@wiiware See, I really liked that aspect - it's kind of like gear-gating sections of the level, creating mini-puzzles within stages. But I can see why it might frustrate, too!
@BobaTheFett Just because you don't see the point of projects like these doesn't mean other people aren't interested in them. I personally find it amazing what old hardware can do when put in the right hands.
Regards to it "being weird" that we reported on this without more detail, the guys behind the project literally posted a video and that was it. We're not involved in the project so therefore can't give any additional background info - but, given the interest in this post, it seems that a lot of people wanted to hear about it regardless.
And as for it not running on stock hardware because an Everdrive is used, that's kinda like saying Star Fox and Virtua Racing don't count either, as they're running with the help of special chips on the cartridge. The console itself is stock, so that's still a legitimate statement.
Regardless of all of this, I'm amazed a news post about a really cool development in the world of retro gaming would cause such a large amount of drama.
@WaffleRaptor01 Firstly, "one of us" was in quotation marks because I was kinda alluding to the line from Toy Story rather than saying it 100% seriously - apologies if that wasn't clear.
Secondly, despite the fact that gaming is the world's biggest entertainment industry, there are still a lot of celebs who don't play games – and if they do, they're certainly not as invested in them as Perry clearly was.
That's why I felt it was worth using this kind of language because he wasn't just a casual gamer.
@gingerbeardman The resolution is actually (almost) perfect, as most of the arcade games have an very similar resolutions. I was amazed at how sharp the games look on this display.
As for the comparison with the RGB30, you're comparing two totally different devices aimed at two different demographics. The Super Pocket is more straightforward to use, doesn't come loaded with unlicensed ROMs (something a lot of people are uneasy about) and has the added benefit of running physical carts, too. And it's cheaper than the RGB30 by almost half (and the battery life is almost the same).
The Super Pocket is clearly aimed at younger players, and the casual retro gift market - and with that in mind, it's a brilliant product.
"It's a portable that plays cartridges made for handhelds"
Judging from the amount of traffic we get on our OpenFPGA core guide for the Pocket, I'd argue a LOT of people are using their Pockets to play ROMs. I have a massive collection of physical carts but I see the benefit of being able to load a bunch of ROMs onto an SD card and avoid having to carry around physical games.
Also, your use of term 'hack' is misleading here; there's no hacking required to make use of OpenFPGA - it's baked into the Analogue Pocket firmware. All you're doing is loading in new FPGA cores and then loading ROMs. The Pocket was always designed with this in mind, just as it was designed to play original media.
"There is currently not an FPGA complex enough to do 3D game systems. It's not a software emulation handheld."
There are PS1, Saturn and N64 FPGA cores on MiSTer already.
"I think it's pretty clear that Analogue only creates and sells FPGA consoles, and caters to the FPGA niche."
While you're correct in that the FPGA and software emulation sectors are different, the end goal is the same: to play retro games. Given that the RGB30 has the same aspect ratio display as the Pocket (one of the big selling points for me personally), the comparison is fair, IMO.
@samuelvictor Thanks for the feedback, and you're right, it would help for us to stagger content when we can. However, TE and NL are, despite being part of the same network, independent in terms of editorial, so this isn't always possible. There's bound to be some crossover at points, but we try our best to avoid it.
Also, the lack of comments on here compared to NL isn't anything to do with us posting similar stuff, though - NL gets over 10 times the traffic of TE
We're always listening, though, and I appreciate you having the site's interests at heart! Spreading the word (either via word of mouth or online) is the best way to help the site grow
@samuelvictor The sites are separate, and always will be - even though we do often cross-post content across both.
The 'angle' of the NL story was different to this one, too, even though it's based on the same interview.
Just as NL, Push Square and Pure Xbox often post the same story from three different angles, there's sadly no way for us to avoid this kind of issue unless we only had one site – which might cause more harm than good!
@-wc- I can only imagine that it was somehow cheaper to license just a single title from SNK for this, rather than the whole series? It is odd, for sure!
@user0 I'm the main retro writer in the whole network (and the editor of Time Extension, a retro site). It stands to reason that if we ever cover anything by any retro-focused company, it will be me writing it. We've covered 8BitDo, Hyperkin and Retro-Bit with far more regularity than we have RetroSix.
@MysticX The impact of the crash was indeed fairly localised to the US, but, when you consider that it was perhaps the biggest market for console games at that point, I guess it was quite a big deal. Here in the UK, home computers like the Spectrum were already filling the void and in Japan, the Famicom launched in 1983 and we all know how that went
@RupeeClock There's zero issue with the cartridge slot, IMO. You can tap GB carts quite aggressively during gameplay, and nothing happens. I've been using mine since 2021 and haven't had a single instance of the issue you're describing.
