SNES, Turbografx-16 and More Combined in Retro Freak Console

[StewShearerOld]

SNES, Turbografx-16 and More Combined in Retro Freak Console

Cyber Gadget's Retro Freak combination console will be an impressive collection of gaming machines into one convenient box.

<a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/tag/view/retro>Retro gaming can be one of the best experiences a gamer can indulge in. For all the joy and hype that surrounds new releases, there's something about discovering a hidden gem or revisiting a favorite from yesteryear that can be even more satisfying. The problem is that retro gaming can, at times, be a somewhat unwieldy hobby. While sites <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/tag/view/gog>like GOG have made it easier to access and play a whole variety of classic PC titles, the industry's console classics are broken up across dozens of systems that, gathered together, can make for one hell of a messy living room.

That's where combination consoles like the Retro Freak come in. Recently announced by the Japanese company Cyber Gadget, it will combine a whopping selection of consoles into a single compact gaming machine. The consoles in question will include the Famicom, Super Famicon/SNES, Mega Drive/Genesis, Game Boy/Game Boy Color/Game Boy Advance, PC Engine, Turbografx-16 and Supergrafx. The games will be playable via USB-controllers and can even be downloaded from their cartridges to a smaller "console" portion that can be detached from the adapter section that you insert the games into. It will also come equipped Code Freak functionality, save states and a variety of options to help enhance the visuals of your favorite retro classics. No word, just yet, on whether or not it has any HD outputs.

As awesome as that all sounds, there are still some things to question. As of yet, Cyber Gadget hasn't revealed any pricing information or pre-order details. Moreover, the fact that it's a Japanese product means that there's no guarantee of any sort of western release. In other words, even when this comes out, gamers living in the Americas and Europe could find themselves forced to import if they want one. Even so, we could see its wide range of playable games being an attractive prospect for retro fans looking for a way to scale down the space they have to devote to their active gaming machines. What do you think? Would you buy a Retro Freak or are you happy with other existing alternatives like <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/scienceandtech/hardware-reviews/11702-Retron-5-Console-Review-Absolutely-Worthwhile-for-Retro-Enthusia>Hyperkin's Retron consoles?
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Source: <a href=http://tinycartridge.com/post/119357647016/cyber-gadgets-retro-freak-console-plays>Tiny Cartridge


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[Mangue Surfer]

Don't make sense in my mind. Playing in the old consoles make part of a authentic retro experience.

 

[WhiteTigerShiro]

Remember being a kid and thinking about how awesome it would be if someone made a console like this?

 

[fix-the-spade]

I have a Retron 5 and I'm very happy with it, I still have all the old consoles that go with the cartridges but lack the space and plugs required to set them all up, so it's awesome.

What I really want is an 'all the cartridges ever' console that can play everything from the N64 backwards, I'd be really pedantic and stipulate it have ports for the original controllers as well, so I can have a veritable minefield of grey plastic Nintendo controllers. Probably a touch unrealistic...

 

[Fappy]

I don't have many good experiences with these types of machines. Most of the time they can't seem to emulate the hardware 100% correctly, which usually results in distorted audio among other things. If this thing actually works correctly then that's cool, but I'll stick with the original hardware. As mentioned above, using the original tech is part of the novelty of playing old games.

 

[Eiv]

Remember being a kid and thinking about how awesome it would be if someone made a console like this?

I remember hearing that Microsoft were creating a new console (pre-xbox) that could play playstation, nintendo AND sega games. Man, I wanted that to be true soooooo bad. I miss being young and ignorant of capitalism.

 

[09philj]

It will likely suffer the same problems as all emulators; that is to say, it will need enormous amounts of computing power to achieve not especially impressive results, and will, on occasion, simply fail to run a cartridge. The main advantage is that you won't have to get involved in the legal minefield that is running ROMs you downloaded from the internet, the laws surrounding which are so overly complex I just assume it's all piracy and don't touch.

 

[Rad Party God]

I don't have many good experiences with these types of machines. Most of the time they can't seem to emulate the hardware 100% correctly, which usually results in distorted audio among other things.

This. I mean, it's absolutely a neat idea to have an "all in one" retro console of sorts, but if it doesn't perform as good as the original hardware, then what's the point?, people who are into retro stuff are already happy with their original consoles or even with better emulators

IMO, it's a better solution to actually have the original consoles around, but use flash cartdridges, those always perform as good as the original cartdridge, except for the ones that needed special hardware, like Yoshi's Island on SNES or Virtua Racing on the Genesis (the normal Genesis version, not the 32x).

