RetroN5: Hands on first look

[YoshiM]

Yeah, I remember around 1987 Sega was working on a light gun in the shape of an uzi. Up until the late 80's, even water guns (look up Entertech, I had one) looked super real (red tip, but still). Well, real-looking toy guns somehow got banned, and 90's kids instead got Super Soakers.

I have no doubt that the changing political landscape had something to do with there being a lack of gun games the past decade and a half.

I remember the ban of toy guns back then-early 90's is when I noticed it. Even George Carlin referenced it in his stand up show "Doin' It Again"- "They banned the toy guns but they kept the f$&@in' REAL ones!" If memory serves there were a few news articles about cops being called to a scene stating there was someone prowling about in the dark. It was kids playing around with toy guns that looked real. Cop came around the corner with gun drawn, told the kid to "freeze". Kid didn't know any better and reacted in play and swiveled, brandishing the toy gun and got blown away. I read articles about those incidences with regular toy guns and even the original Laser Tag guns. Now I don't know if there was a bone fide ban on toy guns or if stores were pressured to pull the guns off the shelf. I know K-Mart in my area pulled the guns.

[Satoshi_Matrix]

Yay, a new page. page 21 was filled with such crap I'm glad it can all be ignored now.

[stardust4ever]

I have no doubt that the changing political landscape had something to do with there being a lack of gun games the past decade and a half.In the 90s it was DOOM, Wolfenstein, and Resident Evil. Now it's Halo, Gears of War, Call of Duty, and the myriad of other FPS games to come out over recent years. It was a well known fact that the Colombine kid used DOOM as a training simulator.

Thumbstick or light gun as an input method is irrelevant. I'm quite sure none of these guys got the idea to shoot people up from playing 8-bit classics like Duck Hunt or Target Shoot.

[BricatSegaFan]

So no retron 5?

[Satoshi_Matrix]

Should be out or at least final release announced in about a month or so.

[stardust4ever]

Got some rather bad news. Unless you want a $139 brick of e-waste, DO NOT plug in multiple carts!!!

From the NA thread:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xNwGeIVhvc&feature=youtu.be&t=53s Their own PR guy saying it, but they have also shown MANY times that their PR guys have no idea what they are talking about...
What I could get out of the audio feed:

"Yeah, so basically, um, what I can tell you is it takes one cart at a time. If you put in two carts, um, it may damage the system. [unintelligible] Probably, um, I'm pretty sure that's what happened, um, I'm not really sure, it could have been the dirty Famicom cart. [unintelligible] If you want, um, Justin has a presentation..."

EPIC FAIL!!!:oops:

As someone who has accidentally plugged in PCBs and Famicom Adapters backwards and made similar bonehead mistakes, all with zero damage to the original hardware, even the most careful retro collectors/gamers will make mistakes from time to time. Say nothing of casual consumers, Retron3, FC3, and the new Retro Tri run just fine with all cartridge slots plugged up. People are gonna plug in multiple games even if the manual says not to. Even the trained Hyperkin rep is not infallible as the video shows. I'm okay with an Error message. I'm not okay with the console breaking due to an extra game in an open slot. At least Brian's (aka "bunnyboy" aka RetroUSB) upcoming HDMI NES is dummy proof by crossing the connectors at right angles.

I'm gonna go out on a limb and recommend the Super Retro Trio for those people who want an all in one console without HDMI or save states. Reviews pending, it seems the audio on this latest clone is not messed up like many others, and it features full region selection for Genesis, and other improvements lacking in existing 3-in-1 clones like full support for all existing controllers. I'll give my two cents on the Trio when it arives in the mail.

[Satoshi_Matrix]

*Massive sigh*

Dude, you really need to lay off being such a sensationalist. You're really starting to remind me of horrible youtubers like ReviewTechUSA that always overblow everything.

Let's address this......'concern'.

1. Did you somehow not read the part when Brian pointed out that there are MANY examples where Hyperkin's PR guys say things that they have no idea what they are talking about?

2. Let's think about it. How is it even conceivably possible you could "damage" the RetroN5 by having two cartridges inserted at once? Common data lines? That's only true of the NES and Famicom, so then yes, it's kinda sorta theoretically possible you could confuse the hell out of the system by supplying it with two signals along a common connection. Otherwise, I do not see how it is even theoretically possible to damage the RetroN5 through multiple cartridges. The wost that could happen is the auto-boot sequence not working and telling you to remove all but one game. But that's a software thing, nothing "damaging" to hardware.

3. ......WHO CARES?! Even if it IS somehow possible to damage the system by plugging multiple games all at once, why is this even remotely a problem? Think about any other system in existance. How many games do you play at a time? More than one? Ever? No? Then....why is the Retron5 somehow any different? Just because it's got a pile of empty ports doesn't mean you need to have them filled at all times.


Alright, now time to address your boneheaded statements:



[I have] accidentally plugged in PCBs and Famicom Adapters backwards and made similar bonehead mistakes all with zero damage to the original hardware, even the most careful retro collectors/gamers will make mistakes from time to time.

Plugging carts in wrong does not complete the circuit. You could never damage your game or system by doing that. It's designed that way. That said, there are ways you could damage your systems like using the wrong power supply. but if you do that, then who's fault is that?




Retron3, FC3, and the new Retro Tri run just fine with all cartridge slots plugged up.

That's because those systems all use multi-state mechanical relays that funnel voltage to only one board and ignore the rest. They have no OS and thus no UI at all. Effectively, although those multicart systems are all x number of systems in one, they might as well be entirely independent consoles electrically speaking. Without a relay, those systems would INSTANTLY be damaged by multiple carts as they'd all be turned on at once. It would be like if you turned on a microwave, an oven, a blender, and a toaster all at the same time with the same common power socket.

The Retron5 doesn't use a mechanical relay because it has an OS and a UI. It's Android based, so it has a single core for everything. Unlike those on-a-chip clones, you cannot selective power one area when grounding others into dormancy. So I hope you understand how incredibly stupid it is to cite on-a-chip clones as being able to have multiple carts inserted at once.




People are gonna plug in multiple games even if the manual says not to.

*facepalm* How is that in any way Hyperkin's fault? It's just like people buying PS4 boxes on ebay where the seller clearly said "this auction is for the box only. No console included" and then the buyer later trying to take up a paypal dispute with the seller.

Now with that being said, this is another reason why I highly doubt that it's even possible to damage a Retron5 with multiple carts. What will almost surely happen is there will be sort of error message, perhaps even the system auto shutting down until you remove all but one cart. Nothing else makes logical sense.




I'm gonna go out on a limb and recommend the Super Retro Trio.

Do you even read what you write? Yeah. It sure is a good idea to recommend a product that you haven't yet tried yourself! Got any more brilliant suggestions?!!
If only there was a common proverb that even young children know that said something about not counting chickens before they're hatched.

In the past, I've covered many Retro-Bit products. I expect the SRT will probably be mostly fine, with any audio problems fixable and maybe even some compatibility depending on the design of the _OACs. But c'mon dude. it's just laughably irresponsible to prematurely recommend a product you haven't had any experience with, no matter what it is.