@Scooby-Doo Yep! I got all of my Japanese PlayStation, Saturn, N64 and Dreamcast stuff from there. They even used to install mod chips on consoles so you could play imports!
@Chrysologus A lot of highly desirable games are anything but affordable these days - and that's not really the point of this study. Games should be preserved in a way that means you don't have to always resort to finding original hardware / software.
@killroy10 I've added Towers II - you've actually reminded me that there's an Enhanced edition available this year, so I might need to revisit that myself!
@-wc- You're not kidding. It feels like yesterday that I ordered a Japanese copy of this from Lik-Sang and immediately got a telling-off from my girlfriend (now my wife) because it amounted to a whole week's wages at the time (I was only working in a toy store!)
@Delwynden You know, the SNES game gets a bad rap (and I include myself in that, I wrote the Nintendo Life review) but I have a massive soft spot for it. Because I was so starved of LotR content back in the 1990s I played it in spite of its many failings, but it still charms me to this day. The music, in particular, is wonderful, and I love how it uses the 1978 movie characters (that film was basically my introduction to Tolkien).
We had individual interviews with the MM staff on the MMA, and I also did a piece for Retro Gamer magazine about 15 years ago where I spoke to all of the usual suspects, too.
Comments 797
Re: Review: Irem Arcade 1 - Come For R-Type, Stay For Genuine Coin-Op History
@michaelf You are quite welcome!
Re: There's A New Polymega Project Coming In 2024
@macdon6794 We were told directly, but I assume the same update is going out to other sites.
Re: Review: Goodboy Galaxy / Witch n' Wiz - A Must-Have For Your Evercade
@wiiware See, I really liked that aspect - it's kind of like gear-gating sections of the level, creating mini-puzzles within stages. But I can see why it might frustrate, too!
Re: Review: Goodboy Galaxy / Witch n' Wiz - A Must-Have For Your Evercade
@michaelf Watch this space...
Re: Review: Trimui Smart Pro - Great Design, Shame About The D-Pad
@calbeau Apologies; the unit has about five hours of stamina - this has been added to the review.
Re: Footage Of Marvel Super Heroes Running On Sega Genesis Raises Eyebrows
@BobaTheFett Just because you don't see the point of projects like these doesn't mean other people aren't interested in them. I personally find it amazing what old hardware can do when put in the right hands.
Regards to it "being weird" that we reported on this without more detail, the guys behind the project literally posted a video and that was it. We're not involved in the project so therefore can't give any additional background info - but, given the interest in this post, it seems that a lot of people wanted to hear about it regardless.
And as for it not running on stock hardware because an Everdrive is used, that's kinda like saying Star Fox and Virtua Racing don't count either, as they're running with the help of special chips on the cartridge. The console itself is stock, so that's still a legitimate statement.
Regardless of all of this, I'm amazed a news post about a really cool development in the world of retro gaming would cause such a large amount of drama.
Re: Warhammer 40K: Boltgun Contains An Awesome Throwback To Games Workshop's Musical Past
@Woderwick I was honestly thinking for a second I might be the only person who remembers this album!
I also loved the Dark Future radio intro - it blew my mind as a 12-year-old that albums could have stories weaved into them.
I'm so pleased this album is getting a new lease of life, even if it's only as menu music!
Re: 18 Wheeler Director Got A Driver's License In Order To Work On The Game
@NinChocolate I was thinking the same thing! XD
Re: Sega Resurrects The Iconic "Sega Scream" For Sonic Superstars
@AshMcCool @Coolmusic Ah, you're quite right! I've updated the text to reflect this. Thanks!
Re: FIFA Cover Stars - Every Athlete From 1993 To 2022
@belmont Thanks, added!
Re: FIFA Cover Stars - Every Athlete From 1993 To 2022
@Turrican Wow, I've never seen that cover before! Added, thanks!
Re: A Tribute To Matthew Perry, Actor, Playwright And Video Gamer
@WaffleRaptor01 Firstly, "one of us" was in quotation marks because I was kinda alluding to the line from Toy Story rather than saying it 100% seriously - apologies if that wasn't clear.
Secondly, despite the fact that gaming is the world's biggest entertainment industry, there are still a lot of celebs who don't play games – and if they do, they're certainly not as invested in them as Perry clearly was.
That's why I felt it was worth using this kind of language because he wasn't just a casual gamer.
Re: A Tribute To Matthew Perry, Actor, Playwright And Video Gamer
@Exerion76 People tend to bond over shared interests and hobbies.
Re: Review: Hyper Mega Tech Super Pocket - A Wonderful Game Boy-Style Retro Gift
@gingerbeardman The resolution is actually (almost) perfect, as most of the arcade games have an very similar resolutions. I was amazed at how sharp the games look on this display.
