RetroN 5 is officially a thing, apparently

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

It doesn't make sense to me to go out and buy some fake clone nonsense, to play real games in.

It doesn't make sense to you.

It makes sense to a lot of other people.

You can debate the notion until you're blue in the face, not going to change the fact that clone systems have proven to be immensely popular with both collectors and casual gamers alike and the companies that make them are going to continue to do so as long as there's any amount of interest.

Sure, they're not substitutes for actual hardware in terms of functionality or universal compatibility, but they provide a list of novelties and conveniences and in this upcoming generation of clones will feature things that real console hardware can't do (HDMI, filtering, save-states, etc.).

If it doesn't "make sense" to you, I'd recommend not spending too much time with it because they're not going away anytime soon ... in fact, we'll probably see more of them as time goes on.

[Cornelius]

It seems to me that the primary consumer of clones are people that have never heard of a rom and think 'Emulator' is from a movie starring that Austrian guy. They see one of these in a store and think it is cool, then go to a local game shop and buy Mario, Sonic, and Tetris.

Another part of the market are people who think the tech is cool. And let's face it, when it comes to cool tech, even redundant tech, these buyers don't really need a good reason, just an excuse. A lot of collectors will fit in this category and probably have all the hardware already. It's just cool, and pretty affordable really (if rumors are to be believed, can't remember if they pegged a price).

People in the middle of these two groups are not likely 'get it'.

[Spleeze]

I guess I can understand them as just neat little pieces of hardware.
I still can't see a reason to buy one though...

I'll just see myself out...

[Gameguy]

Can someone explain the appeal of these things to me?

It's the same reason you see those cheap electronics always for sale at Wal-Mart or other large retailers. Who actually buys those cheap no name DVD players, or low budget VCRs made entirely of plastic, or those stereos/radios that barely sound good? People do buy them. It's usually better to just buy better quality used items that would be close to the same price as those cheap ones brand new. You might need to get them serviced but then they'll be good to go for decades.

Maybe some people refuse to buy anything used so they'll buy a new console to play their old games, or they just don't know that there's a difference in quality with these new consoles compared to the original ones. A lot of people don't do research before buying anything. Most consumers are pretty ignorant, it's how the economy is designed. Buy gimmicky crap you don't need to keep people working.

I've personally had 2 NES' with a new 72 pin connectors that have both failed, meanwhile my Generation NEX clone console by Play Messiah is still playing my NES games perfectly.

If you would have kept the original pin connectors they wouldn't have failed.

[Satoshi_Matrix]

[QUOTE=Spleeze;1965531]Can someone explain the appeal of [this] thing to me?

The appeal:

1. HDMI video output. Many of us crave the best video resolution possible, and with unmodified consoles, the best you're going to get is S-Video and in the case of the NES, only composite. HDMI 720p as promised will deliver a huge boost in quality to make classic games look better than ever before.

2. Having multiple systems in one that take a single power supply and therefore doesn't clutter up your gaming setup.

3. Being able to use the original cartridges and controllers. This is absolutely key to the appeal. Most of us retro folk have a large collection of cartridges already and sure emulation is convenient, but most would agree there's just something lost if you go entirely digital. The same goes with using the original controller a system was designed for in the first place.

4. Novelty factor. It's simply cool that companies are producing brand new consoles to play our 20+ year old games.

5. Emulation options. The Retron5 will have savestates, presumably cheat options like GameGenie built in, and allow you to remap buttons to get around games with horrible button configurations.

Alright, so now here's answering your more specific questions:

If you want to play the game as it was intended, why not get a real console?

You'll get no argument from me. If that's your goal, then GO FOR IT! In the case of the Retorn5 though, the reasons why people are excited for it are external to that line of reasoning.

If you want to play on your HDTV and/or consolidate your consoles into one for space reasons, isn't a PC with some emulators/steam a much better option?

Yes and no at the same time. Much of the appeal of using one of these clone consoles comes from being able to hook it up to a TV, using your original controllers, and using your library of cartridges. Yeah, you can get a laptop and hook it up via HDMI and run an emulation with a USB controller adapter, but most of us will feel awkward, that there's something intangible missing when you do 100% pure emulation.

And if you're up in arms about emulation, these consoles really are no better. They're just more expensive than traditional PC emulation since you have to still plunk down 200 bucks for that copy of earthbound.