And before you accuse me of defending Hyperkin and their bullshit, I'm not. I'm just defending common sense. Which is severely lacking in most of what you said.

[LaughingMAN.S9]

This argument assumes I experience guilt. I do not.

I second this.

[Tanooki]

I'm surprised that guy is still around picking those fights on the last page of posts. Also that event happened in 1999, yet Sega and multiple third parties were still peddling light guns for the Dreamcast so they were't suppressed, just some people wussed out on making them. PS2 had a Namco gun as well too.

[Satoshi_Matrix]

fact of the matter is if people wanted lightgun games, developers would make it happen.

the fact that they don't is telling.

[stardust4ever]

*Massive sigh*The stuff I quoted came out of hyperkin's mouth, not mine. Like I also said, the Retro Trio is in transit, meaning I've already bought and paid for it. Unless I refuse shipment somehow, it is mine to keep. If I experience faults with it, I'll let you guys know. I've already seen Blunty or whatever his name is YT channel where he captured directly from the Trio and I have third party confirmation that the system has good audio and video, NES, SNES, and Genesis.
https://www.youtube.com/user/Blunty3000

Any incompatabilities, I will document. I have an early revision SMRPG that works on clones, and some other SA-1 games like Kirby that certainly will not. I also own Virtua Racing and most of the common flash carts. Sadly, I don't own Castlevania III or I would test that as well. Somebody else will surely confirm CVIII as MMC5 is well known to be problematic with NES clones. In the coming weeks there will be tons of other reviews as well hitting YT.

Yes, I recommended a product before trying it out. Aside from press demonstrations, nobody really has tested the Retron5 to it's limits, who's not sitting behind a big NDA clause. At the moment there is video documentation on YT of the Retron failing and the Super Retro Trio doing exactly what it was designed to do. The evidence is on the wall. I'm not BS'ing stuff.

No smoke coming out my ass this time around. :onfire:

[mercuryshadow09]

Seems I almost stepped in a troll trap, good luck arguing against what I've already proven!

[stardust4ever]

Seems I almost stepped in a troll trap, good luck arguing against what I've already proven!Troll trap? You, sir, are the one who set it up. :duh:

[Gameguy]

Yeah, I remember around 1987 Sega was working on a light gun in the shape of an uzi. Up until the late 80's, even water guns (look up Entertech, I had one) looked super real (red tip, but still). Well, real-looking toy guns somehow got banned, and 90's kids instead got Super Soakers.
I found an old Larami Uzi water gun last year, it was from the 80's in the original box but there was no red tip. The thing looked like a real gun, except for up close.

As for the Sega light guns, even the phaser might have looked a bit too real.
http://kotaku.com/5160608/brazilian-man-holds-woman-hostage-for-10-hours-with-a-sega-light-gun


1. Did you somehow not read the part when Brian pointed out that there are MANY examples where Hyperkin's PR guys say things that they have no idea what they are talking about?
Is this supposed to make me feel better about the company? They have no problem having incompetent staff working for them, even when this staff specifically interacts with consumers and potential customers.


*facepalm* How is that in any way Hyperkin's fault? It's just like people buying PS4 boxes on ebay where the seller clearly said "this auction is for the box only. No console included" and then the buyer later trying to take up a paypal dispute with the seller.
They should still be designing their products to be idiot proof, like most manufacturers do. The same reason why companies put safeguards in place on appliances so people won't get injured or killed when using them inappropriately. Why do most console makers shape their cartridges so they can only be inserted one way? This is a console so there's a good chance kids will be playing with it, just design it well in case a kid doesn't follow the specific written instructions.


Just to point something out, a friend of mine apparently damaged his Super Famicom by trying to play some problematic copy of Yoshi's Island. The game didn't boot up right, and after trying for awhile to get the game to work, his console doesn't boot games anymore. Not with any games, even ones that used to play on it. I haven't seen it in person to verify this, but this is what he told me. I'm going with the view that it can be possible to damage a console with cartridges in certain situations.

[stardust4ever]

They should still be designing their products to be idiot proof, like most manufacturers do. The same reason why companies put safeguards in place on appliances so people won't get injured or killed when using them inappropriately. Why do most console makers shape their cartridges so they can only be inserted one way? This is a console so there's a good chance kids will be playing with it, just design it well in case a kid doesn't follow the specific written instructions.Well said!:cheers:

[Satoshi_Matrix]

The stuff I quoted came out of hyperkin's mouth, not mine.

Yet you seemed to have missed the point Brian Parker made that Hyperkin reps have repeatedly made idiotic statements, and therefore putting much stalk into statements from them that you can damage your system by looking at it funny is pretty foolish.


[On Retro-Bit]
You openly admit you don't know anything yet you still stand by recommending a product you have no actual experience with? Talk about the height of hubris.

I'm not even making such a statement, and I'm far more qualified to than you are. I've been working with Retro-Bit to help improve their product designs with fixes and alternations dating back to the Retro-Duo 2.0, the RDP, The Retro Entertainment System, NES RetroPort, RetroGen, Super Retro Advance, and most recently, the Gen-X.

I don't know what's up with DasCheap claiming they have Retro-Bit's newest product because Retro-Bit hasn't even sent me one yet, and I'm bloody doing engineering legwork for them. I'm hoping they took my analysis on the Retro Gen and Super Retro Advance to integrate some better engineering on the SRT. I suppose I won't know until they send me one. Still don't know what's up with DasCheap though, claiming they have stock maybe they do and Retro-Bit's been slow to respond for some reason. Ahh the joys of small companies.




Is this supposed to make me feel better about the company? They have no problem having incompetent staff working for them, even when this staff specifically interacts with consumers and potential customers.

Yes. Yes it should. Because it's not something the company publicly announced, but just a private conversation musing of a dude in a hotel room. Also, I doubt that it was truly a case of incompetence. Maybe the guy just wanted to cover his ass by speculating of what might potentially damage the system. It doesn't mean it's true, but it also doesn't mean he was lying. Speculation is just speculation. He then went right into talking about dirty carts afterwords, citing that as a possible cause. Ultimately I don't think it's worth paying any attention to that statement at all until it's completely debunked or confirmed. Only the release will do that.


They should still be designing their products to be idiot proof, like most manufacturers do. The same reason why companies put safeguards in place on appliances so people won't get injured or killed when using them inappropriately. Why do most console makers shape their cartridges so they can only be inserted one way? This is a console so there's a good chance kids will be playing with it, just design it well in case a kid doesn't follow the specific written instructions.

I agree, and this is why I feel strongly that the whole concern that you can damage your system by plugging multiple carts in at once will not turn out to be true.

My prediction is that the system will simply give an on-screen error message if you attempt to insert more than one cart at a time since the system works by reading the rom headers to determine what game is inserted. More than one game = more than one rom header = the thing won't know what to do.

