It can be 100% Polymega's fault and Wal-Mart is still obligated to either work with them or cancel and take down preorders, because anything else is dishonesty to your own customers.
Which is part of the reason "Walmart won't take any of our calls" sounds like bullshit.
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SteevLWhat can I do for you?Registered Userregular
augustwhere you come from is goneRegistered Userregular
If your plug n' play device supports RetroArch, there's a new fork of Gensis Plus GX called Genesis Plus GX Wide that offers widescreen support in some games:
Can't be sure if this series has been posted yet but dear god. This third entry in particular is some real masterpiece of documentary from MLiG. Gives a comprehensive overview of all the ways people are trying to document and replicate classic games and systems, and some of the names involved. Clean reference photos of hardware, open-source emulators and official mini systems and software collections, clone consoles and FPGAs, MAME project, decapping logic boards, not just ROM dumps but dumping variants and scanning documents and organizing it all into databases, I just found it moving even to see it all presented together here, showing the scope of community work going on in all these different areas at once.
Can't be sure if this series has been posted yet but dear god. This third entry in particular is some real masterpiece of documentary from MLiG. Gives a comprehensive overview of all the ways people are trying to document and replicate classic games and systems, and some of the names involved. Clean reference photos of hardware, open-source emulators and official mini systems and software collections, clone consoles and FPGAs, MAME project, decapping logic boards, not just ROM dumps but dumping variants and scanning documents and organizing it all into databases, I just found it moving even to see it all presented together here, showing the scope of community work going on in all these different areas at once.
Thank goodness there are communities who take all the time to do all of this. These sort of things do need to be saved somewhere like precious art because once it is gone, it is gone forever.
This is also me being a gamer and Engineer appreciating all their work.
Limited Run is bringing the Astro City Mini to the U.S. in limited quantities. It will cost $129 and just 3,500 units will be available, in English packaging, to order starting on March 26th, 10 AM Eastern. I believe the game list is unchanged. (Hell, the units are probably unchanged, they already had english menu options.)
People like the ones in the doc gonna be fighting tooth and nail to preserve a media form whose creating companies kinda actually want to kill everything.
Limited Run is bringing the Astro City Mini to the U.S. in limited quantities. It will cost $129 and just 3,500 units will be available, in English packaging, to order starting on March 26th, 10 AM Eastern. I believe the game list is unchanged. (Hell, the units are probably unchanged, they already had english menu options.)
They're also bringing over the gamepad and mini arcade kit.
People like the ones in the doc gonna be fighting tooth and nail to preserve a media form whose creating companies kinda actually want to kill everything.
Sony certainly seem to be trying to kill off their own legacy as much as possible at the moment.
People like the ones in the doc gonna be fighting tooth and nail to preserve a media form whose creating companies kinda actually want to kill everything.
Sony certainly seem to be trying to kill off their own legacy as much as possible at the moment.
It's a very business suit decision. Why spend money on the old shit when we can make money on new stuff?
People like the ones in the doc gonna be fighting tooth and nail to preserve a media form whose creating companies kinda actually want to kill everything.
Sony certainly seem to be trying to kill off their own legacy as much as possible at the moment.
It's a very business suit decision. Why spend money on the old shit when we can make money on new stuff?
You'd think they'd spot that it might give a customer or potential customer pause when they make such a point of not respecting the historical purchases you've made, especially when arguably their sole direct competitor makes a very particular point of respecting them as much as they possibly can.
And that's before we even start getting into the preservation argument, which is obviously more emotional and something I wouldn't really expect the suits to give a rat's ass about.
People like the ones in the doc gonna be fighting tooth and nail to preserve a media form whose creating companies kinda actually want to kill everything.
Sony certainly seem to be trying to kill off their own legacy as much as possible at the moment.
It's a very business suit decision. Why spend money on the old shit when we can make money on new stuff?
You'd think they'd spot that it might give a customer or potential customer pause when they make such a point of not respecting the historical purchases you've made, especially when arguably their sole direct competitor makes a very particular point of respecting them as much as they possibly can.