 

[Scrythe]

We can only hope that it doesn't turn into a massive disappointment like the Retron 5 turned out to be.

Spoiler: The shortlist

[li]Controllers are hit or miss on whether or not they actually work.[/li]
[li]Issues with the controllers syncing up with the hardware.[/li]
[li]Emulation is spotty, and often results in audio distortion or graphical artifacts.[/li]
[li]Some reports of some cartridge slots being so tight they actually break off when removing a game.[/li]
[li]Customer service is a joke.[/li]

 

[Canadamus Prime]

This would be awesome if I still had any of my old games.

 

[WeepingAngels]

Like others, I have never had a good experience with these knock off consoles. Controllers usually suck, slots too tight and audio doesn't sound right. Just get the real console.

Speaking of old gems, I have just found an old gem that I am playing on my Vita, Phantasy Star II was a Genesis game and I am loving it. It is nice to find an actual old style JRPG (that I haven't played) as opposed to indie efforts to re-create old style JRPG games. I am tempted to play it on a real Genesis but apparently the cart is hard to find.

 

[Ihateregistering1]

As awesome as this sounds, at this point, can't any computer nerd worth their salt basically download the entire library of old school console games via Emulators for free, plug in a few USB controllers, and then just run some AV cables to the TV?

 

[CrystalShadow]

Eh. While it sounds nice in theory, I tend to worry about these things.
There's the controllers for one thing. Often these have dubious controllers. And besides which, using the authentic controller from the original system is usually more satisfying.

On the other hand, there's also a basic question about how these multi-system consoles actually work. The retron ones for instance are basically just generic computers running emulator code derived from the same emulators you find on PC.

All well and good, but my experience with such emulators tells me they often have weird glitches, poor game compatibility, and other dubious quirks.
While I've found the odd emulator that works pretty well, no one specific emulator ever seems to be quite right.

And to buy a piece of hardware with those kinds of problems to it seems a little... Counter-productive.
I'd prefer something that actually replicates the original hardware to some extent, personally...

Still... Seeing as it can play games from so many systems, including handhelds, I figure it could come in handy for recording old games... >_>

As awesome as this sounds, at this point, can't any computer nerd worth their salt basically download the entire library of old school console games via Emulators for free, plug in a few USB controllers, and then just run some AV cables to the TV?

They can, yes. But that's considerably less legal than one of these. Emulating/simulating the hardware isn't illegal, but, ROM images most certainly are. Especially if you download them from somewhere...

 

[Hairless Mammoth]

Um, yeah, I can live without the convenience of one box for most of my retro games. If I really used them often, I'd set up an upscaler box (or at least some universal RCA cables or RF switches. I got a power brick that does both SNES and Genesis.) where I can plug in the system of choice without reaching around the TV. I'd rather go with the cartridge converters that plug into PCs, anyway.

With a PC, I can either full screen the game, or have fully adjustable windows with a game, a video (streaming/DVDs) and maybe even a guide all up at once. Since my tower is so close to my TV, a 1 meter cable is all I need (Also, HDMI over Cat 5/6 is a thing. Hint, hint.), and I have ways to make PS2 and PS3 controllers work on Windows. Everyone says the system on a chip consoles poorly emulate the original and the good all in one consoles use software emulation anyways, so there is no real different between a well coded and designed all in one compared to an equally well coded convertor plus emulator program. (Also, you can easily use IPS patches with the PC way to play some sweet ROM hacks.)

Original hardware is the best. (Except for lack of save states.) I'd probably do the "jam the guts of several consoles into a custom made case" idea if I ever felt the need to have one dedicated box for some consoles. I got some spare arcade joysticks and buttons in a box somewhere. Imagine a beast of a box that had SNES/GEN/PS1/etc hardware and two full arcade control layouts. I better stop now before I open up Sketch Up and spend the next two hours making designs for something I don't have the time to build.

We can only hope that it doesn't turn into a massive disappointment like the Retron 5 turned out to be.

Spoiler: The shortlist

[li]Controllers are hit or miss on whether or not they actually work.[/li]
[li]Issues with the controllers syncing up with the hardware.[/li]
[li]Emulation is spotty, and often results in audio distortion or graphical artifacts.[/li]
[li]Some reports of some cartridge slots being so tight they actually break off when removing a game.[/li]
[li]Customer service is a joke.[/li]

I've only heard of the issues and never seen a Retron 5 in real life, but should we add "included controller so uncomfortable and unwieldy that it would have been better to not include it and lower the price" and "the creators are reported to have stolen emulator code without even crediting the authors, so at best they are somewhat scummy and at worst they barely understand how their product works" to that list?

