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Thread: RetroN5: Hands on first look

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    Quote Originally Posted by Drclaw411 View Post
    Hyperkin has announced that there will not be enough retron 5 units produced to meet day one demand.

    http://www.the-gamers-lounge.com/rya...-from-hyperkin

    They also mention that it will not be compatible with other Bluetooth controllers, but that the system can function as it's own multitap.
    Hmm, I hate to say it, but I might jump to getting an Ouya at this point. What is the general consensus on it as an emulation machine? I'll be able to use a DualShock 3 with it, right?

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    I've heard it is super solid for emulation as people ported over the best or made super solid stuff, either way it's good, and yes you can use whatever controller you want including PS3.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Akito01 View Post
    Hmm, I hate to say it, but I might jump to getting an Ouya at this point. What is the general consensus on it as an emulation machine? I'll be able to use a DualShock 3 with it, right?
    I'm really trying to stay positive on the RetroN5, but man, some of these recent reveals are astonishingly stupid.

    Anyway yes, the Ouya makes an excellent retro gaming emulation machine. The .emu emulators all support pretty much any USB or bluetooth controller.
    the .emus are:
    NES/Famicom
    SNES/SFC
    Master System/Genesis/Sega CD
    C64
    Neo Geo
    NeoGeo Pocket Color
    GameBoy/GameBoy Color
    GameBoy Advance

    All you need to do is plug in the controller you want, create a controller profile (you can name it whatever you want) and then the button mappings you want. It's a good idea to map a Menu button to one of the controls so you can switch roms, get access to savestates, and exit the emulator if needbe.

    Personally I use an SNES to USB adapter and use an OEM SNES controller to play pretty much everything listed above.

    There's other emulators too for PS1 and N64 and such, but they aren't compatible with everything as of right now.

    The thing about the Ouya is that don't discard/package away the default controller it comes with, as you'll need it to navigate menus and such from time to time as some software won't even recognize other controllers for system menu navigation.

    I love the Ouya for emulation.
    Last edited by Satoshi_Matrix; 01-28-2014 at 03:41 PM.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Akito01 View Post
    ... I might jump to getting an Ouya at this point. What is the general consensus on it as an emulation machine?
    Quote Originally Posted by Satoshi_Matrix View Post
    I love the Ouya for emulation.
    Yeah, man. The Ouya simply rocks for emulation. Three other notable systems, by the way, that the Ouya emulates that Satoshi left off his list above are the Atari 2600, Turbografx-16 (w/ CD game support), and MAME. My only gripe with the Ouya [apart from a weak wifi antenna and "eh" controller] is that it doesn't have AV outputs.

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    Hyperkin Paul works in a completely different department, so he does not have access to the talking Amazon robots. All RetroN 5 units sold on Amazon will be fulfilled.
    Like · 4 hours ago


    That is from hyperkin's facebook page. It still doesn't specify if the orders will be fulfilled day one, but it's probably the best we are going to get.

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    New video ...
    http://www.retrogaming.com.ar/

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    Looks good, PAL games is a huge plus. Though I'd like to see some reviews before I buy it.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Satoshi_Matrix View Post
    Looks like we're back now.

    In my experience both online, in game stores and through my journalism, I've come to realize there are multiple schools of thought when it comes to retro gaming, and I think it's important to note that they are all valid, just for different people.


    Original hardware only crowd:

    Games need to be played on the original hardware with original controllers using a CRT, for the "authentic" experience. Nothing less than that is acceptable.

    Original hardware only crowd + flashcarts crowd

    A variation of the original hardware only, they insist games still be played on the original hardware, but are willing to use flashcarts so long as they work 1:1 with the original carts.

    Clone crowd:
    They are okay with clones, and might even seek them out, and argue its the same thing since they are still playing their original carts.

    Emulation crowd:

    They believe that if a game can be emulated, then there are all kinds of advantages. Access to savestates, on the fly button remapping, video filters, and access to free games.

    Pay-for-emulation crowd:

    Are completely fine with Virtual Console/XBLA/PSN ports of older games. Argue it eliminates the need for a retro console since they could just play their old games on the system they use to play their new games.