It's all about using your cartridges. Yeah, the Retron5 will essentially be a dedicated emulation box, but it will be the emulation box most of us have been waiting years for. I don't see that many people buying a Retron5 and then deciding to go out and THEN buy expensive games like Earthbound, I see it more for people who already have a large game library to enjoy their collections on a new system.

To me, these consoles seems like a product that has very little reason to exist...

No judgements dude. That's fine. Nobody's forcing you to like or dislike anything. My only problem with MyTurnToPlay pages back was that he was lying, spreading hate, and just being a general asshole. if you dont like this clone or clones in general that's fine. There will always be a segment of retro gamers who strictly stick to only the original hardware.

[Manga4life]

Spleeze,

Just because it isn't good for you does not mean its not good for others, same goes for your rebuttle for why people should or should not own one of these. Different strokes for different folks, period.

[Tanooki]

Sound like someone needs to do some furious different strokes and relax.

RetroN5 has me fairly well sold at this rate but analysis by owners, not possibly paid off reviewers on sites will seal the deal. I dislike clone systems largely, have used them and they have problems. That said I own one, it took all this time up until mid last year for me to get one, a Supaboy v2, and why? IT did things right for once. Sure it's not 100% but I can live without SFAlpha2 or Yoshi's Island running, but in trade all my other stuff works great, audio is correct, visuals are correct. The d-pad was screwy but I figured out a couple cent costing mod to make it work like a real snes d-pad, though it can also be jacked into a tv and with the plugs in it, use a real pad anyway. It's solid, it works, and it doesn't fail and flounder like all the stuff to that point.

The Retron5 goes beyond that, sure it's fairly well looking like an emulator box, but it's a sub $100 emulator box, specifically not crafted as a WinPC with all that overhead, weird baggage, and issues emulators can have with any million combinations with various off the rack parts. This thing is custom tuned alone just to run what it's advertised to and has a sleek custom OS to manage such things. I like real hardware any day, but the capability for me to run Famicom games (which I can't otherwise) and same with Genesis too, along with the portability factor to take to family(nephews) place or elsewhere is big for me. The HDMI is a fat chunk of icing as I've seen what HDMI can do for the NES as Bunnyboy at NA (aka: owner of retrousb) will have out this year a HDMI device he'll attach inside of NES-2 top loaders to run an HDMI feed to TVs and his show off images on NA were jaw dropping fucking fantastic. I've never seen SMB1 that crisp even on Nintendo (Wii) hardware/software emulation nor on a PC using an emulator there too. I could give a damn about save states, but with a toddler that might change too as it could save me some headaches at the push of a button.

[Satoshi_Matrix]

Not to curb your enthusiasm, but keep in mind that all of Hyperkin's claims are as of yet unsubstantiated. They *might* produce true 720p HDMI through software encoders very different from the original NES PPU. On the other hand, they might just produce an upconverted composite feed, making NES and Famicom games look bloody awful.

Hyperkin sure said a LOT to have me excited, but it's all the more they have to prove themselves. I'm rooting for the Retron5 to truly deliver, but I'm trying not to get my hopes up if they fail.

[BetaWolf47]

HDMI output with bluetooth controllers? That just screams of input lag.

[Rickstilwell1]

Another thing people often don't like about emulators and flash carts is having to open menus and pick out games from a list. They would rather just put in a game, turn it on and be ready to go. It makes these things great for the simple minded people who aren't tech savvy enough or the young kids who are just learning.

It is also a well known fact that there are more loose game cartridges out in the world than systems to play them on. These things ensure that in the distant future every copy of Super Mario Bros./Duck Hunt, Tetris (GB), Super Mario World and Sonic the Hedgehog 2 will gradually find a home as new generations of curious collectors join us and can no longer find original consoles.

If my generation likes the idea of trying out vinyl records as an exciting unfamiliar experience, the next generation my like to try out "putting a game in" as that will eventually become a foreign idea as well.

[Satoshi_Matrix]

HDMI output with bluetooth controllers? That just screams of input lag.

I don't think that'll be a concern. The Retorn5 will be emulation based, so HDMI lag shouldn't exist as that's what it natively produces. Also, blutooth controllers only experience lag when they are running low on battery. and again, you don't have to to use the bluetooth controller at all.

Another thing people often don't like about emulators and flash carts is having to open menus and pick out games from a list. They would rather just put in a game, turn it on and be ready to go.