Maybe that will cause the system to shut off. But "damage" it? Physically? Again, think about how the fuck that's even possible. The only exception being the NES and Famicom cart slots since they share the same data lines (same console, different cartridge ports), but even if there was crosstalk, it would be temporary only as long as more than one cart was inserted. I seriously doubt this will be anything of an issue at all.




Just to point something out, a friend of mine apparently damaged his Super Famicom by trying to play some problematic copy of Yoshi's Island. The game didn't boot up right, and after trying for awhile to get the game to work, his console doesn't boot games anymore. Not with any games, even ones that used to play on it. I haven't seen it in person to verify this, but this is what he told me. I'm going with the view that it can be possible to damage a console with cartridges in certain situations.

That sounds like a wives' tale. A "problematic" cartridge could mean anything, but since you said it was a Yoshi's Island cart, then I begin to suspect that perhaps there was some issue with the vcc line that caused the system to blow the fuse. Tell your friend to replace the pico fuse. 99% of "dead" SNES and Super Famicom systems just have a blown fuse.

[Tanooki]

Seems I almost stepped in a troll trap, good luck arguing against what I've already proven!

Dude just shut up, shut...up. You're the lone troll in this thread yet again trying to start shit. You seem to pop up in threads here and there since signing up and inevitable troll and act like a dick and piss people off. That's why you're getting the reaction you are in here with people telling you off or setting you to not even show up when you open your trap. Grow up already.



stardust I can't wait to see what you find out. Don't let anyone get you down just because they may prefer the Retron or something else irrationally since the device hasn't even been field tested by consumers yet. It could en dup maybe supporting less systems but being better than the Retron if you don't need the save/load state fluff and a/v filters.

[mercuryshadow09]

Dude just shut up, shut...up. You're the lone troll in this thread yet again trying to start shit. You seem to pop up in threads here and there since signing up and inevitable troll and act like a dick and piss people off. That's why you're getting the reaction you are in here with people telling you off or setting you to not even show up when you open your trap. Grow up already.



stardust I can't wait to see what you find out. Don't let anyone get you down just because they may prefer the Retron or something else irrationally since the device hasn't even been field tested by consumers yet. It could en dup maybe supporting less systems but being better than the Retron if you don't need the save/load state fluff and a/v filters.

http://www.sherv.net/cm/emoticons/bad/finger-insult-smiley-emoticon.gif (http://www.sherv.net/)

[Satoshi_Matrix]

Yeah, seriously. I give him the benefit of the doubt, I guess I'm just too nice to him giving his points validity by picking them apart.

[stardust4ever]

I don't know what's up with DasCheap claiming they have Retro-Bit's newest product because Retro-Bit hasn't even sent me one yet, and I'm bloody doing engineering legwork for them. I'm hoping they took my analysis on the Retro Gen and Super Retro Advance to integrate some better engineering on the SRT. I suppose I won't know until they send me one. Still don't know what's up with DasCheap though, claiming they have stock maybe they do and Retro-Bit's been slow to respond for some reason. Ahh the joys of small companies. Well, here's the facts. I know I placed my order from DasCheap on Thursday the 24th, with a posted release date on Friday the 25th. A package was shipped on Monday 28th, with UPS tracking number. DasCheap may be a poorly built website, and customers in the past may or may not have had trouble with it, but fact of the matter is a package is currently in transit, and unless the DasCheap people are complete scammers shipping out bricks in the mail, it is only reasonable to assume that the package contains the Retrobit Trio that I ordered. I'll do an unboxing video when I get it. Play testing will come later. There are also some resellers selling them on Amazon at a markup, so I have reason to believe that the Trio consoles aren't slowly getting out to customers.


Baldwin Park, CA, United States 04/29/2014 1:28 A.M. Departure Scan
Baldwin Park, CA, United States 04/28/2014 5:25 P.M. The shipment has been dropped off and is now at a UPS Retail Location.
04/28/2014 5:19 P.M. Pickup Scan

[Tanooki]

Thanks for proving my point. I take it the huge douche cartoon is an animated image of yourself as the personality fits the posting. Good luck trolling, you're off the radar now.


Stardust looking forward not to a lame unboxing, but really curious to see how that thing performs.

[The Dord]

I just hope Retron 5 works well. Could be a little bit cheaper though as the $140 price is a bit high for me honestly.

[stardust4ever]

http://www.sherv.net/cm/emoticons/bad/finger-insult-smiley-emoticon.gif (http://www.sherv.net/)
Did you just change your username again?

[BricatSegaFan]

Whoa what just happened here

[stardust4ever]

Whoa what just happened hereA troll with a Pacman avatar joined the thread.:popcorn:

[Gameguy]

That sounds like a wives' tale. A "problematic" cartridge could mean anything, but since you said it was a Yoshi's Island cart, then I begin to suspect that perhaps there was some issue with the vcc line that caused the system to blow the fuse. Tell your friend to replace the pico fuse. 99% of "dead" SNES and Super Famicom systems just have a blown fuse.
Console still powers on. It just displays a black screen. At least from what he told me.

[stardust4ever]

You are receiving this e-mail because you pre-ordered a RetroN5. Please read this e-mail to completion.



When is this dang thing coming out? Did I hear something about a price increase?



Currently Hyperkin expects the first shipment of RetroN5 to arrive mid to late May. However as some of you may have already heard Hyperkin is raising the MSRP from $99.99 to $139.99. Due to this significant increase in price we will require an additional payment of $40.00 before we can fill your pre-order. We have talked to Hyperkin about this trying to work out a compromise. Unfortunately Hyperkin will not lower the price, however we came to an agreement to that all pre-orders will receive an additional wireless controller with their order (normally $39.99). A long with this we will personally be giving $15.00 Gift Certificates with all pre-orders.



We will not be requesting the extra payment until the RetroN5 are on a palette and headed to our facility. However, obviously, your order will not ship until the additional payment is received. You will receive an e-mail when we are ready for additional payment. This e-mail will contain instructions on how to make this payment.



Cancellations and Refunds



If you would like to cancel your pre-order we completely understand. If you would like to cancel your pre-order for a full refund please reply to this e-mail with the pre-order order number or the e-mail address you use with the order. Due to the significant amount of time that has passed we are limited on how we can refund you. If you paid with PayPal we can send you a PayPal payment for the total of your order or we can issue store credit. If you used a Credit Card and are in the U.S. we can either mail you a check, send payment to a PayPal account, or issue store credit. If you used a Credit Card and are in not in the U.S. we can either send the refund to a PayPal account or issue store credit. Please let us know which method you prefer when requesting the cancellation.



One thing Hyperkin did make clear to us is that they will have a limited amount available for a while due to fulfillment of all the pre-orders that were taken. If you truly want the RetroN5 your best bet of getting one in the near future is keeping your pre-order. If you do not plan on cancelling your pre-order there is no need to reply to this e-mail.



In closing…



Please understand that this price increase was not a decision by us. We expressed our disappointment with Hyperkin’s handling of the RetroN5 to this point. They were apologetic about the situation and did work with us a bit to get pre-order customers the extra controller. They also assured us that the price increase was done because the hardware was changed to allowed increased compatibility, which significantly increased production costs. We do thank you for your patience and understanding regarding this situation and hope it has not soured you on future business with Stone Age Gamer.