    Remakes only:

    Refuse to play any game made before a certain threshold, usually citing ugly graphics or outdated gameplay. Phrase DuckTales Remastered, refuse to play DuckTales NES.

    There are probably more, but these are the general groups I've come across. Personally I belong to many of these to some degree and understand every angle. But no matter what, there will be some people who are squarely in one of the categories and will refuse to see it from the others. As StoneAgeGamer pointed out, some people will never understand the point of flashcarts, some will reject the Virtual Console, others say owning physical copies of games is pointless, and there will be both defenders and opponents of the RetroN5 and devices like it.

    No matter what happens, nobody will agree what's the best way to preserve the hobby.
    There's yet even a third category, and one that Retron 5 fulfils quite nicely, I hope:

    The Emulation + Original Cartridges Only Crowd

    All throughout the thread people have been asking "why not just emulation w/PC" if all you're worried about is picture quality on an HDTV? To that I answer: ROM guilt. I had been playing NES ROMs for years while slowly building a collection of actual NES cartidges. Never did I feel conflicted about spending my cash on physical copies of games I wanted when I could easily just download any game I wanted until I bought an NES Powerpak. Suddenly I could play virtually any NES game on a real NES, all one one cartridge, and suddenly I had no need to further my collection. This, to be honest, was a total drag. Not only did I begin to feel actual guilt over having ROMs on my Powerpak of games I did not own, but in one fell swoop the fun of collecting old 8-bit games had been stolen by the convenience of being able to have virtually the entire NES library on a single cart.

    My point is not to rail against the Powerpak: I still love it for its ability to play unreleased, pirate, and foreign games I might not otherwise be able to play on an actual NES. But it wasn't until I began using it to play games I always intended to add to my collection, but never did, that I realized there's a value in actually owning the games I play. Subsequent delves into emulation left the same bad feeling in my mouth; I discovered that I didn't want to trade collection for convenience. Conversely, I have no (good) CRT TVs and I'm frankly disgusted at the way the actual NES looks on my 47" LG.

    Enter the Retron 5. With it's HDMI output I get the crisp, pixel-perfect image quality I want without feeling like a dirty rotten pirate. For me it's a win-win situation. In fact, I'd wager that most of the people looking forward to this thing are in the same boat as me. Otherwise, why not just get an Ouya?

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    Quote Originally Posted by NESter View Post
    Original Hardware vs. Emulation
    I don't see it as an either/or situation. I collect and love to play cartridges on their original systems, but I also enjoy having a vast library of roms conveniently at my disposal through emulation. Apart from convenience, the different bells and whistles (save states, filters, cheats, etc.) are one of the reasons I enjoy the option of emulation, and I hope that Hyperkin keeps updating the RetroN5 with plenty of extra goodies beyond purely functional/compatibility firmware updates.

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    Quote Originally Posted by NESter View Post
    There's yet even a third category, and one that Retron 5 fulfils quite nicely, I hope:

    The Emulation + Original Cartridges Only Crowd

    That's very true, but I really wonder how successful Hyperkin will be with that. I mean, that niche is an incredibly small one in the retro gaming community. For the RetroN5 to have any sort of success at all, it'll need to open that niche up by a factor of 50.

    I'm not opposed to the idea, but even I've got the lingering question in the back of my head of "does the RetroN5 even make sense?" It's emulation that requires physical hardware to dump software. ....Or you could just use an emulator. Doesn't that make far more sense? It's not like with the RetroN5, sticking with the original carts yields the "authentic experience". You're still emulating, and have access to all the wonders of emulation.

    Since I already own an Ouya, I can already do everything that the RetorN5 will be able to do and run dozens other systems as well, plus the Ouya's multimedia features, plus the hundreds of Ouya built games, many of which are quite good.

    What do I gain by buying a RetorN5? being able to play my carts on yet another console? Then being able to sell my original NES/Famicom/SNES/Genesis/GBA hardware? I'm not going to do that, because that would be trading authentic hardware for emulation.

