Damo

@Not_Soos You need the original media.

@Snatcher I said I can verify that element of the story - which means it rings true with stuff I've been told by people in the industry who have interviewed him.

@themightyant I can independently verify at least one element of this story - Naka does like talking trash in Japanese in front of people who he thinks don't understand Japanese. :I

@KingMike OMG can you imagine lol

@chinhead Let's give it until tomorrow. If you still feel the same way, drop me a line here and I'll do it.

@chinhead Is that an honest request?

@impurekind I quote:

"The show clearly has a bit of an agenda as is, literally making the very first contestant non-binary and very visibly so, with everyone using they/them perfectly throughout, plus having a gay couple too, and specifically making a point of mentioning they are gay and asking them about the relationship"

You utterly exposed yourself with that comment and the many, many others you have posted on this topic. I raised the point in the original piece that people would attack the show for being too inclusive, and you confirmed my thoughts within minutes (and penned several essay-length replies outlining your position quite clearly) so please don't try and make out this is 'on me'.

Given that you've had a warning and have ignored it entirely, then I've got no option but to issue a ban.

@impurekind "You don't have to push it any harder, Damien."

See, the thing is, I didn't push anything - I correctly predicted that there would be narrow-minded people who would take issue with the episode, and you quickly 100% confirmed my suspicions.

If you're likely to go off on one of these rambles every time we even as much as mention inclusivity (which, like it or not, is part of modern life in 2021) then I'm afraid I'll have no option but to issue a ban. The site isn't going to change, so you're the one who is going to have to change.

I'd hate to lose such a long-standing member of the community, but I may have no choice. The ball is in your court.

@OldPierre77 "As someone who ACTIVELY supports and supported LGBTQ+ their entire life, who has friends and family STRUGGLING in a grim world with their everyday life by actually being a normal human being and open about their homosexuality — I don’t see the point in making political statements in a show 100% about losing our free time"

Firstly, there was no 'political statement' made during the show. The contestants in question are all gamers - and they're "actually being normal human beings" (your words) by appearing on a TV show about video games and playing video games. You shouldn't have any issue with this, going by your own words?

@Clyde_Radcliffe By all accounts, he isn't. But then Patrick Moore wasn't, either. He's just playing the character of the GamesMaster.

@Varathius Wow! I'd love to see your collection!

@Ooyah I'm not totally sure but I think it might be to do with the fact that the console versions have more buttons to use, and I'm not sure Blaze has an Amiga emulator at present?

@Gwynbleidd The title is fine; we're talking about third-party games which were previously available on Nintendo systems. They're still "Nintendo" in nature because you need a Nintendo console to play them. 😃

@madmaxjp The MiSTer also costs about 3 times as much.

@BloodNinja Well, the same thing will happen when the Amico servers are shut down I guess, but I still think this is a step forward for digital purchases.

@InkIdols Re-read what @Meteoroid has posted in these comments so far, as the use of NFT here shouldn't have any impact on the environment. The use here is to simply identify a digital copy of the game and match it with the physical game card.

@InkIdols And that's fine, you're entitled to do that. But we're not talking about Tommy here, but the approach Amico takes with physical / digital games.

@BloodNinja Exactly. The concept is interesting. It's odd that people are so negative about it when they're paying good money to Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft for digital games which they can't re-sell, and don't have any more ownership over than they would Amico games.

@Fugazi8 I'm not arguing with anyone; I'm just pointing out that the piece in question is focused on why this approach is new and different, and why it could be potentially interesting for digital purchases moving forward. It's not about whether or not the Amico will fail.

As for the 'shill' comments, I'd normally ignore them as they're downright hilarious, but you might recall that we've covered a lot of tangental projects on NL - the Evercade, Polymega, SNK, Konami and Sega's micro-consoles, etc. Why was there no outcry there?