Since all that's been shown so far is a prototype, it's not currently known just how it will work, but I suspect that the Retorn5 will simply boot directly into a game without a menu so long as you only have one game inserted. A menu would only be needed if you had two or more games installed at once. The menu that was shown is accessed during gameplay for savestates, button configurations, etc. I don't think you'll have to worry too much about a complex UI.

It is also a well known fact that there are more loose game cartridges out in the world than systems to play them on. These things ensure that in the distant future every copy of Super Mario Bros./Duck Hunt, Tetris (GB), Super Mario World and Sonic the Hedgehog 2 will gradually find a home as new generations of curious collectors join us and can no longer find original consoles.

I.......dunno about that. I think ours (people in the (early 20's to mid 40's) is the final generation that will care about physical media to any large degree. I think the future retro gamer will be a sort of hipster if they want original hardware. Retro gaming in the future will exist almost entirely of pure emulation where both emulator and emulated game have nothing to do with anything physically produced in the past. I'm sure of it.

If my generation likes the idea of trying out vinyl records as an exciting unfamiliar experience, the next generation my like to try out "putting a game in" as that will eventually become a foreign idea as well.

lol you're making my point. Yeah there are small number of people who swear by vinyl, but compare that to the number of people who listen to music through mp3 players. The same will happen with retro gaming in the future. Give it maybe 20, 30 years and retro gaming involving cartridges and clones will be a thing of the past as well. If anything, I suspect we'll see stuff like the Atari Flashback version 30 or something.

[Spleeze]

It was weird that I saw this article yesterday almost immediately after posting.

http://lifehacker.com/how-to-turn-yo...sole-498561192

[buzz_n64]

According to the latest interview with Hyperkin, this will also play Gameboy games.

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

According to the latest interview with Hyperkin, this will also play Gameboy games.

There has been clarification that the GBA slot would support the backwards compatibility features of the GBA (GB and GBC) for some time, I believe from the time that they started calling the system Retron 5.

[Satoshi_Matrix]

It was weird that I saw this article yesterday almost immediately after posting.

http://lifehacker.com/how-to-turn-yo...sole-498561192

an even cheaper 100% emulation solution would be to softmod an original xbox. I've done that plenty of times myself, but really, the difference between the raspberry or xbox and the retron5 is the ability to play actual cartridges.

[Rickstilwell1]

There has been clarification that the GBA slot would support the backwards compatibility features of the GBA (GB and GBC) for some time, I believe from the time that they started calling the system Retron 5.

Yeah and that's on top of the SNES slot always being compatible with Super Game Boy in the clones. The main importance of backward compatibility in the GBA slot is the ability to play GBC games that won't work on a Super Game Boy.

[Satoshi_Matrix]

Yeah and that's on top of the SNES slot always being compatible with Super Game Boy in the clones. The main importance of backward compatibility in the GBA slot is the ability to play GBC games that won't work on a Super Game Boy.

You're getting the Hyperkin Retron5 confused with RetroBit's Super Retro Trio.

The Retorn5 will do GB/GBC/GBA through it's own dedicated slot. It's Retrobit's clone that will seemingly do GBA games through the SNES slot. But it's unknown at this point exactly how that will work. There's been absolutely nothing said about The Super Retro Trio supporting GB or GBC games, nor have they said anything about it working with the original SNES hardware. It might be something that only the Retro Trio uses.

If I had to guess? The GBA adapter RetroBit announced will not work with GB/GBC, only GBA. It will work like the RetroPort that comes with the RetroDuo Portable does - supply video feed only though the clone and not to the original SNES hardware. This will mean the adapter will be useless on anything but the Retro Trio clone.

Of course, that too is speculation. Nothing has been said or shown yet.

[Manga4life]

I'm super excited to get the Retron 5, the more and more I hear about it the more and more I'm thirsting for one! I just wish we knew more, like the estimated availability and the price point, I feel as if we may be waiting quite a while before we see one available.

[hellraiser]

I feel as if we may be waiting quite a while before we see one available.

I agree! But that's ok. I say let them take there time so we can get a quality system.

[Satoshi_Matrix]

I'm super excited to get the Retron 5, the more and more I hear about it the more and more I'm thirsting for one! I just wish we knew more, like the estimated availability and the price point, I feel as if we may be waiting quite a while before we see one available.

I imagine Hyperkin will make a further announcement at E3 which is about a month away. You can also follow their facebook page for any announcements.