    The Ouya simply makes more logical and economical sense than the RetorN5. The only powerful force the RetorN5 has going for it is the bond most retro gamers feel with their rare carts they bought when their hard-earned cash. But I truly feel like that's more of a mental disorder than it is something that is real and tangible. Once you get over the fact that an external harddrive is the physical cartridge the Ouya uses that contains the exact same game, the original cart sort of loses its lofty importance.

    For now, I continue to straddle the line between physical hardware and pure emulation. I have my SNES and Famicom and other systems hooked up alongside my Ouya, but I can easily see myself converting to only the Ouya someday. It's really all that I need or want.

    I'm going to buy a RetorN5 to review it, but as you can tell from the content I just wrote, I'm very conflicted as to its very purpose.
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    Don't forget what you argued about with me a while back. You believe that the casual buyer is going to represent a significant bulk of their sales and that people like ourselves are the minority for their future customers.

    To the average guy wanting a nostalgia kick, they're not going to particularly care how playing their old cartridges is achieved. There's no significance for most of this segment in if it's emulation or hardware based. A good percentage probably couldn't even tell you just what emulation even is.

    That it's playing original cartridges is what's going to matter. Not what's going on inside.

    Quote Originally Posted by Satoshi_Matrix View Post
    I'm very conflicted as to its very purpose.
    I think that's why it's so key that it's as multipurpose as possible (As long as they don't get so busy adding features that the basic functionality suffers for it).

    The more it's capable of, the wider its appeal will be. Someone might want it to save space, someone might want it for its upscaling capabilities, someone might want it to easily expand their horizons to import gaming for some of their favorite consoles, etc. Heck, it will probably sell to a few people just for its ability to extract and later restore original cartridge saves for when they replace old batteries.

    That's the reason why I think it's unfortunate that it won't be able to load roms off SD card although I bet that's rectified down the road with a revision in the coming years. It's a significant feature that many will find appealing and it would've drawn people in and sealed the deal for others that were on the fence about purchasing this.

    The Ouya I presume takes some extra effort to get going where as this will be plug and play and with extra bells and whistles like original controller ports built in. A lot of people with a PC setup probably wonder why anyone would waste their money buying an Ouya for emulation. But that's the glory of it that it can be used for that functionality if someone wants it for that.

    That's why the more the Retron 5 is capable of, the more likely it will appeal to the classic gamer. Staying away from a rigidly and narrowly defined vision for this product is how they're going to succeed if they do. What you or I are buying this for doesn't necessarily reflect what the next person is after.
    Last edited by Leo_A; 02-12-2014 at 06:25 PM.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Satoshi_Matrix View Post
    ... I'm very conflicted as to its very purpose.
    I thought that the big selling point for the RetroN5, for hardcore and casual alike, was HDMI output- the whole "Play your old cartridges on your new tv" angle. It sure ain't the ability to play Famicom cartridges that's going to motivate casual gamers to purchase the clone.


    Quote Originally Posted by Leo_A View Post
    ...it's so key that it's as multipurpose as possible (As long as they don't get so busy adding features that the basic functionality suffers for it).

    The more it's capable of, the wider its appeal will be...

    That's the reason why I think it's unfortunate that it won't be able to load roms off SD card although I bet that's rectified down the road with a revision in the coming years. It's a significant feature that many will find appealing and it would've drawn people in and sealed the deal for others that were on the edge about purchasing this.
    Yes, yes, and YES. It is the options/extras/features/etc. or the lack thereof that will make this system a purchase or not and not having THE ability to play roms on an Android based emulator is, to me, ridiculous. Being able to pop in different cartridges just isn't enough for someone like me who already has all of the the original systems that the RetroN5 emulates. I need more. The different controller ports are the only thing, as far as I'm concerned, that the RetroN5 has over the Ouya.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Leo_A View Post
    Don't forget what you argued about with me a while back. You believe that the casual buyer is going to represent a significant bulk of their sales and that people like ourselves are the minority for their future customers.
    Yes, I did indeed say that, but your confusing the meaning behind that statement. I believe that casual insteret will make up the bulk of the sales Hyperkin gets with the RetroN5, but I'm not sure that total amount will seriously compete with the sales of the Ouya in the same crowd of mostly casual gamers.