As for the comparison with the RGB30, you're comparing two totally different devices aimed at two different demographics. The Super Pocket is more straightforward to use, doesn't come loaded with unlicensed ROMs (something a lot of people are uneasy about) and has the added benefit of running physical carts, too. And it's cheaper than the RGB30 by almost half (and the battery life is almost the same).
The Super Pocket is clearly aimed at younger players, and the casual retro gift market - and with that in mind, it's a brilliant product.
Re: Review: Hyper Mega Tech Super Pocket - A Wonderful Game Boy-Style Retro Gift
@RootsGenoa Mapping is active on the EXP, as per the last update I think?
Re: Powkiddy RGB30 - A $90 Analogue Pocket Rival? You'd Better Believe It
@DestructoDisk A few points:
"It's a portable that plays cartridges made for handhelds"
Judging from the amount of traffic we get on our OpenFPGA core guide for the Pocket, I'd argue a LOT of people are using their Pockets to play ROMs. I have a massive collection of physical carts but I see the benefit of being able to load a bunch of ROMs onto an SD card and avoid having to carry around physical games.
Also, your use of term 'hack' is misleading here; there's no hacking required to make use of OpenFPGA - it's baked into the Analogue Pocket firmware. All you're doing is loading in new FPGA cores and then loading ROMs. The Pocket was always designed with this in mind, just as it was designed to play original media.
"There is currently not an FPGA complex enough to do 3D game systems. It's not a software emulation handheld."
There are PS1, Saturn and N64 FPGA cores on MiSTer already.
"I think it's pretty clear that Analogue only creates and sells FPGA consoles, and caters to the FPGA niche."
While you're correct in that the FPGA and software emulation sectors are different, the end goal is the same: to play retro games. Given that the RGB30 has the same aspect ratio display as the Pocket (one of the big selling points for me personally), the comparison is fair, IMO.
Re: Powkiddy RGB30 - A $90 Analogue Pocket Rival? You'd Better Believe It
@ChromaticDracula It has HDMI out
Re: "Like A Book Or A Movie" - Star Fox Dev Dylan Cuthbert Shares His Vision Of Retro Gaming's Future
@samuelvictor Thanks for the feedback, and you're right, it would help for us to stagger content when we can. However, TE and NL are, despite being part of the same network, independent in terms of editorial, so this isn't always possible. There's bound to be some crossover at points, but we try our best to avoid it.
Also, the lack of comments on here compared to NL isn't anything to do with us posting similar stuff, though - NL gets over 10 times the traffic of TE
We're always listening, though, and I appreciate you having the site's interests at heart! Spreading the word (either via word of mouth or online) is the best way to help the site grow
Re: "Like A Book Or A Movie" - Star Fox Dev Dylan Cuthbert Shares His Vision Of Retro Gaming's Future
@samuelvictor The sites are separate, and always will be - even though we do often cross-post content across both.
The 'angle' of the NL story was different to this one, too, even though it's based on the same interview.
Just as NL, Push Square and Pure Xbox often post the same story from three different angles, there's sadly no way for us to avoid this kind of issue unless we only had one site – which might cause more harm than good!
Re: Hands On: Evercade's Latest Crop Of Carts Offer Some Welcome Surprises
@KingMike I've noted that in the text, just in case anyone thinks it's a straight sequel. And yeah, the MD / Genesis game doesn't get enough love!
Re: Metal Slug 3 Teams Up With "Competitive RTS" Warpath
@-wc- I can only imagine that it was somehow cheaper to license just a single title from SNK for this, rather than the whole series? It is odd, for sure!
Re: CIBSunday: Time Crisis 4 (PS3)
@Daggot We probably need a 'best Time Crisis games' list, to be honest
Re: CIBSunday: Time Crisis 4 (PS3)
@Daggot CIB (Complete in Box) Sunday pieces are intended to show off games in their packaging, they're not meant to be in-depth features.
Re: Review: RetroSix Super GamePad - The Perfect Replacement For Your Old SNES Controller
@user0 I'm the main retro writer in the whole network (and the editor of Time Extension, a retro site). It stands to reason that if we ever cover anything by any retro-focused company, it will be me writing it. We've covered 8BitDo, Hyperkin and Retro-Bit with far more regularity than we have RetroSix.
Re: 40 Years Ago Today, Atari Dumped Millions Of Unsold Games In The New Mexico Desert
@MysticX The impact of the crash was indeed fairly localised to the US, but, when you consider that it was perhaps the biggest market for console games at that point, I guess it was quite a big deal. Here in the UK, home computers like the Spectrum were already filling the void and in Japan, the Famicom launched in 1983 and we all know how that went
Re: Transparent Analogue Pockets Are On The Way, But You'll Need To Be Fast
@RupeeClock There's zero issue with the cartridge slot, IMO. You can tap GB carts quite aggressively during gameplay, and nothing happens. I've been using mine since 2021 and haven't had a single instance of the issue you're describing.