Sincerely,

Ryan Cross

President

Stone Age Gamer LLC
Disheartening to say the least but a free controller and a $15 voucher for $40 isn't that bad.

[Satoshi_Matrix]

A troll with a Pacman avatar joined the thread.:popcorn:

dude. Seriously. What's with you?

[stardust4ever]

dude. Seriously. What's with you?I'm not the one who started it. At least half my posts had something intelligent to add.

On second thought, if you see a post that's not intelligent, don't respond at all? I need to follow my own advice on that one, but it's soooo temping sometimes...
:monkey:

[Atarileaf]

Feel bad that SAG gets caught in the middle of this.

[stardust4ever]

Feel bad that SAG gets caught in the middle of this.
Hyperkin fails to deliver. I still feel if they should honor the Amazon preorders they should honor everyone.

[Zap!]

Hyperkin fails to deliver. I still feel if they should honor the Amazon preorders they should honor everyone.

I'm pretty sure they have no choice with Amazon.

[Tanooki]

Hyperkin could be forced to honor all preorders with a collective effort from online retailers. If the pool of them getting stock refuse to sell the things unless the prices, and also threaten to pull other Hyperkin product as well that would stop them in their tracks. If they lose most their source of income through online brokers of their goods who will then just peddle Yobo and Retrobit, they're screwed.

[Satoshi_Matrix]

Yeah, Hyperkin has managed to situate themselves in one of those damned if they do damned if they don't situations.

I thought at first Retro-Bit staying relatively quiet while Hyperkin continued to build up their hype for their clone system was due to them not wanting to draw a lot of unwanted comparison attention to their hardware clone vs Hyperkin's HDMI emulation box, but it seems that staying quiet while hyperkin shoots themselves in the foot and has to run damage control has been a wonderful PR move for Retro-Bit, as this is the kind of thing that they just wouldn't do.

I still maintain that the two product lines are too different to directly compare, as the Retron5 will be more similar to the Ouya than it will SRT, but even so, you gotta tip your hat to Retro-Bit for their calm and collected approach rather than Hyperkin's mishandling of the Retron5 thus far.

[Tanooki]

They're digging themselves even deeper, check facebook. Now they have another excuse video up there, not really addressing again the problems. No apologies, no real reasons for the price increase or delays. Just more spin enough to make you think they need to take up jobs working in the 2016 presidential cycle for flinging pro grade bullshit that only looks great until you pick it apart and it's just making for even more angry thought out replies to it. I mean at some point you just need to shut up or nut up and get over it. Admit you were wrong, screwed with the price, lied about dates and the rest and put a date out and stick to it, or shut up and just release it and stop flapping your gums for any reason at all making things worse.

[Satoshi_Matrix]

First, let me get this streight: I'm not defending Hyperkin's mistakes. All I'm doing here is pointing out the facts here.

All of this stuff is bad PR for them, but it's unfair to label them liars or put the blame for all this squarely on them.

First off, it's extremely likely the manufacturing delays are completely out of their control as that's handed by a third party in China.

Then that guy mentioned that the [preorder] demand has exceeded what they estimated. Since they want a unified global release (this is a good idea) they are delaying what could be a US only launch right now for a few weeks until they have the volume to do their worldwide launch. Yeah, this pisses off the Americans. but I think ultimately it makes more sense than doing a staggered release.

Production costs increased after the design was altered with that controller cradle and Power Base converter design support. The system is now larger than it was before, also they've talked about the OS being more complex with additional features. The price increase sucks, but whatever the retail price will be is what the price is; any prior price announced was a premature MSRP - which in case you forget, means manufacturer's suggested retail price. Hyperkin is not the manufacturer. The company in China (probably Shenzhen Qi Sheng Long Industralist) is, and it's probably them that is setting the increased price.

[stardust4ever]

Damn you Hyperkin and your steaming piles of lies. Tell us the truth for once. My Super Retro Trio can't get here fast enough. UPS seemes to be running at tortoise speed getting my package delivered.

[dgdgagdae]

The price increase sucks, but whatever the retail price will be is what the price is; any prior price announced was a premature MSRP - which in case you forget, means manufacturer's suggested retail price. Hyperkin is not the manufacturer. The company in China (probably Shenzhen Qi Sheng Long Industralist) is, and it's probably them that is setting the increased price.

So some guy on an assembly line in Mexico decides how much my next car costs? I don't think you know what MSRP really is, literal meaning of the words aside.

[Satoshi_Matrix]

Damn you Hyperkin and your steaming piles of lies.

wow. you are completely oblivious, and after I just friggin explained the facts. you remind me of that guy who asked if the RetroDuo Portable plays SNES games.



So some guy on an assembly line in Mexico decides how much...

China, not Mexico. and not some guy. an increased MSRP would be the result of a board meeting upon further review of revisions set forth by Hyperkin to offset increased production costs. Hyperkin would have to agree to it of course, but the lionshare of it isn't their decision.

[Leo_A]

It's Hyperkin that decides upon the MSRP of this product. Obviously outside costs play a significant role in determining what their MSRP will be set at such as manufacturing expenses with the Chinese factory that's assembling these. But you made it sound as if their contract manufacturer is solely responsible for determining the MSRP of this product instead of Hyperkin.

And that just isn't so as his analogy about the factory workers on an auto assembly line being the ones that set the MSRP for an automobile was supposed to illustrate the fallacy with your statement. The factory making these has no direct say in what the MSRP of this product will be. What you're suggesting is akin to claiming that the general contractor for a developer is the individual that decides what prices the homes are going to be sold for...

The ball is solely in Hyperkin's court since it's their product.

[Satoshi_Matrix]

well, I should clarify what I'm saying.

Hyperkin and their manufacturer would have set the $99 price based on a certain profit margin. Then, when the design changed and production costs rose, the manufacturer told them they would have to raise the price to achieve their previous profit margin. In theory, Hyperkin could lower the profit margin, but have instead decided to roll with it, using the justification that the delays have allowed them to make a more feature-rich console than their original plans were for.

and you know what? It makes total sense. What incentive is there for Hyperkin to lower the profit margin and take a hit on every console sold at $99? Hyperkin is selling a machine that plays games that come from the secondary market. Once the system is sold, that's it for them, they make no other profit, except for I guess in additional wireless controllers, but those sales would be only a fraction of the sales of the actual units as many people will prefer to use original controllers instead.

As well as that, let's be honest here. Forget all this bad PR and assume that the RetroN5 launches in ideal conditions. The ultimate system sales will be a tiny, tiny drop in the bucket of the total gaming market out there. Retro gamers are a minority of the much larger number of modern gamers to begin with. Then factor in this thing is for retro gamers who want to play their retro games on an HDTV, and you've got a minority of a minority. Consider that even sales of the Ouya - a system with a much broader appeal and is sold in big box stores whereas the RetroN5 will not - even sales of the Ouya are poor.