    Quote Originally Posted by Leo_A View Post
    To the average guy wanting a nostalgia kick, they're not going to particularly care how playing their old cartridges is achieved. There's no significance for most of this segment in if it's emulation or hardware based. A good percentage probably couldn't even tell you just what emulation even is. That it's playing original cartridges is what's going to matter. Not what's going on inside.
    Yup, no argument there.


    Quote Originally Posted by Leo_A View Post
    I think that's why it's so key that it's as multipurpose as possible (As long as they don't get so busy adding features that the basic functionality suffers for it).

    The more it's capable of, the wider its appeal will be. Someone might want it to save space, someone might want it for its upscaling capabilities, someone might want it to easily expand their horizons to import gaming for some of their favorite consoles, etc. Heck, it will probably sell to a few people just for its ability to extract and later restore original cartridge saves for when they replace old batteries.
    I think you're giving Hyperkin too much credit there. This are the kinds of side effects the Retorn5 will have, but probably won't be promoted or realized by the general public.

    Well, in the interview posted in the previous thread page or so, the Hyperkin rep said that the RetorN5 in contrast to the Ouya and other devices will be narrow mindedly focused on doing only a couple things without any media center stuff. It'll pretty much just be like the RetorN3, but with a UI.


    Quote Originally Posted by Leo_A View Post
    That's the reason why I think it's unfortunate that it won't be able to load roms off SD card although I bet that's rectified down the road with a revision in the coming years. It's a significant feature that many will find appealing and it would've drawn people in and sealed the deal for others that were on the fence about purchasing this.
    My gut feeling is that Hyperkin isn't doing that because they dont want to be involved in a legal mess with anyone, namely Nintendo who has a history of going after small companies for the littlest things. They've been responsible for shutting down rom sites when Sony, Microsoft, Sega, Atari etc have not cared to bother to do so.

    I don't think direct rom loading from an SD card will ever happen. It's possible, but I don't think its very likely. That sort of defeats the purpose their going for with the whole carts are required thing.



    Quote Originally Posted by Leo_A View Post
    The Ouya I presume takes some extra effort to get going where as this will be plug and play and with extra bells and whistles like original controller ports built in. A lot of people with a PC setup probably wonder why anyone would waste their money buying an Ouya for emulation. But that's the glory of it that it can be used for that functionality if someone wants it for that.

    That's why the more the Retron 5 is capable of, the more likely it will appeal to the classic gamer. Staying away from a rigidly and narrowly defined vision for this product is how they're going to succeed if they do. What you or I are buying this for doesn't necessarily reflect what the next person is after.
    Couple of points, let me address them in the order you brought them up.

    Ouya emulator set up is pretty damn streightforward. You go on the Ouya Discover store. Look for the category "Retro". In that, there are a bunch of emulators, like NES.emu. You click download, then it downloads. Then it tells you to add your own roms which it does not provide. I suppose this might be a little tricky if you don't know how to use a computer at all, but it's not hard at all if you have a basic understanding. You go online to some site, download the roms you want, and then you can either hook the Ouya up to your pc and trasfer the roms to the Ouya as a mass storage device, FTP the files to the Ouya, or put them on a USB thumbstick and then put that in the Ouya. However you choose to do it, once its done it's easy to access and requires no lenghty up time.

    To those who would wonder why buy an Ouya for emulation, I would say two things: use of a controller, and HDTV support. I don't want to emulate on a small computer monitor using a keyboard.


    Now about that Hyperkin should extend their reach [to the stars above][&̶ ̶d̶e̶n̶o̶u̶n̶c̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶e̶v̶i̶l̶s̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶t̶r̶u̶t̶h̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶l̶o̶v̶e̶] This is Hyperkin we're talking about. They have a notoriously bad track record in case you haven't noticed. They're the company that have made revisions that introduce new problems after they fix old ones, such as the SNES side of many of their clones being mono only, have inferior NOACs to the ones that came before, unexplained dead controller ports developing suddenly, shotty soldering, awful customer service, the list goes on and on.

