
VR pioneer and Anduril Industries founder Palmer Luckey caused a stir in the world of retro gaming with the ModRetro Chromatic recently and has made no secret of the fact that he's keen to produce other consoles in the future.
He's just dropped a reasonably obvious hint about what's coming next with a post on social media which teases a new N64 console (as spotted by Retro Dodo). The post contains a quote from The Matrix and appears to be asking people to pick between two potential logos for the new system.
Given that the Chromatic uses FPGA technology, it's fair to assume that this new console will, too—which means it will be going up against the Analogue 3D, another FPGA N64 clone that's coming this year.
Luckey and ModRetro CEO Torin Herndon have both said the company plans to release an FPGA-based Game Boy Advance console in the future, but it looks like the N64 will be next in line.
"ModRetro's mission with the Chromatic was to give both hardcore and lapsed Game Boy fans a modern-day take on the system which is as faithful as possible to Nintendo's original vision, and in that regard, it has succeeded – and the fact that it's supporting the device with its own range of games is commendable," is what we said when we reviewed the $200 Chromatic at the end of last year.
While the system has clearly found plenty of fans, Luckey's position as a somewhat divisive character in American politics has resulted in calls to boycott ModRetro's products in favour of FPGA-based alternatives.
[source twitter.com, via retrododo.com]
Comments 33
I'm intrigued, since the Chromatic was so good AND they are releasing new games for it. Interested to see if they release new games for this new 64 console....
I think replacing the word "divisive" with "vocal" would be more journalistically neutral. The calls for boycott effectively imply that he faces disagreement as a result of it.
Considering Analogue have yet to actually demonstrate their own Analogue 3D product, and it's supposed to ship in Q1 2025, I'd be curious to see what Modretro is offering.
Analogue have gotten too comfortable in their own FPGA bubble.
@NewBond Everyone is vocal but Palmer Luckey is clearly controversial considering the ideologies he supports. There's no need to sugarcoat it. Readers should be aware where their money goes.
Hope their N64 is good and not overpriced like Analogue’s products (AND SHIPPING!) are. Also hope their build quality, shipping estimates, customer service, and returns are better than Analogue -there’s plenty of ex Analogue customers looking for a quality alternative!!!!
Competition is good.
I hope he make modern nintendo ds or 3ds-like console sometimes in the future, I already have analogue pocket for gameboy games, and interested in superstation one for fpga console gaming, but I definitely want modern nintendo ds/3ds with good screen and resolution 😃
And I don't care about his politics, if the product is good I will buy it, if it's bad then I won't buy it.
As SOMEONE said - fpga is also an emulation , but with easier connections to cartridge readers .
@CopyX1982 interesting question. With GB there has always been a good homebrew scene and with GB Studio, anyone with enough interest and time can create something. There isn't really a tool like that for N64. It would be great if new games were in the works but I have my doubts.
Its either an MSX clone of Neo's grey work IBM PC or ultra deluxe hacker version of his home rig or a next gen Nokia Engage to whatever flip phones they used from late 90s to early 00s...
If not then letdown.
@Twilite9 I agree that "controversial" is a better word than both "vocal" and "divisive".
I also agree that people should see where their money goes. As creators share their ideologies more openly, we are seeing a lot of game players selecting to support ideologies with their wallets. It will be interesting to see how that affects the industry in the future.
Have fun, and thanks for the reply!
@NoPhysicalNoBuy Their Chromatic is about the same in price as Analogue's Pocket, so I doubt the price would be any different.
Removed - inappropriate
Removed - unconstructive feedback
@NewBond Journalistically neutral how? What arbitrary neutrality are you referring to? Lucky is a bigot and gives his money to bigots in power. Ignoring that isn't neutral, it's an attempt to cover up.
@RupeeClock their stuff has made plenty of money and yet they still can't be bothered to keep said stuff consistently in stock
Where is my Analogue 3D?
@Damo any sign of a review copy of the console arriving at the Time Extension office? Hoping it hasn’t been significantly delayed.
No idea what that headline means
I'm all about options. The Analogue 3D, as far as I'm concerned, is still just a 3D mock up. It's not real until it's in someone's hands or there's a full video breakdown of a unit.
@Bod2019 Good question, not heard anything as yet.
People always whine that Analogue has no direct competition. The answer has always been that no sane business person would develop products like this because it's a niche within a niche and that tiny market is shrinking due to the endless portable software emulators & shrinking even further as Mister solutions become more affordable. It's funny now to see people twist like pretzels into their ethical consumption arguments with the Chromatic vs Pocket because of course the only crazy person who would jump into this game would be someone like Palmer Luckey.
I have the 3D on preorder but this unit is better I'd definitely check it out. Analogue is great but not perfect. I still prefer the AVS to the NT Mini.
@Damo
I sense a delay, all evidence seems to suggest likely June release (8Bitdo 64 controller date is now expected June).
Guess there might be an announcement to that effect in around a weeks time.
@NoPhysicalNoBuy I think the Analogue offering JUST got delayed, RGT85 was tweeting about it...
Man, Palmer Luckey was divisive when he released that game boy machine a year ago. Now I see not a single disparaging comment here and indeed a bunch of dog-whistling brown-nosers. What could possibly have happened in the intervening period I wonder...
I didn't think you could make the N64 worse but now that Palmer Luckey is involved I have hope.
Here's hoping for a malfunctioning drone incident
Seems the Analogue 3D has been confirmed delayed by Analogue, now targeting delivery by July, as was looking likely from other information available.
Would’ve been nice to get an email and not have to find out through online posts by others.
I’ll definitely keep my eyes on this. I’ll be intrigued to see their approach for an FPGA N64. I really liked their take on the Game Boy Color, using a like for like screen in terms of resolution and also allowing the use of AA batteries. But obviously none of that applies with an N64 so it may be a more standard approach.
Luckey is gross. I don't care how decent is products are, he's working overtime to worsen the world we live in.
Was on the fence with the chromatic and now it's my daily player so I'll definitely keep an eye on this. Love what the company is doing. Catering to such a niche audience.
Between them and analogue, it's a great time to be a retro enthusiast.
I just hope they don’t give it that 70s/early 80s paint job. Not sure what they were thinking with that as the Game Boy was a 90s system (released in 89), it had a 2 decade off Atari age visual design, bizarre, and imho ugly af.
@NewBond I think replacing the word "neutral" with "cowardly" would be more epistemologically honest
His video game products are rehabilitation for his image
Removed - flaming/arguing
I want one so bad, plus a Chromatic, but it's got so much baggage attached. Palmer Lucky, in my eyes is not someone I would enjoy being around and honestly someone I wouldn't feel safe being around. Additionally he chose his audience very clearly and openly when he got Logan Paul to attach his name to the Chromatic.
Those things make it really hard to want to own one. I don't like Analogue for their business practices, but their products have fallen into my lap, and I'll accept them, and I have legitimately enjoyed them. Palmer's products, as honestly great as they are, just have a "funk" about them that I can't get past.
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...