I plan on getting one. I am happy he is changing the case design to plastic, as it did feel pretty awkward to pull out SFC/Pal SNES carts out of the original.
Leo_A
03-31-2011, 03:49 AM
It's neat
I'm just surprised there is any sort of a market for this. Personally, if I'm using original cartridges, I'm going to use real hardware. And if I was going to use an emulator, I'm going to use a bin file.
kedawa
03-31-2011, 05:22 AM
It should be useful for backing up game saves and dumping ROMs.
BeaglePuss
03-31-2011, 06:18 AM
It's neat
I'm just surprised there is any sort of a market for this. Personally, if I'm using original cartridges, I'm going to use real hardware. And if I was going to use an emulator, I'm going to use a bin file.
The appeal for me is the ability to dump prototypes. I've dumped countless protos with the original retrode, and I'm looking forward to picking up the newest version for that very same reason.
Icarus Moonsight
03-31-2011, 08:38 AM
Controller port integration... Very cool. Love the platform expansion passthrus too. If they don't take a large spike in price with all the additions I can see myself clear to finally buying one.
lkermel
03-31-2011, 02:13 PM
Same here, I've got a few prototypes that I'd like to dump, and Retrode looks like the best option for me. I look forward for this new version !!
BeaglePuss
03-31-2011, 02:23 PM
Same here, I've got a few prototypes that I'd like to dump, and Retrode looks like the best option for me. I look forward for this new version !!
It's by far and away the most user friendly proto-dumping device I've ever owned.
If he manages to get it to dump NES games, I'll be in heaven.
jdheins
04-02-2011, 12:17 AM
It's by far and away the most user friendly proto-dumping device I've ever owned.
If he manages to get it to dump NES games, I'll be in heaven.
Amen Brother, I would buy one yesterday if it did NES
badinsults
04-02-2011, 08:31 AM
Alas, dumping NES games is not easy, due to the strange mappings. That is why the CopyNES uses the actual NES hardware to dump games.
BeaglePuss
04-02-2011, 09:50 AM
Alas, dumping NES games is not easy, due to the strange mappings. That is why the CopyNES uses the actual NES hardware to dump games.
Oh, I know. That's why I use my copyNES still. He does mention in the video that he's looking into adding both SMS and NES to the Retrode2 though, so I'm definitely holding out hope. If anyone can do it, it's Mathias.
Satoshi_Matrix
04-02-2011, 02:25 PM
Yeah. NES support is what would make this a must-buy for me. I eagerly look forward to future advancements. It's projects like this that make me glad I'm an oldschool gamer.
wingzrow
04-02-2011, 08:06 PM
I'm interested in one of these. Backing up my games and my saves is a great idea. Where would I buy one?
Purkeynator
04-03-2011, 08:48 PM
I'm interested in one of these. Backing up my games and my saves is a great idea. Where would I buy one?
Stone Age Gamer had the first one. I would bet they will carry this one too.
understatement
12-31-2011, 01:33 PM
I just got the news that the pre-orders have shipped and the Retrode 2 is now for sale. Looks like the cheapest place to get it in the US is stone age gamer (http://www.stoneagegamer.com) but it wont ship out till about February 1st.
The other places to order are:
http://www.gp2x.de/shop (shipping to the US is expensive)
https://www.retrode.com (it's about $5~$10 more than stone age gamer, might get to you a little quicker but as of now the site requires a login and password that you get from the news letter)
Retrode
Emulation-nut Mike Saunders is in heaven. And for once, it has nothing to do with Weißbier…
Plug in your game cart and its contents appear as a ROM image on a removable drive – simple as that.
Shiny and black, the Retrode reminds us very much of the Sega Master System II.
What a fantastic idea this is. We love emulators, and spend way too much time playing classic games from the 80s and 90s. But there’s always one problem: the legality of ROM fi les (the fi le that contains the data from a read-only memory chip – more or less a clone of a game cartridge). Some people argue that if you already own the physical version of a game, there’s nothing wrong with playing a ROM fi le in an emulator – but then, where do you get the ROM fi le from? Chances are it has come off a website somewhere, and generated by someone else, so the legal questions remain.
The Retrode avoids all of these complications by enabling you to play your original Super NES and Sega Mega Drive (aka Genesis) cartridges in an emulator on your PC. And the way it does that it is beautifully simple. It doesn’t require special data transmission software or custom emulators or anything like that – it just works out of the box.
On the top of the Retrode are two cartridge slots for the aforementioned consoles. Plug in a cartridge, connect the Retrode to your PC via the included USB cable, and you’ll see a new removable USB drive appear. Open this drive and voilà: the contents of the cartridge are available as a ROM file (eg for SNES games they appear as .sfc files), ready to play in an emulator such as ZSNES. You’re no longer playing a random ROM fi le from an unknown source, but the exact code in the physical cartridge that you own.
Rainbow Road revisited
One of the most common annoyances that people have with emulators is having to use different controllers to the original machines. You can get adapters to connect original Super NES and Mega Drive joypads to USB ports, but the Retrode is ahead of the game here and includes four joypad ports: two Super NES and two Mega Drive. These appear to the system as standard USB game controllers, so they will work with any emulator.
And it gets better: if the game has battery-backup save states, in many cases you can access them too. We plugged in our copy of Super Mario Kart that we bought in 1992, and a .srm fi le containing our lap time records appeared on the drive, which loaded seamlessly into ZSNES. If you have some saved games that mean the world to you, and you’re worried about the in-cart batteries dying, you need this. Now.
The Retrode worked with all the Mega Drive (5) and SNES (8) cartridges we tested, although there are compatibility notes on the website, so it’s worth checking those before buying the device. You can even get adapters to play Nintendo 64, Game Boy and Master System games. We’re beaming with delight at the prospect of getting our old Wave Race 64 records off the cartridge…
LINUX VOICE VERDICT
A brilliant idea, executed well. Not cheap for casual gamers, but for hard-core emulation fans it’s bliss.
4.5 out of 5 stars
Web: http://www.retrode.org/
Developer: Matthias Hullin
Price: €64.90 (~$75.08)
Article source: Linux Voice, Issue #002, Page 22 - http://www.linuxvoice.com/