    I for one do not want Hyperkin to get too ambitious. In fact I think it'll be a miracle of the RetorN5 will manage to launch without major issues as it is already. Yeah, it apparently was spotted by someone at QA, but the reason the RetroN5 isn't already out is because someone discovered the cartridge ports of early units didn't in fact have all their pin connectors. Only Hyperkin could manage a blunder like that.



    Quote Originally Posted by treismac View Post
    I thought that the big selling point for the RetroN5, for hardcore and casual alike, was HDMI output- the whole "Play your old cartridges on your new tv" angle. It sure ain't the ability to play Famicom cartridges that's going to motivate casual gamers to purchase the clone.
    But that's true of the Ouya or even the WiiU. That alone won't cut it. What I meant was that I'm conflicted as to the purpose of the RetroN5 when there are better, cheaper alternatives. Maybe the RetroN5 is just going to end up being the super casual alternative tot he Ouya, for those who are so casual as to not know even how to download a rom. Pretty much like a good number of people who buy games on the Wii/WiiU Virtual Console.



    Quote Originally Posted by treismac View Post
    Yes, yes, and YES. It is the options/extras/features/etc. or the lack thereof that will make this system a purchase or not and not having THE ability to play roms on an Android based emulator is, to me, ridiculous. Being able to pop in different cartridges just isn't enough for someone like me who already has all of the the original systems that the RetroN5 emulates. I need more. The different controller ports are the only thing, as far as I'm concerned, that the RetroN5 has over the Ouya.
    But the Ouya is open source, so it can be used with ANY usb controller or controller adapter, or any bluetooth controller. That literally means with the Ouya's various emulators you can use any controller you want with any emulator you want.

    _____ to USB adapters are cheap, and bountiful. Generally speaking, I use an OEM SNES controller to play just about any of the ouya emulators - NES, SNES, Genesis, Master System, GB/GBC, GBA, DS, PSP, C64, PS1, and so on and so on. Or if I need thumbsticks, the choices again are quite limitless from a PS3 controller either wired or bluetooth or anu number of PC controllers. not to mention of course the stock Ouya controller which isn't nearly as bad as as the horror stories of the Ouya's launch would have you believe.

    I'm not some giant champion of the Ouya, I think the system has its share of faults and growing pains but I also think that it's a retro gamers dream system as its an emulation powerhouse, plus does other things like run the absolutely amazing Xbox Media Center.

    Given your attitudes in your previous posts, I would strongly recommend you consider an Ouya over the RetroN5. It sounds like you're the kind of person who would make the most of the advantages it has over whatever Hyperkin decides to do - or not.

    The $99 Ouya has 8GB internal memory, which alone is enough to house thousands of retro games without even touching any of the Ouya's own games and apps.
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    The Ouya sounds intriguing. There was too much work with things like Xbox and Wii homebrew for my taste. I like something where I just download the program and insert my own roms and that's it. No installing homebrew hacks, setting up things to FTP stuff over, worrying about Nintendo firmware updates like Wii homebrew channel fans once did, etc.

    The Ouya sounds nice, simple, and straight forward with no fuss or hassle at all. It's one reason why my MP3 players aren't Apple products. I plug it in via USB, it's seen as a mass storage device, and I copy my files over to the appropriate folder and that's it. No iTunes fuss.

    Quote Originally Posted by Satoshi_Matrix View Post
    Yes, I did indeed say that, but your confusing the meaning behind that statement. I believe that casual insteret will make up the bulk of the sales Hyperkin gets with the RetroN5, but I'm not sure that total amount will seriously compete with the sales of the Ouya in the same crowd of mostly casual gamers.
    Yeah, but you sounded concerned that the fact that it's emulation will scare people away.

    Casuals are never going to buy an Ouya, have never even heard of it, don't care about the technical details, and want something that's plug and play. When they go looking for something to revisit some childhood favorites on cartridge, the Retron 5's competition largely will be used original hardware or other clones.