The more you think about it, Hyperkin's choice is really the only logically one, as unfortunate as that sounds. Success or failure, compared to the big picture, it won't matter.

[Gameguy]

I thought most people aren't necessarily upset with the price increase for the console, but for increasing the price on consoles that have already been paid for.

Maybe I'm just missing the point of preordering anything if there's no real benefits for the consumer. True that they'll be getting an extra controller, but that's only because Stone Age Gamer negotiated that for their own customers. At least that's what I'm getting from what I've read here.

[Tanooki]

I think it's both groups. A clone system rolling over the $100 mark is distasteful to a good many people as in the end, it's still a knockoff, even if it has perks since it just a ROM dumping emulator. Then yes those who have the preorders being dishonored or are friends of those who are in that boat are rightfully pissed off.

The thing is in this case Hyperkin should have NEVER done a preorder for a cash amount let alone put one out there as that would have put no gas to the fire other than the damned delays which also would have been cured not throwing dates around ignorantly. People can bitch and moan, but they're not entitled to a date or price until it's really really in the box and in their hands ready to ship out to distributors. Furthermore, they brought this shit also on themselves with the $40 price increase putting a design mod to it for a lame tray and molding to fit a SMS power base converter which was entirely unnecessary, maybe they did make the OS more complex or it's an excuse and most will never know.

In the end they did it to themselves and with those informed online they'll cancel, buy one when the price drops or used ones hit the market, or just eat it anyway.

[stardust4ever]

wow. you are completely oblivious, and after I just friggin explained the facts. you remind me of that guy who asked if the RetroDuo Portable plays SNES games. Stop playing me out to be a fool. I'm well aware of what consoles the Retron5 can and cannot play. You are essentially comparing me to the village idiot, something which I am not. My gaming knowledge may not be as vast as yours, and I wholly respect your blog, but please everyone is emtitled to an opinion, even you. Lay off the insults, 'kay?

[stardust4ever]

I think it's both groups. A clone system rolling over the $100 mark is distasteful to a good many people as in the end, it's still a knockoff, even if it has perks since it just a ROM dumping emulator. Then yes those who have the preorders being dishonored or are friends of those who are in that boat are rightfully pissed off.I wouldn't be too quick to judge the Retron5 as a knockoff. Based on the features presented, Hyperkin really seem hell bent on releasing a quality product. No cheap clone chips like the Retron3, and it's loaded with powerful features that target directly core gamers, not just casuals. The casuals will buy the console and won't discover features like save states, cheats, etc, until they begin to explore the interface. The hardcore players will buy the console solely for the gameplay enhancements.

In every tech industry, it is well known that quality cost money, and consumers are aware of this rule. Hyperkin wanted to release a quality product compared to the junk they've peddled in the past, and for this I commend them. However, I believe the small company has bit off more than they can chew with the Retron5, and their marketing PR has been one fiasco after another. The price increase indicates and upgrade from "cheap junk" to enthusiast product.

Compare the Retron3 to a cheap Walmart boombox and the Retron5 to a hifi stereo system. Only difference here is the makers of hifi AV components generally do not also manufacture bottom-of-the-barrel radios, and visa versa. Yet this is what Hyperkin is doing. They are making the transition from low-grade clone hardware to a high tech fully featured retro gaming box, and enevitably they experienced growing pains as a result.

I hope they survive. People will buy their Retron5. I for one have not cancelled my preorder dispite the price hike, but how many causuals will see the Retron5 on the shelf next to a Super Retro Tri, and simply buy the Trio because it's half as expensive? The Trio is also solid and it appers not to have the sound issues many past clones have. Just saying, $140 is a tough pill for casuals to swallow. Hopefully enough hardcores will buy the system regardless due to the enhanced features to make Retron5 a success.

[StoneAgeGamer]

I think it's both groups. A clone system rolling over the $100 mark is distasteful to a good many people as in the end, it's still a knockoff, even if it has perks since it just a ROM dumping emulator.

I obviously am not very happy with the price change due the the fact that I took people's money a long time ago and now have to go back and ask for more. However when I first heard about this project I expected it to be in the $130 - $150 range and was honestly disappointed when I heard it was $99.99. Not because I want people to have to pay more, but because I thought at $100 it build quality would be poor and its profit margin would be terrible. I was correct on the latter. The profit margin at $99.99 for retailers was absolutely terrible and would have allowed for almost zero flexibility in the pricing. Some smaller retailers were even saying that would have to charge over MSRP for it to be worth their while to carry the product. Just to be clear, not just the MSRP was raised. The wholesale price was as well.

I am not happy with how Hyperkin handled most of this and if you saw some of my correspondence with them its very obvious. However most of what they did was more of a case of underestimating. I don't think anything Hyperkin has done regarding the RetroN5 was done to purposely screw anyone over. The unfortunate side effect is that their poor planning has lead to people feeling that way. I have had to deal with this myself on a smaller scale. When I decided to take pre-orders for the SD2SNES Deluxe Edition I thought since the price was so high that there would really be little interest. So I only put 35 pre-orders up. Well unfortunately when the pre-order was finally listed there were so many trying to place orders at the same time is crashed the site. All 35 pre-orders sold in less than 5 minutes, but with the site crashing many people who probably go there before others didn't get to place their orders. We had angry people on our FaceBook page, some personally insulting me. I felt like a chump.

I am not defending all of Hyperkin's decisions, but at the original price point it would have really forced out many of the smaller retailers. I know some people think charging over $100 for a "clone" is crazy. I personally disagree. I have always said I felt there was a market for a higher-end clone assuming its build quality, feature set, and compatibility justified the price point. Obviously some of this still needs to be seen and that's just my opinion of course. Only time will tell.

[Satoshi_Matrix]

thank you for being another voice of reason. It's been lonely here by myself.

[BlastProcessing402]

I am not a teen. I was a senior in high school when Columbine happened. Terrible. I was like "what if it happened in my school and if it had been my classmates killed?" It was unheard of then, now it's every few months we hear news of people getting shot up in mass shootings.

That's a function of media hysteria and the 24hr news cycle than any actual epidemic. School shootings are actually down, you just hear about them a lot more.

[stardust4ever]

I obviously am not very happy with the price change due the the fact that I took people's money a long time ago and now have to go back and ask for more. However when I first heard about this project I expected it to be in the $130 - $150 range and was honestly disappointed when I heard it was $99.99. Not because I want people to have to pay more, but because I thought at $100 it build quality would be poor and its profit margin would be terrible. I was correct on the latter. The profit margin at $99.99 for retailers was absolutely terrible and would have allowed for almost zero flexibility in the pricing. Some smaller retailers were even saying that would have to charge over MSRP for it to be worth their while to carry the product. Just to be clear, not just the MSRP was raised. The wholesale price was as well.