 

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

Japan, don't hog this one please. If it works well, we want it. Of course using original hardware is more fun but I'd like the option to not rely entirely on 20+ year old electronics.

 

[Scrythe]

I've only heard of the issues and never seen a Retron 5 in real life, but should we add "included controller so uncomfortable and unwieldy that it would have been better to not include it and lower the price" and "the creators are reported to have stolen emulator code without even crediting the authors, so at best they are somewhat scummy and at worst they barely understand how their product works" to that list?

I actually didn't hear about the stolen emulator code. That's horrific. What makes all of these issues so much worse is that the device itself kept getting pushed back without telling anyone who preordered why. People had to wait years after the initial release date before they got their hands on one, and that's just the people who didn't cancel their preorder.

Really, if one has a decent computer, they can reliably run damn-near every console up to the fifth generation without too much of a problem (I know sixth generation emulators exist, but those systems are beefy enough that it takes a lot of PC power to get them to run well, if they can run at all).

If having that authentic look and feel of a classic console is an important factor, then it's really inexpensive to simply get a USB version of classic console controllers, or at least USB converters. Dedicated emulator hardware is cheap too, and one can simply plug a Raspberry Pi into their TV, if they feel comfortable with spending an hour or two setting it up.

Having said that, it isn't too difficult or expensive to simply just purchase an old console and a converter box, like you do. I know not every region is blessed with retail stores that deal in retro consoles and cartridges, but that's what the internet is for.

-

Circling back to the OP, this device reminds me of the crazy drawings of an "all in one console" my friends and I would draw on our lunch break way back in middle school. Of course anything we drew looks nothing as slick as this box, or even the Retron systems, so at least they have that going for them. This device's controller doesn't look to bad either.

I still have no idea what that little white box is for, even if it shows an images of it sliding into the console. Power? HDMI? HDD?

 

[Ihateregistering1]

As awesome as this sounds, at this point, can't any computer nerd worth their salt basically download the entire library of old school console games via Emulators for free, plug in a few USB controllers, and then just run some AV cables to the TV?

They can, yes. But that's considerably less legal than one of these. Emulating/simulating the hardware isn't illegal, but, ROM images most certainly are. Especially if you download them from somewhere...

True, but isn't there some rule that if a company goes out of business (which, let's face it, a lot of these old school developers probably are) their games become public property (since they can no longer theoretically make a profit from them) after 5 or 6 years?

I'm not sure how true that is, I just remember someone telling me that when they sent me a link to download "Dungeon Keeper 2" (this was before GOG existed). They said it wasn't illegal since Bullfrog had been out of business for 10 years.

 

[CrystalShadow]

As awesome as this sounds, at this point, can't any computer nerd worth their salt basically download the entire library of old school console games via Emulators for free, plug in a few USB controllers, and then just run some AV cables to the TV?

They can, yes. But that's considerably less legal than one of these. Emulating/simulating the hardware isn't illegal, but, ROM images most certainly are. Especially if you download them from somewhere...

True, but isn't there some rule that if a company goes out of business (which, let's face it, a lot of these old school developers probably are) their games become public property (since they can no longer theoretically make a profit from them) after 5 or 6 years?

I'm not sure how true that is, I just remember someone telling me that when they sent me a link to download "Dungeon Keeper 2" (this was before GOG existed). They said it wasn't illegal since Bullfrog had been out of business for 10 years.

Hah. No. I wish.

I mean, there is abandonware but that's not a legally valid concept, merely a sort of grey area you can often get away with exploiting.

Basically, a lot of people involved will turn a blind eye to you downloading something which is not actively being sold by anyone.
Sometimes, the devs (as in the people that actually did the work to make the game, not the people that own the rights) even actively encourage it...

But, fact is, even if the company has gone out of business, chances are it's cannibalised remains were sold to someone, and they now own all the IP rights to the games that studio made.
Or worse, different people can own different rights, sometimes even to things from a single game. - Which, kind of spells the death knell for any chance of seeing legal sales of that game resume, because you'd need to contact too many people.

So, yes, while it generally gets ignored, and you can, I suppose, download such games with little real guilt in some sense, as far as the laws around it are concerned, it's just the same as any other pirated software.

Which is absurd, and damaging to our collective cultural heritage, but... That's the law for you. It no longer cares about such things.