    That's why, even though I'm told I'm wrong, why I think they can't count on this segment. Those people shopping around aren't interested in the details and features beyond if it plays the games that they have in mind. And when they see something cheaper like the Super Retro Trio, Hyperkin is going to be facing a tough sell since they're pushing a premium priced product where clones are concerned.

    Quote Originally Posted by Satoshi_Matrix View Post
    I think you're giving Hyperkin too much credit there. This are the kinds of side effects the Retorn5 will have, but probably won't be promoted or realized by the general public.
    I wasn't talking about the casuals though. The wide variety of specialized uses such as someone buying this to specifically easily play PAL Super Nintendo games are reasons why it's going to appeal to the crowd at a place like here. Or just plain old curiosity which appears to be the motivating factor for both of us more than anything.

    If the Ouya is a competitor at all, it's for this niche. The dedicated classic gamer looking for a reasonable option to enjoy their favorites on their modern living room tv just like the old days without dealing with tv issues that does their homework to investigate their range of options.

    Quote Originally Posted by Satoshi_Matrix View Post
    I don't think direct rom loading from an SD card will ever happen. It's possible, but I don't think its very likely. That sort of defeats the purpose their going for with the whole carts are required thing.
    It's legally not an issue. I don't think that we have any precedent with a clone with the ability to load Nintendo roms to really gauge if Nintendo is going to be the bully and bury them or not with an unwinnable case that Hyperkin can't afford to go through with despite being in the right. They don't seem to mind clones as they are. The only ones that have drawn a look from Nintendo's lawyers are those that have infringed on Nintendo trademarks and copyrights that included Nintendo software.

    Meanwhile, we have AtGames that's getting by just fine with that capability on Genesis clones. If there was any issue of litigation over something that would be perceived as enabling piracy, they'd be running the risk of getting hassled by publishers like Activision and Electronic Arts since it wouldn't just be the platform holder with a case.

    The Super Nintendo outside the name is just as much yours and mine today as it is Nintendo's. It's public domain today since all the patent protection has expired and it contains no onboard copyrighted code that's necessary for it to function that remains protected.

    Quote Originally Posted by Satoshi_Matrix View Post
    Ouya emulator set up is pretty damn streightforward. You go on the Ouya Discover store. Look for the category "Retro". In that, there are a bunch of emulators, like NES.emu. You click download, then it downloads. Then it tells you to add your own roms which it does not provide.
    That's already several more steps and more research than the average Joe is going to want to go through. The Retron 5 just needs its power supply plugged in, a HDMI connection, tune the tv to the correct input, and you're setup as soon as the battery in the controller is charged via USB.

    Those buying an Ouya for emulation largely aren't going to be the casual crowd that we're told by people like StoneAgeGamer are going to represent the bulk of Hyperkin's business with the Retron 5. That group largely will never hear about the Ouya and if they ever did research things, they're going to find a multitude of options.

    But cheap, new, readily available hardware that plays your original cartridges on the other hand, the pool of competitors is much smaller.

    Quote Originally Posted by Satoshi_Matrix View Post
    This is Hyperkin we're talking about.
    I've been taking the high road. My statements are under the assumption that they're going to do a halfway decent job of delivering.

    I've expressed a ton of skepticism about this product here in the past. It's plainly evident that not only are the cards stacked against it from the get go but that the company doesn't have a reputation at all for quality. So don't get me wrong, I'm expecting this to be a disappointment in the end.

    What the Retron 5 is most likely of accomplishing is being the first step towards a new wave of clones that potentially will reproduce the systems they're modeling to a much greater degree than we've grown accustomed in the past with NOAC's and such that are too expensive to redesign and improve.

    Software based means that clone manufacturers have something to work with to reasonably tackle issues with future revisions. So I see this more as a stepping stone rather than something that's likely to take up a long term presence in our living rooms and game rooms.
    Last edited by Leo_A; 02-13-2014 at 05:56 AM.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Satoshi_Matrix View Post
    That's very true, but I really wonder how successful Hyperkin will be with that. I mean, that niche is an incredibly small one in the retro gaming community. For the RetroN5 to have any sort of success at all, it'll need to open that niche up by a factor of 50.