I am not happy with how Hyperkin handled most of this and if you saw some of my correspondence with them its very obvious. However most of what they did was more of a case of underestimating. I don't think anything Hyperkin has done regarding the RetroN5 was done to purposely screw anyone over. The unfortunate side effect is that their poor planning has lead to people feeling that way. I have had to deal with this myself on a smaller scale. When I decided to take pre-orders for the SD2SNES Deluxe Edition I thought since the price was so high that there would really be little interest. So I only put 35 pre-orders up. Well unfortunately when the pre-order was finally listed there were so many trying to place orders at the same time is crashed the site. All 35 pre-orders sold in less than 5 minutes, but with the site crashing many people who probably go there before others didn't get to place their orders. We had angry people on our FaceBook page, some personally insulting me. I felt like a chump.

I am not defending all of Hyperkin's decisions, but at the original price point it would have really forced out many of the smaller retailers. I know some people think charging over $100 for a "clone" is crazy. I personally disagree. I have always said I felt there was a market for a higher-end clone assuming its build quality, feature set, and compatibility justified the price point. Obviously some of this still needs to be seen and that's just my opinion of course. Only time will tell.
Well sad!:cheers:

[stardust4ever]

That's a function of media hysteria and the 24hr news cycle than any actual epidemic. School shootings are actually down, you just hear about them a lot more.Obviously you haven't seen the statistics. Overall violent crime is down slightly, but mass shootings have actually had a dramatic increase over the past five or so years. All mass shootings will create a media circus whether the perp survives the aftermath or not. Mass shootings are far more common now than 15 years ago. A deranged FedEx employee just opened fire on 6 coworkers with a firearm last week as the most recent event.

[JSoup]

Obviously you haven't seen the statistics. Overall violent crime is down slightly, but mass shootings have actually had a dramatic increase over the past five or so years. All mass shootings will create a media circus whether the perp survives the aftermath or not. Mass shootings are far more common now than 15 years ago. A deranged FedEx employee just opened fire on 6 coworkers with a firearm last week as the most recent event.

I'm wondering when the other bubble will burst. For the life of me, I can't find it off hand, but there was a study posted a few years back on disciplinary statistics across American school districts that stumbled upon something that should seem obvious but apparently few had figured out: Massive school violence stops further violence at the same school dead for a period of time. Columbine High experienced a tad over a full decade of really damn low bullying instances (or at least reported ones, can't catch everyone) due to all the staff being on high alert to such things. Other campuses that have had shootings apparently show the same trend.

It's probably all sensationalist crap, but still pretty interesting.

[stardust4ever]

I'm wondering when the other bubble will burst. For the life of me, I can't find it off hand, but there was a study posted a few years back on disciplinary statistics across American school districts that stumbled upon something that should seem obvious but apparently few had figured out: Massive school violence stops further violence at the same school dead for a period of time. Columbine High experienced a tad over a full decade of really damn low bullying instances (or at least reported ones, can't catch everyone) due to all the staff being on high alert to such things. Other campuses that have had shootings apparently show the same trend.

It's probably all sensationalist crap, but still pretty interesting.
It was known that many of these people who "snapped" were long time victims of bullying. Bullying is no laughing matter. I was relentlessly bullied as a child, but I never completely snapped, instead bottling it up inside of me. My teenage years were hell because of that baggage. My parents finally shipped me off to boarding school for four years during high school, fearing for my own safety. After students, many of whom had bullied the individual who finally "snapped", opened their eyes in the wake of disaster and saw the devistation it had caused, it is no wonder how the incidence of bullying dramatically decreased in localities which were victims to mass attacks.

Modern day schools are now conducting anti-bullying campaigns, teaching students to stand up for their peers when they see bullying take place. Peer pressure is a powerful force. If enough students stand up and say, "Hey man, that's not cool," instead of turning a blind eye lest they become the next "target," the bully syndrome will be stopped in it's tracks. In the future, lower incidences of bullying may very well mean less students and other people lashing out against the system and the very people, "that drove me to do it".

[Tanooki]

*SNIP* (for space)
I totally get and understand your position quite well. Long ago and spottily since I've work in gaming both on the game end, and the media too. I know how screwed over the middleman like yourself gets. You're basically the publics bitch and bitchingpost for other peoples mistakes much like how people say 'fuck these gas prices' and drive off with a tank of gas because they blame the dude making 3 cents a gallon, not the oil company as they're the point of service. But as you said, it's impression. Regardless if they fouled up underestimating price, blew it up more with the design changes(tray/adapter space), or whatever else, they never addressed it in a positive and mature way and still have not. Instead each rep has a different price point, a different fuzzy date of arrival, dumping on emulators (when theirs is just that), sticking consumers and retailers holding the bag on the 'apparent' 40% price increase, and so on. Had they just clammed up, said no price, no date, and just teased it a little more as time went along closing to release and dropped the price bomb maybe a month or two prior to knowing they could ship stuff out as it was already here from China, they'd be looking like saints compared to now.

Personally I was super interested in it before the drama and price increase, but at this rate I'm taking a back seat on it until I see a lot more action from buyers and then I'll decide if the added $40 is worth my time, or wait for random amazon.com price fixing reductions or a used one on ebay/nintendoage/here. I think the tools it has within have a lot of merit, it's largely attractive to me with a 2 year old running around as I can't finish games with no passwords/saves anymore worth a damn and it would be nice not to dump around with ROMs (as I have this already on my nexus7 with a moga pro.) I'm sorry how you got blasted over this and the SD2SNES, as I also thought at the time (and still kind of do) that the price on that thing is insane compared to the everdrive and power pak, but I get it does handle more and will do more as they roll out firmware upgrades.



Stardust, preaching old news to the choir as I know the feature set. Me calling it a knockoff is due to it being an emulator, likely pulled from an existing source per machine (fceux, snes9xex, kega fusion, etc perhaps?) I know from personally watching it the Retron3 is a hot turd, and instills no confidence in their NES line of product at all. That's why the SupaBoy stunned me how well that thing (v2 that is) actually works so much I bought it. I think the $140 isn't just a for casuals hard pill to chomp down on, but also those on a thinner budget too. I sell my collection bits I've lost interest in to get new stuff, and the few things I still rarely can find to flip as well with games/vintage toys, but for me to have $140+tax lying around isn't that easy, trickier than $100 which I had been holding initially from both Christmas and B'day(march) money and then after all the garbage I used it.


Why is this devolving into a school violence bullying thread? I'm all for it, but that needs to be in the general board.

[stardust4ever]

Stardust, preaching old news to the choir as I know the feature set. Me calling it a knockoff is due to it being an emulator, likely pulled from an existing source per machine (fceux, snes9xex, kega fusion, etc perhaps?) I know from personally watching it the Retron3 is a hot turd, and instills no confidence in their NES line of product at all. That's why the SupaBoy stunned me how well that thing (v2 that is) actually works so much I bought it. I think the $140 isn't just a for casuals hard pill to chomp down on, but also those on a thinner budget too. I sell my collection bits I've lost interest in to get new stuff, and the few things I still rarely can find to flip as well with games/vintage toys, but for me to have $140+tax lying around isn't that easy, trickier than $100 which I had been holding initially from both Christmas and B'day(march) money and then after all the garbage I used it.Yeah the price increase is a pain, but seeing the advanced feature set Hyperkin is stuffing it with, it seems like a quality product provided it doesn't crash and burn or have other glaring flaws. The Retrobit Trio also seems to be using much higher quality SOACs than usual, with less audio and other issues. If you just want a quality clone without all the pizzaz the Retron5 sports, but not Chinese junk like the Retron3, the Trio may be a good shot. I plan on getting both.