And that's before we even start getting into the preservation argument, which is obviously more emotional and something I wouldn't really expect the suits to give a rat's ass about.
But the contrast is very, very stark.
Don't get me wrong, I think losing the old PS stores and the ability to no longer download and play the many, many games that never got a digital release absolutely sucks.
But I doubt Sony will get much blowback on this. Remember, the vast majority of the game audience ain't us. The amount of interest in buying or even playing games on systems that aren't sold anymore is relatively tiny, and that's before you throw in the PS3's complete lack of compatibility with the newer gens. Plus keeping servers running is much more expensive than most of us realize.
It sucks, but I don't see a solution to this particular problem that doesn't involve piracy or literal acts of charity.
Yeah, I guess I'm just tired of them making nakedly money based decisions that hurt the people who keep their businesses alive. Supporting legacy consoles doesn't seem hard, especially ones like the Vita which is still popular in Japan, and the massive install base of PS3's out there, it's a little crazy to think they're just tossing that all aside. I never had a PS3 so now if I want to experience those games I better hope they have a PS4 version available digitally or else I'm screwed and have to find a copy online. Those games will now be unpatched and full of bugs thanks to them pulling the service. Meanwhile I can still play Skate 3 online on my Xbox and buy all the dlc...
I do have a PS3 (and thankfully not all that much I need it for), but otherwise, yeah.
Hell, I can play stuff from the '80s with minimal hassle without even needing emulators in some cases; the idea that a massive chunk of everything from 2006-2013 (in just the PS3's case, adjust for PSP/Vita) will suddenly vanish in a puff of smoke permanently when PS3 CMOS batteries need changing out is just ridiculous.
I’m going to keep this high level, but I just wanted to say I’ve been impressed by the quality of the Chinese emulation handhelds being released these days.
I picked up an RG351P largely just to check out a weird little tech toy, and I’m kind of disappointed by how lacking in jank it is. It’s a solidly built machine that feels premium (i.e. appropriately heavy), the controls are reliable, the quality of materials is high. Even the (definitely trademark violating) software included is a much higher quality than expected, and significantly lacking in the kind of old rom hacks I expected (and honestly hoped) were going to be here.
I remember when these things were chintzy little off-brand money sinks that would break or were barely capable of doing what they say they do. I bought one thinking I’d have fun tinkering for a few weeks to get it in good shape, but there was basically no need. I’m not sure how to feel about that.
Hmm. Might have to scrape some pennies together. The metal RG351M looks super nice too, if a smidge pricier.
Got a few questions if you'll please indulge me. How bright does the screen go? How loud can the speakers get (without distortion)? What's the difference between the two USB-C ports? How quick is the charging? How's the screen scaling on the various platforms (I like to stick to original aspect ratios but as big as possible, which I suspect most of us do)? Thanks!
Hmm. Might have to scrape some pennies together. The metal RG351M looks super nice too, if a smidge pricier.
Got a few questions if you'll please indulge me. How bright does the screen go? How loud can the speakers get (without distortion)? What's the difference between the two USB-C ports? How quick is the charging? How's the screen scaling on the various platforms (I like to stick to original aspect ratios but as big as possible, which I suspect most of us do)? Thanks!
The video probably covers it better, but I was curious so I did some testing:
1. Screen gets bright enough for pretty much every indoor situation I’ve seen (I’ve been keeping it around 50%). Direct sunlight was a bit of a challenge even at max. Not exactly modern smartphone levels of brightness and quality, but nowhere near the original GBA’s darkness, for a random example.
2. Surprisingly loud, actually. I’d been keeping it lower, but I cranked it to max volume and then bumped the output to 300% without significant distortion and it was loud enough to hear in other rooms. Wasn’t expecting that. Not the most amazing speakers in the world but there’s none of that tinniness I expected even at the higher volumes.
3. I’m trying to sort that out myself. Currently my best guess is that one is meant (possibly exclusively) for power, while the OTG port is for data transfer. The system apparently was meant to ship with WiFi, but it caused some sound issues, so the OTG port also serves as a way to connect a wifi adapter (included in my case, and worked with little fuss).