The only reason people seem to think we're shills for covering Amico – which, like any new piece of hardware, I'm personally excited by because new hardware is almost always positive for gamers (even stuff that flops is often very interesting) – is because they've taken a personal dislike to Tommy. There's not much I can do about that; Tommy's always been very polite and forthcoming with me, but then again, I've not been hurling rocks in his direction. As for the interview we did where we apparently didn't challenge him, we raised all of the points that were mentioned in the Ars piece and gave him the platform to respond to them. Whether or not you believe what he said is up to you, but he had a right to reply (and for the record, we asked the Ars journalist to contribute as well but never got anything back in the end).

Tommy hasn't offered me a ride in his Ferrari or a free t-shirt (more's the pity, I like fast cars and I try to wear clothes all of the time), but if you honestly think those are the things that tempt a fairly large and successful website that's been running for over 15 years to write something positive, then I'm not sure I can convince you otherwise.

Bottom line, there are some very interesting things happening around the Amico, as well as many worrying things – but finding out how it pans out is part of the fun.

@Meteoroid You've hit the nail on the head.

@WhiteUmbrella "Once the servers are shut down, the physical media is useless. It's no better or more physical than a digital library with Sony, Microsoft or Steam"

That's certainly true of the servers, but at the moment, you can't exchange digital games on any other platform. So this approach is different, irrespective of what you think of the Amico or Tommy.

@Gwynbleidd But that's the whole point of this - it mixes physical and digital. A digital purchase, at the moment, is tied to your user account and cannot be sold. This approach still offers the convenience of digital (one tap and the game is on the machine until you delete it) but allows you to sell your copy if you want to raise cash to buy another game, or if you're bored of it.

It's a different approach to tackling digital ownership and gives the consumer more options. Options are good - physical, digital and this new approach - it's all good for the end user to have that choice.

@Jamie_R We've been following this since it was first confirmed that more than one former Nintendo executive was involved with the system. Plus, this is an interesting approach that could have wider ramifications for digital purchases on other systems, including Nintendo's.

Guys, it would be amazing if you could actually read the entire piece before posting a comment. Tom addressed many of the points being raised in the piece – the focus of which is very much the unique way in which this approach mixes physical and digital ownership.

Everyone's pretty much on the same page that Amico has a mountain to climb, but that doesn't stop this approach from being unique, which is the prime focus of the news item.

@HamatoYoshi There's no accounting for taste, my good friend

@nessisonett 100%. Rob really knows his games, and is hilarious too. Can't think of a better choice tbh.

@frogopus It compares very favourably to LaunchBox. The team behind the Polymega have been matching the database to carts and disc production runs, that's how accurate it is. Whenever a new production variant is discovered, it gets reported (by the beta testers originally, but now by a wider selection as the console is now available) and gets added to the database, which is updated every time there's a firmware update. Having said that, out of over 300 games I've installed, I've had less than 5 which have failed to be detected by the database (and 3 of those are now recognised since the last update).

This is certainly the best option ATM for disc-based emulation, IMO.

@Filbert_Wang You're welcome!

@abdias The originals controllers use the ports on the element modules, not USB, so lag is definitely reduced.

And no offence, but I've used some of these Chinese consoles you mentioned, the databases are hilariously inaccurate and full of mistakes. Polymega is on a totally different level to that.

@KillerBOB @mattmanvsuperman @ramu-chan @abdias

(Apologies for tagging so many of you, just wanted to address the points raised in one post)

Bob at RetroRGB tested the lag and it was around 2-2.5 frames using a wired USB controller, which is in the same ballpark as micro-consoles like the SNES Classic and Mega Drive Mini. Using one of the element module controller ports rather than USB (these accept original controllers) the latency is even less. While it's not going to match the Mister when it comes to lag, it's such a small amount of latency that you'll really struggle to notice.

While Mister keeps being raised as a rival to this, it's really not. Mister can't do Saturn or PlayStation (yet) and doesn't offer the massive database of games.