Why is this devolving into a school violence bullying thread? I'm all for it, but that needs to be in the general board.Topics tend to wander when you've got dozens of watchers on a thread and there's no new information to discuss. A certain user with a Pacman Avatar brought up Columbine as a reason for the decline of lightguns, after which the topic delved into mass shootings, bullying, etc. Even had Satoshi Matrix, whom I have great respect for, strike down a couple of my on-topic posts as uninformed and senseless resulting in some much unneeded back and forth banter. Whatever, no need to lick old wounds. Having adult ADHD, it requires a lot of restraint not to reply to off-topic rants. Jsoup replied to a previous post on the subject a page or so back with and I responded.

[Tanooki]

I wasn't exactly looking for a play by play to that question as much as trying to drive it back on topic. ;)

The supposed 'best' clone out there I hear some say for SNES on a chip tech would be the Poke Fami DX latest revision of it. I have no real idea why, but I'm not sure I've found a video covering that one. I found one, but it pissed and moaned how stuff even the supaboy can run were sketchy.

[stardust4ever]

I wasn't exactly looking for a play by play to that question as much as trying to drive it back on topic. ;)

The supposed 'best' clone out there I hear some say for SNES on a chip tech would be the Poke Fami DX latest revision of it. I have no real idea why, but I'm not sure I've found a video covering that one. I found one, but it pissed and moaned how stuff even the supaboy can run were sketchy.

If it weren't Chinese engineers solely responsible for the R&D on these chips, I believe a flawless 100% compatible SOAC would be possible for each console. Put a team of US or even German engineers on it. Not just NES, SNES and Genesis, but SMS, 7800/2600, Coleco, Commodore, TG-16, GB/C, GBA, Neo Geo, and others. N64 has too fast CPU and too much RAM currently, but someday, it too, can be reproed. Add a cheap laptop PATA or SATA CD-ROM drive into the equation, and you've got a whole host of other systems, Turbo CD, Sega CD, Saturn, Dreamcast, Playstation, all with the benefit of not needing a plethora or cart slots. Even better an all-in-one mega system with 8 or 9 different cart slots and a CD drive using an FPGA solution with HDMI output.

[Zap!]

Obviously you haven't seen the statistics. Overall violent crime is down slightly, but mass shootings have actually had a dramatic increase over the past five or so years. All mass shootings will create a media circus whether the perp survives the aftermath or not. Mass shootings are far more common now than 15 years ago. A deranged FedEx employee just opened fire on 6 coworkers with a firearm last week as the most recent event.

Mass shootings are certainly down from the 30's. I heard a stat recently that said said they were, and at first you say "yeah right" but if you think about it, it makes sense. There were so many "St. Valentines Day" type mob shootings that are almost nonexistent compared to today.

Now, are they down from the the 90's? No idea, but one of the biggest ones ever was at a McDonald's in the 80's. I think they are about the same, but could be wrong.

[Satoshi_Matrix]

man, Digitalpress has really gone downhill with the lack of moderating. Can we please move this crap to off topic/general discussion? This has nothing to do with the RetroN5.

[JSoup]

man, Digitalpress has really gone downhill with the lack of moderating. Can we please move this crap to off topic/general discussion? This has nothing to do with the RetroN5.

I don't think a lite side discussion is anything to get your panties in a bunch about. The fact that we can have the odd tangent without a bunch of people responding with pitchforks and chants of "Burn the off-topicers!" is one of the better things about this forum.

[Tanooki]

Very true and also no attacks over things being less than 100% pure too. People here put the games and the discussion of such things whatever the format first and take it a little less seriously enough you can derail into other stuff without causing a small putsch in the process. :D

[stardust4ever]

Nothing wrong with a little off-topic banter.

*sigh*

UPS apparently dropped the ball again. Destination scan at 6:46am this morning in my home town. Apparently, it wasn't out for delivery or I'd have gotten it by now. It's past 7pm and all the trucks have likely gone back to the warehouse. Now it seems I've got to wait 'till Monday to get my Super Retro Trio. :sob:


Shreveport, LA, United States 05/02/2014 6:46 A.M. Destination Scan
05/02/2014 5:23 A.M. Arrival Scan
Jackson, MS, United States 05/02/2014 1:50 A.M. Departure Scan
Jackson, MS, United States 05/01/2014 11:29 P.M. Arrival Scan
Memphis, TN, United States 05/01/2014 7:46 P.M. Departure Scan
05/01/2014 10:34 A.M. Arrival Scan
Baldwin Park, CA, United States 04/29/2014 1:28 A.M. Departure Scan
Baldwin Park, CA, United States 04/28/2014 5:25 P.M. The shipment has been dropped off and is now at a UPS Retail Location.
04/28/2014 5:19 P.M. Pickup Scan

[Tanooki]

Yeah it's like around I think between 6-8(can't remember exactly) they stop doing later deliveries and given the time it was last scanned that's just screwy it didn't show up.

[Satoshi_Matrix]

I''m not trying to be an off topic nazi here, just that we've had three pages filled with shootings talk on. isn't it time to get back on topic?

but yeah, it's ironic - in a way, this entire thread is off topic. Go back and look at page 1. Originally, this topic was the impressions of a guy who looked at the Retron5 prototype and then had to [remove] his statements. Then we all took over the thread and it became the successor to the old Retron5 is a thing apparently thread.

[stardust4ever]

My super Retro Trio arrived, yay! Youtube video is currently uploading. DSL is slow as crap, sans any errors, my unboxing and Super Mario / Duck Hunt playtest video will be live in a few hours.

Came with a couple awesome retro stickers, and the duty cycles are not messed up!
:band:

Video link (pending successful upload):
http://youtu.be/Ll3LSMe1yUU

[Satoshi_Matrix]

According to one of my contacts, the NOAC is the same one that Retro-Bit has been using for the past several years. No MMC4 and MMC5 support, occasional MMC1 hiccups, oversaturation and poor DCPM samples.

I won't be able to confirm until I get it and throw it through a battery of tests, but if I have no reason to doubt my contact. So nothing's different there it seems, which sucks. If I were to guess, The SRT probably uses the same chipset in the standalone RetroPort Adapter combined with the Gen-X or even the RetroN3 v4. Speculation until my review unit arrives in a few days. and get a good look at the motherboard, unless someone else wants to tear it open and send me some detailed photos of the motherboard. only then can i start to confirm/deny and look for possible fixes and improvements. I'm also curious what GOAC it's got going on.