4. Honestly I’m on a charger most of the time, but I just tried plugging into a regular USB charging plug for half an hour. Moved from 30% to 60%. Battery life has been fine for me, but again, mostly playing near a charger.
5. GBA is perfect, as it’s a 3:2 aspect ratio I believe. Anything that was 4:3 originally (most home consoles) is going to have black bars if you’re not using the stretching (I don’t) but it’s been pretty minor for anything I’ve looked at from the 8- to 32-bit eras.
Regarding 5, black bars are fine with me, I'd rather that than stretching, it's just a case of seeing how things scale within that limitation but it seems like it handles that pretty well.
Definitely need to find some cash for one of these things.
It's a cool piece of nostalgia for people who played it in arcades, same as all of those scaled-down machines. I've purchased more expensive home office decor with less functionality so I'll probably get one just because.
All Atari VCS consoles will come with a free copy of the Atari VCS Vault, which includes 100 arcade and Atari 2600 games. It will also include a digital storefront with "over a dozen titles" at launch from independent developers, and access to game streaming platform Antstream Arcade.
It's $299, and it doesn't come with a controller at that price. Try to contain your excitement.
Switch: 3947-4890-9293
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ShadowfireVermont, in the middle of nowhereRegistered Userregular
For some reason, I thought that the Atari VCS already came out!
Yeah, their last backer e-mail (I still get them even though I cancelled my order) made it sound like they're out in the wild. I can't believe that they're still selling a system without any controller. That was the biggest reason I didn't back it in the first place. When it first went up I went all, "oooh Atari!" and hit back before reading the entire thing since I assumed it would come with just the basic controller. Found out later reading that you had to buy them separately and cancelled.
Imagine trying to sell a console without a controller.
Imagine a parent's look on their faces when their kid opens it up and points that out to them.
Kids are not the market for this. It's for Atari fans who don't realize that Atari isn't Atari anymore.
And crypto nuts.
I'm thinking of those parents who grew up playing Atari, seeing one in a Walmart and picking it up for nostalgia to toss to their kids. But yeah, thinking about it, those parents wouldn't just blow $299 on nostalgia sake. I wonder how fast these things will get discounted in stores... Might pick one up if they hit $20. HA (yeah like they'd go that low)! I'm more interested in picking one of those classic controllers up, but will wait to see if they'll get discounted as well.
Imagine trying to sell a console without a controller.
Imagine a parent's look on their faces when their kid opens it up and points that out to them.
Kids are not the market for this. It's for Atari fans who don't realize that Atari isn't Atari anymore.
And crypto nuts.
I'm thinking of those parents who grew up playing Atari, seeing one in a Walmart and picking it up for nostalgia to toss to their kids. But yeah, thinking about it, those parents wouldn't just blow $299 on nostalgia sake. I wonder how fast these things will get discounted in stores... Might pick one up if they hit $20. HA (yeah like they'd go that low)! I'm more interested in picking one of those classic controllers up, but will wait to see if they'll get discounted as well.
This, on the other hand, makes way more sense, and given the cost of a standard Evercade handheld, it's probably going to be pretty cheap too.
My only beef with the Evercade is the rather hit-and-miss game selections on each cart. Like many of them have one or two games I'd like and a bunch I wouldn't care about. But trying to get into an a la carte, probably downloadable, setup would get away from what the Evercade is trying to do as well as probably increasing the price per game, so I get where they're coming from.
The good news is the screen can be rotated for horizontal or vertical orientation, and it includes 40 games including stuff like Space Invaders, Bubble Bobble, Elevator Action, Qix, and something called "Violence Fight," which sounds like a Simpsons bit. You can also buy a paddle controller with 10 additional games that use it like Arkanoid.
The bad news? The base unit costs $170, the trackball controller pack costs $110, an optional gamepad is $80, and an optional gamepad is $30.
So, uh. Taito stans, excite? Are there Taito stans?