I think it's this element that people are missing here; if you want an emulation box that just plays ROMs then you have plenty of other options. The thing which makes Polymega stand out (and one of the many things that you're paying for when you drop down all that cash) is the HUGE pre-populated database of 1000s of games. That includes cover artwork, menu art, screenshots, descriptions, release date info, dev / publisher info, etc, etc.

I dread to think how long it has taken for Playmaji to create this database (the menu icons are all bespoke designs rather than lifted directly from the cover), and it's one of the aspects I love the most. You load up your game, it matches it to the database and then you install it. And it's there; it's not some filename, but a properly curated part of your digital collection - a bit like downloading games to your Switch. And you can then use that game to find other games released in the same year or by the same dev or in the same genre and tag them in your 'wishlist'. Polymega is aimed at collectors rather than people who are happy to just download ROMs off the internet.

I've been following and reporting on the Polymega situation for long enough now to realise those who are critical of it often don't fully understand the appeal of the platform, and why it's unique when compared to other options on the market. And, for the record, I've got original hardware, a Mister, both of Analogue's 16-bit FPGA consoles and many other means of playing retro games – but the Polymega has been the platform I've used most over the past 12 months (including Switch, PS5 and Series X). It's simply the most convenient way of accessing my retro collection all in one place (I sadly don't have a lot of room at home so can't have all of my machines connected at once).

@galachef55 I'd just embarrass myself lol

@evanc You learn something new every day! The one I have is from Japan and has different packaging

@BloodNinja @Magician We've got a review for that model coming soon! First impressions are excellent; the form factor is lovely.

@mattesdude I'm not sure it was? Happy to be told otherwise, however!

@SenseiDje You can use one of these

@Boldfoxrd There's demand on consoles, sure, but let's not forget that the smartphone market is huge. They're not releasing games on phones to annoy core fans – they're doing it because it makes more sense financially.

@edannunziata Given that some critics of the Amico and Tommy have suggested that several games - Dolphin Quest included - aren't even close to being finished yet, could you tell us how it's shaping up at the moment? And how freely can you discuss the comms between your studio and Intellivision? Were you in any way warned of a delay? Finally, what's your opinion of the hardware itself, from a developer's perspective?

@HamatoYoshi The comms has been dire, for sure. And I can appreciate it's frustrating to have handed over your cash years ago and not have the product yet. All I can say (as someone who has been using a beta Polymega for a year now) is that the system is brilliant and has exceeded my personal expectations, and I'm sure when units do eventually make their way to those who ordered (I understand the first batch is literally on the water as we speak), they will be very pleased. But none of that changes the fact that it's been a long and painful wait.

@HamatoYoshi Did you read the original news story? We're not 'sticking up' for anyone. The launch has been a disaster, but it doesn't change the fact that the product is excellent.

@BloodNinja We covered Mister here: https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2021/02/hardware_review_mister_fpga_-_a_tantalising_glimpse_into_the_future_of_retro_gaming

@HamatoYoshi As of September, that changes.

@Nietzsche I heard one report (which I can't confirm 100%) that the factory next to where the machine was being assembled was burnt to the ground. That Playmaji has anything to ship at all is nothing short of remarkable when you think about it - combine that with a global parts shortage and the impact of Covid and they literally couldn't have picked a worse time to launch this thing.

@NinChocolate The stick in the photo is the one I got with my Japanese Mega Drive back in 1990. It's built like a tank!

@abdias Retro Freak doesn't do CD-based systems though.

@EmmatheBest Polymega runs original media. So if you have a large collection and you want it all in one place, this is the only machine that does that right now.

@jipiboily Yep, it's got both - I'll add that in!

@ibis_87 It's defo a bit hit and miss with the N64 and DC. Some games run well while others are slow or refuse to run at all.

@TryToBeHopeful Oof! It is indeed. We wouldn't recommend steaming ANY piece of hardware.

@HamatoYoshi Resellers often remove the ROMs, though. That was the case with the units supplied to us by DroiX.

@LegatoSkyheart Of course, can't believe that slipped my mind. I've updated the piece to reflect this.