[stardust4ever]

Really crappy unboxing Video is live.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ll3LSMe1yUU

I can confirm the NES duty cycles are not effed up like with the older Yobo clones. That seems to be the biggest obstacle preventing me from enjoying my games.

I opened it up and took a snapshot. Each cart slot has it's own daughterboard and the SNES and Genesis sides are stuffed with chips. I'm assuming the NES glop-top is on the reverse side. I didn't want to disassemble further to avoid damage.
7466
EDIT: Digitpress ruined the image by overcompressing it. There is a larger version here:
http://nintendoagemedia.com/_usermedia/attachments/82B2E98E-D392-AE6D-AFDEEB0BDDFE0CDD.png

[Tanooki]

I''m not trying to be an off topic nazi here, just that we've had three pages filled with shootings talk on. isn't it time to get back on topic?

but yeah, it's ironic - in a way, this entire thread is off topic. Go back and look at page 1. Originally, this topic was the impressions of a guy who looked at the Retron5 prototype and then had to [remove] his statements. Then we all took over the thread and it became the successor to the old Retron5 is a thing apparently thread.

True enough and started at the very early days of the year, and since then Hyperkin has pissed off most of it's online base that wanted or did preorder into buying this thing so it's not a large shock the thread went from curiosity and positivity to pitch forks and lynch mob postings along with going to talk about other stuff and competitor hardware that hasn't flipped the base the bird.

Seems stardust is on the right track to figuring this thing out as it really has me curious, but I won't be buying it for certain as it offers none of the perks the hyperkin unit has since I already have the hardware (or adapter for famicom) already.

It's just SMB but the sound effects aren't hosed up so that's a plus so far for the audio, and what I can tell from the video the colors seem to represent alright too.

[Satoshi_Matrix]

thanks for the photo statdust. Can't read everything due to lensflare, but the second link is high enough resolution to make out that the Genesis daughterboard uses a TCT 6801. This means I really was right when I speculated the SRT is just a consolidated Gen-X and Retro Port, and the SNES side is probably the same as the Retro Duo 3.0 or possibly the RetroN-3 4.0.

Still need to confirm on monday or whenever Retro-Bit's package arrives (I live in Canada, so shipping delays) but it seems that this clone isn't going to be quite as exciting as I had hoped. large portions seem to be recycled.

[stardust4ever]

thanks for the photo statdust.The original pic is 4000x3000, about 5 Mb, but it's too big to upload so I reduced it to 1600. My Flickr account dosen't allow viewing full res although it lets you can upload the original high res photos. I bought the system to use it so I'm not going to unscrew the PCBs to show the backsides as I run the risk of damage to the wires connecting them.

Looking back I made a few errors in the video. The unboxing has to be done in one take, not the playtesting, but I'm lazy in the video editing department. I should have stopped the camera after the unbox then set up the equipment instead of let the camera roll the entire time. Next time, I'll use a tripod. I also have some SD capture hardware I can use to capture output. I may to a side by side comparison of NES, Yobo, and Trio using the AV capture. The reversed duty cycles on the old Yobo really make every single game sound like ass.

Also looking for an excuse to show off my arcade controller every chance I get, which is a bit buggy on real hardware and apparently doesn't work at all on my clones due to excessive power draw; should have stuck with plain old stock NES controller. The box pulls 70+ mA due to all the added digital turbo schematics in it, excessively huge for a controller, and probably has too large filter caps in it that cause a mini surge whenever I hotplug it. I used 1kohm pullup resistors instead of 10k because I had a bunch on hand, and cheaped out using NPN transistors as inverters instead of real logic chips and also used diodes instead of logic gates to combine signals. A couple 74hc00 chips would have sufficed; I have spares. I need to rebuild the circuit anyway.

[stardust4ever]

BUMP. To avoid futher derailing the thread, I am moving all future discussion of the Retro Trio to this topic:
http://www.digitpress.com/forum/showthread.php?168131-Official-Super-Retro-Trio-Review-amp-Preorder-Thread&p=1999701&viewfull=1#post1999701

Everyone update your subs...\\^_^/

[Damaramu]

I went ahead and got me an Ouya, and after a few hiccups trying to update the thing I am beyond pleased with it. The Retron 5 is reminding me of the F-35, with delays and price increases. For now, I'll just stick with the real hardware it "imitates" and the Ouya. Thanks for the recommendation on that one, Satoshi! :rocker:

[videogametrader]

Ohhhhh... I'm sad to read that. For a few reasons-lag issues being foremost- I really prefer playing retro games on a CRT. Damn. This could be a deal breaker for me.

From what I understand, the reason for HDMI only is due to the ability to play PAL games. But i could be wrong.

[Leo_A]

PAL games has nothing to do with this being HDMI only. This thing isn't outputting anything at its native video standard so even if there was such a thing as PAL signals being unable to be transmitted through some styles of cables (which I don't believe to be the case), it could simply convert it.

It's HDMI only because that's all it needs. The primary appeal of this thing is its HDTV capabilities and since HDMI is standard, it simply doesn't need anything else.

[stardust4ever]

PAL games has nothing to do with this being HDMI only. This thing isn't outputting anything at its native video standard so even if there was such a thing as PAL signals being unable to be transmitted through some styles of cables (which I don't believe to be the case), it could simply convert it.

It's HDMI only because that's all it needs. The primary appeal of this thing is its HDTV capabilities and HDMI is standard. It simply doesn't need anything else.
Most HDTVs should be able to accept a 50Hz signal over HDMI, but please don't quote me on that. My 2006 Sanyo HDTV is extremely tolerant and even accepts 50Hz refresh rates over composite if I attempt to play PAL games on my NTSC Atari (although the bottom gets chopped off, and true PAL formatted signals (ie PAL timings, not NTSC @50Hz) display in grayscale). My ASUS Monitor accepts a forced 1080p 50Hz over DVI/HDMI no problem, even though it's not officially supported via handshake.

Bear in mind few PAL games were actually optimised for PAL speeds. Those that were not optimized should run fine at 60Hz; those that were optimized (like PAL Super Mario Kart), you can run at 50Hz assuming your display supports said refresh rate. Most HDMI chipsets should accept the signal, however I would be weary of forcing a 50Hz refresh rate on NTSC TVs though. If your TV doesn't like it, you may have to find another display that displays 50Hz in order to navigate the menus and change it back. :frustrated:

[Satoshi_Matrix]

I went ahead and got me an Ouya, and after a few hiccups trying to update the thing I am beyond pleased with it. The Retron 5 is reminding me of the F-35, with delays and price increases. For now, I'll just stick with the real hardware it "imitates" and the Ouya. Thanks for the recommendation on that one, Satoshi! :rocker:

Glad to hear it. The Ouya really is the coolest thing to come out in years. There are so many reasons to buy it now. There's the emulators of course, but I can't stress enough how awesome some of the games developed for Ouya are, especially for retro gamers. There's a game on Ouya called Antichromatic that plays like a mashup of Battle Kid, Ikaruga, VVVVVV and Metroid. and it's free. It's absolutely a blast to play on the Ouya.