I actually used to play Violence Fight at the local corner shop when I was a kid. It was pretty impressive back then. I would never have remembered it was called Violence Fight and I often think about it and wonder what the hell it was so thank you very much for that.
I'll give Taito mad props for the occasional thing. Space Invaders, obviously. Bubble Bobble is amazing. Qix was good fun and I adored Chase HQ. But it really is just kind of the odd title here and there.
For that unit, the switchable landscape/portrait display is a neat idea.
Posts
Which is part of the reason "Walmart won't take any of our calls" sounds like bullshit.
My Backloggery
Thank goodness there are communities who take all the time to do all of this. These sort of things do need to be saved somewhere like precious art because once it is gone, it is gone forever.
This is also me being a gamer and Engineer appreciating all their work.
Steam: betsuni7
They're also bringing over the gamepad and mini arcade kit.
Gamepad
Mini Style Kit
Steam: betsuni7
Sony certainly seem to be trying to kill off their own legacy as much as possible at the moment.
Steam | XBL
It's a very business suit decision. Why spend money on the old shit when we can make money on new stuff?
You'd think they'd spot that it might give a customer or potential customer pause when they make such a point of not respecting the historical purchases you've made, especially when arguably their sole direct competitor makes a very particular point of respecting them as much as they possibly can.
And that's before we even start getting into the preservation argument, which is obviously more emotional and something I wouldn't really expect the suits to give a rat's ass about.
But the contrast is very, very stark.
Steam | XBL
Don't get me wrong, I think losing the old PS stores and the ability to no longer download and play the many, many games that never got a digital release absolutely sucks.
But I doubt Sony will get much blowback on this. Remember, the vast majority of the game audience ain't us. The amount of interest in buying or even playing games on systems that aren't sold anymore is relatively tiny, and that's before you throw in the PS3's complete lack of compatibility with the newer gens. Plus keeping servers running is much more expensive than most of us realize.
It sucks, but I don't see a solution to this particular problem that doesn't involve piracy or literal acts of charity.
Steam | XBL
Hell, I can play stuff from the '80s with minimal hassle without even needing emulators in some cases; the idea that a massive chunk of everything from 2006-2013 (in just the PS3's case, adjust for PSP/Vita) will suddenly vanish in a puff of smoke permanently when PS3 CMOS batteries need changing out is just ridiculous.
Steam | XBL
https://www.engadget.com/analogue-pocket-delay-2021-233629148.html
Saw this coming, it's still a huge bummer though.
Resident 8bitdo expert.
Resident hybrid/flap cover expert.
I picked up an RG351P largely just to check out a weird little tech toy, and I’m kind of disappointed by how lacking in jank it is. It’s a solidly built machine that feels premium (i.e. appropriately heavy), the controls are reliable, the quality of materials is high. Even the (definitely trademark violating) software included is a much higher quality than expected, and significantly lacking in the kind of old rom hacks I expected (and honestly hoped) were going to be here.
I remember when these things were chintzy little off-brand money sinks that would break or were barely capable of doing what they say they do. I bought one thinking I’d have fun tinkering for a few weeks to get it in good shape, but there was basically no need. I’m not sure how to feel about that.
Got a few questions if you'll please indulge me. How bright does the screen go? How loud can the speakers get (without distortion)? What's the difference between the two USB-C ports? How quick is the charging? How's the screen scaling on the various platforms (I like to stick to original aspect ratios but as big as possible, which I suspect most of us do)? Thanks!
Steam | XBL
The video probably covers it better, but I was curious so I did some testing:
1. Screen gets bright enough for pretty much every indoor situation I’ve seen (I’ve been keeping it around 50%). Direct sunlight was a bit of a challenge even at max. Not exactly modern smartphone levels of brightness and quality, but nowhere near the original GBA’s darkness, for a random example.
2. Surprisingly loud, actually. I’d been keeping it lower, but I cranked it to max volume and then bumped the output to 300% without significant distortion and it was loud enough to hear in other rooms. Wasn’t expecting that. Not the most amazing speakers in the world but there’s none of that tinniness I expected even at the higher volumes.