    I'm not opposed to the idea, but even I've got the lingering question in the back of my head of "does the RetroN5 even make sense?" It's emulation that requires physical hardware to dump software. ....Or you could just use an emulator. Doesn't that make far more sense? It's not like with the RetroN5, sticking with the original carts yields the "authentic experience". You're still emulating, and have access to all the wonders of emulation.
    I know it sounds incredibly illogical, but to me, there is something missing in the emulation experience. For years I would play NES games almost exclusively with Nestopia or FCEUX, but I suddenly became very nostalgic for the experience of using actual cartridges with original, non-USB controllers. Same with SNES and Genesis. So I look forward to have a multi-console-in-1 solution that allows me to have the authentic, physical experience, with an image clarity suitable for HDTV, even if the sound ends up being a bit off.

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    Huh, suddenly the Ouya looks very tempting to buy as well. Though I don't mind playing games at my desk I would just buy a NES USB controller or something similar for older titles

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    Quote Originally Posted by Leo_A View Post
    The Ouya sounds intriguing. There was too much work with things like Xbox and Wii homebrew for my taste. I like something where I just download the program and insert my own roms and that's it. No installing homebrew hacks, setting up things to FTP stuff over, worrying about Nintendo firmware updates like Wii homebrew channel fans once did, etc.

    The Ouya sounds nice, simple, and straight forward with no fuss or hassle at all. It's one reason why my MP3 players aren't Apple products. I plug it in via USB, it's seen as a mass storage device, and I copy my files over to the appropriate folder and that's it. No iTunes fuss.
    That's exactly what drew me into the Ouya. It's one button to turn it on, the emulators are simple, sleek, easy to use and set up, and the Ouya is also much more powerful than a modded original Xbox or Wii. Plus, if you want to expand the storage capacity, you have any number of options from an external harddrive, large capacity SD card, or even stream from a pc source if you're crafty. Also, the entire console is the size of a rubix cube, so it can be introduced into any entertainment cabinet without having to rearrange everything for another giant console.

    If you buy an Ouya, I suggest you also buy yourself a USB hub, as the Ouya stupidly only has a single USB port. You'll want at least two so you can have one for expansion storage and one for an optional controller of your choosing like an SNES or PS3 or USB arcade stick or whatever else you want. USB keyboard even. Most Ouya programs will work with just about anything (although the main UI is finicky about accepting input from some USB devices)

    Quote Originally Posted by Leo_A View Post
    Casuals are never going to buy an Ouya, have never even heard of it, don't care about the technical details, and want something that's plug and play. When they go looking for something to revisit some childhood favorites on cartridge, the Retron 5's competition largely will be used original hardware or other clones.

    That's why, even though I'm told I'm wrong, why I think they can't count on this segment. Those people shopping around aren't interested in the details and features beyond if it plays the games that they have in mind. And when they see something cheaper like the Super Retro Trio, Hyperkin is going to be facing a tough sell since they're pushing a premium priced product where clones are concerned.
    I think you're quite mistaken about that. Currently, The Ouya is the #2 most popular result in Video Game Console popularity search on Amazon.ca, ahead of the Xbox One and only behind the PS4. The Ouya is extremely successful in the causal gamer market. Even my cousin who doesn't play video games very much owns an Ouya. The last console she bought was a Wii in 2007.

    In fact I kind of feel like a hipster that I like the Ouya as much as I do, and a lot of games just don't really appeal to me, like Bombsquad and Towerfall. I instead like the super hardcore shooters and platformers on Ouya. One of the reasons I've had to speak up in defense of the Ouya is because it's the hardcore gamers that quickly dismissed it, not casuals. You're completely wrong about the Ouya not appealing to casual gamers I'm afraid.

    I suppose on a super casual level the RetroN5 will be slightly more appealing to someone who doesn't even want to bother setting up an account and downloading things from the discover store, but I also don't see that kind of gamer spending $99 on the RetroN5 either when other clone systems cost half as much.


    Quote Originally Posted by Leo_A View Post
    I've been taking the high road. My statements are under the assumption that they're going to do a halfway decent job of delivering.