3. I’m trying to sort that out myself. Currently my best guess is that one is meant (possibly exclusively) for power, while the OTG port is for data transfer. The system apparently was meant to ship with WiFi, but it caused some sound issues, so the OTG port also serves as a way to connect a wifi adapter (included in my case, and worked with little fuss).
4. Honestly I’m on a charger most of the time, but I just tried plugging into a regular USB charging plug for half an hour. Moved from 30% to 60%. Battery life has been fine for me, but again, mostly playing near a charger.
5. GBA is perfect, as it’s a 3:2 aspect ratio I believe. Anything that was 4:3 originally (most home consoles) is going to have black bars if you’re not using the stretching (I don’t) but it’s been pretty minor for anything I’ve looked at from the 8- to 32-bit eras.
Regarding 5, black bars are fine with me, I'd rather that than stretching, it's just a case of seeing how things scale within that limitation but it seems like it handles that pretty well.
Definitely need to find some cash for one of these things.
Steam | XBL
I'm not sure if I want to play Street Fighter II that bad.
Switch (JeffConser): SW-3353-5433-5137 Wii U: Skeldare - 3DS: 1848-1663-9345
PM Me if you add me!
Hey it's the same price as a Game Gear micro and what, 4x the size?
Granted it only has 1/4th the games...
Holy cow, they have a ton of these mini arcades.
https://www.myarcadegaming.com/collections/mini-arcades
Now can Arcade1Up make a small Star Wars cabinet like this? I'd buy that faster than they could put up pre-orders.
Steam: betsuni7
Switch (JeffConser): SW-3353-5433-5137 Wii U: Skeldare - 3DS: 1848-1663-9345
PM Me if you add me!
It's $299, and it doesn't come with a controller at that price. Try to contain your excitement.
Pfthahahahaha this still isn't real
My Backloggery
Yeah, their last backer e-mail (I still get them even though I cancelled my order) made it sound like they're out in the wild. I can't believe that they're still selling a system without any controller. That was the biggest reason I didn't back it in the first place. When it first went up I went all, "oooh Atari!" and hit back before reading the entire thing since I assumed it would come with just the basic controller. Found out later reading that you had to buy them separately and cancelled.
Steam: betsuni7
Switch (JeffConser): SW-3353-5433-5137 Wii U: Skeldare - 3DS: 1848-1663-9345
PM Me if you add me!
Imagine a parent's look on their faces when their kid opens it up and points that out to them.
Steam: betsuni7
Kids are not the market for this. It's for Atari fans who don't realize that Atari isn't Atari anymore.
And crypto nuts.
I'm thinking of those parents who grew up playing Atari, seeing one in a Walmart and picking it up for nostalgia to toss to their kids. But yeah, thinking about it, those parents wouldn't just blow $299 on nostalgia sake. I wonder how fast these things will get discounted in stores... Might pick one up if they hit $20. HA (yeah like they'd go that low)! I'm more interested in picking one of those classic controllers up, but will wait to see if they'll get discounted as well.
Steam: betsuni7
This, on the other hand, makes way more sense, and given the cost of a standard Evercade handheld, it's probably going to be pretty cheap too.
My only beef with the Evercade is the rather hit-and-miss game selections on each cart. Like many of them have one or two games I'd like and a bunch I wouldn't care about. But trying to get into an a la carte, probably downloadable, setup would get away from what the Evercade is trying to do as well as probably increasing the price per game, so I get where they're coming from.
Steam | XBL
The good news is the screen can be rotated for horizontal or vertical orientation, and it includes 40 games including stuff like Space Invaders, Bubble Bobble, Elevator Action, Qix, and something called "Violence Fight," which sounds like a Simpsons bit. You can also buy a paddle controller with 10 additional games that use it like Arkanoid.
The bad news? The base unit costs $170, the trackball controller pack costs $110, an optional gamepad is $80, and an optional gamepad is $30.
So, uh. Taito stans, excite? Are there Taito stans?
There is a character named "Lick Joe." LICK JOE.
For that unit, the switchable landscape/portrait display is a neat idea.
Steam | XBL