    I've expressed a ton of skepticism about this product here in the past. It's plainly evident that not only are the cards stacked against it from the get go but that the company doesn't have a reputation at all for quality. So don't get me wrong, I'm expecting this to be a disappointment in the end.

    What the Retron 5 is most likely of accomplishing is being the first step towards a new wave of clones that potentially will reproduce the systems they're modeling to a much greater degree than we've grown accustomed in the past with NOAC's and such that are too expensive to redesign and improve.

    Software based means that clone manufacturers have something to work with to reasonably tackle issues with future revisions. So I see this more as a stepping stone rather than something that's likely to take up a long term presence in our living rooms and game rooms.
    I'm glad you said this, because this is exactly how I feel. I'm skeptical that Hyperkin will actually deliver. The more promises they make, the more promises they'll break when their lofty ideals don't
    bear fruit. Probably Retro-Bit will come out later and improve on the RetroN5 concept with a superior product...just as they have historically.

    However, I'm not saying one should prejudge the RetroN5. Just that you should remain nutrual towards it, without letting hype build you up only for you to come crashing down when it's actually released.


    Quote Originally Posted by NESter View Post
    I know it sounds incredibly illogical, but to me, there is something missing in the emulation experience. For years I would play NES games almost exclusively with Nestopia or FCEUX, but I suddenly became very nostalgic for the experience of using actual cartridges with original, non-USB controllers. Same with SNES and Genesis. So I look forward to have a multi-console-in-1 solution that allows me to have the authentic, physical experience, with an image clarity suitable for HDTV, even if the sound ends up being a bit off.
    I know how you feel because I've felt the same way, and I'm sure many others who read your post will also feel the same way too. But I honestly think its more of an emotional/psychological 'loss' than it is a tangible loss. The most important details are that you use a comfortable controller and play on a tv. The feeling is fleeting though, so if you just ignore it for a while, you'll eventually get used to it and like me, come to even prefer it.

    Nostalgia is a powerful force, making you remember things that sucked as happy warm memories. CRT scanlines, overscan, fuzzy video, mono sound, not being able to save where you want, cartridges glitching,games that require you to do things that hurt your hands (the famous nes thumb anyone?) or just how about those unforgiving bosses or late levels that pose such a difficulty spike its absurd? There is a lot to like about retro gaming, but there's a lot to hate about it too. For all crap modern games put us through, in many ways today's games fix these problems.



    Quote Originally Posted by PizzaKat View Post
    Huh, suddenly the Ouya looks very tempting to buy as well. Though I don't mind playing games at my desk I would just buy a NES USB controller or something similar for older titles
    I think the Ouya is really misunderstood. Early hype backers were saying stuff like "So when is Skyrim going to be ported?" and the 'non believers' were saying things like "I don't want a console to play angry birds on". In either extreme, both were and are absolutely wrong.

    The Ouya is about bringing indie developed games into the living room. Sometimes this means great things, sometimes this means awful things. Emulation is there too, bringing tens of thousands of games to the system that way.


    One thing I would suggest is that if you want a USB NES or SNES controller, buy an SNES to USB adapter, not a dedicated USB controller. Those third party USB controllers always suck compared to the real OEM controllers.
    check out my classic gaming review site: http://satoshimatrix.wordpress.com/

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    Quote Originally Posted by Satoshi_Matrix View Post
    TI think you're quite mistaken about that. Currently, The Ouya is the #2 most popular result in Video Game Console popularity search on Amazon.ca, ahead of the Xbox One and only behind the PS4.
    Pretty convincing evidence I'll admit. It would appear that it's not nearly as obscure to the general public as I was thinking it was.

    How do you pronounce this thing, anyways?

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    Like "Booya" without the B. The O is a long o, like in a stereotypical impressed crowd going "Oooo, Ahhhhh".

    "Ooooo Yeah"
    check out my classic gaming review site: http://satoshimatrix.wordpress.com/

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    Think of the Kool AId Man bursting out of a wall. "Oh ya" cept Oh is pronounced ewww or Ooooo

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