Re: Review: Aya Neo Pocket Air - The New Handheld Emulation King
@tektite_captain The rubber is indeed dirty-looking on the sticks, which is a little annoying. That's just the way they look sadly.
Re: Best Gundam Games Of All Time
@Sketcz I have the physical version of Troy and I have a modded 360... might have to investigate, as I've only ever played it in Japanese
Re: Best Gundam Games Of All Time
@WoottWinds I've added Unicorn to the list, I can't believe I forgot that! Will look into the others as well, once I've had a chance to play them.
Ditto for the Side Story games, @AJB83 - I've always heard bad things about them, though?
Re: Review: 8BitDo Neo Geo Wireless Controller - It Just 'Clicks'
@gojiguy It does work, but you'll need the 8BitDo USB Adapter 2.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BrhdRTDuTeY
Re: Best PS1 RPGs Of All Time
@Knirau11 Don't know how I missed BoF4! Added!
Re: Playing The CeX Retro Lottery
@Andee Game Focus was amazing! Such a shame when that closed down.
Re: The Superb 'Sonic Triple Trouble 16-Bit' Gets A Welcome Dose Of Amy Rose
@BionicDodo Fixed! 😅
Re: Playing The CeX Retro Lottery
@Scooby-Doo You're very welcome - thanks for the kind words!
Re: Playing The CeX Retro Lottery
@Scooby-Doo Yep! I got all of my Japanese PlayStation, Saturn, N64 and Dreamcast stuff from there. They even used to install mod chips on consoles so you could play imports!
Re: Best Genesis / Mega Drive RPGs And Action Adventures Of All Time
@-wc- That's the Japanese title.
Re: Review: Aya Neo Air 1S - Wipes The Floor With Switch And Steam Deck, At A Price
@BulkSlash I believe AyaSpace 2.0 can be installed on any of the older handhelds.
Re: Activision Might Have "Lost" A Bunch Of Amazing Transformers Video Games
@ralphdibny All of them will be available second-hand - this is only talking about digital re-releases / remasters, etc
Re: Hands On: Unboxing Astebros, A Brand-New Mega Drive Game For 2023
@Uncharted2007 That's my pride and joy!
Re: Shocking Study Reveals 87% Of Classic Games Are "Critically Endangered"
@Chrysologus A lot of highly desirable games are anything but affordable these days - and that's not really the point of this study. Games should be preserved in a way that means you don't have to always resort to finding original hardware / software.
Re: Best Atari Jaguar Games
@killroy10 I've added Towers II - you've actually reminded me that there's an Enhanced edition available this year, so I might need to revisit that myself!
Re: Best Atari Jaguar Games
@killroy10 This list isn't set in stone; I'll look into those (excellent) suggestions and might expand the list in the future - thanks!
Re: Three Of Taito's Classic '80s LaserDisc Games Are Coming To Nintendo Switch
@Mario500 Google translated from the original Japanese site
Re: Random: The GameCube's Lid Holds A Secret, But Did You Know About It?
@TransmitHim I have to admit that made me chuckle!
Re: One Of The World's Most Famous Game Boys Is Retiring From Active Duty
@mrfield Wow, really? That's just down the road from me. Wish I'd have known!
Re: "It's Like A Dream" - Hamster President Satoshi Hamada On The Success Of Arcade Archives
@JohnnyMind Fixed! Thanks!
Re: Anniversary: Henshin-A-Go-Go, Baby! Viewtiful Joe Turns 20 Today
@-wc- You're not kidding. It feels like yesterday that I ordered a Japanese copy of this from Lik-Sang and immediately got a telling-off from my girlfriend (now my wife) because it amounted to a whole week's wages at the time (I was only working in a toy store!)
Re: The Making Of: J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, Vol. I - A Middle-earth Classic
@Delwynden You know, the SNES game gets a bad rap (and I include myself in that, I wrote the Nintendo Life review) but I have a massive soft spot for it. Because I was so starved of LotR content back in the 1990s I played it in spite of its many failings, but it still charms me to this day. The music, in particular, is wonderful, and I love how it uses the 1978 movie characters (that film was basically my introduction to Tolkien).
Re: Review: 8BitMods MemCard Pro GC - A Next-Generation GameCube Memory Card
@sabreman64 It works on Wii
Re: The Making Of: Super Play, The Japan-Obsessed SNES Magazine That Inspired A Generation
@themightyant This might be the interview you're thinking of? https://www.timeextension.com/features/the-making-of-mean-machines-the-magazine-that-sold-console-gaming-to-the-uk
We had individual interviews with the MM staff on the MMA, and I also did a piece for Retro Gamer magazine about 15 years ago where I spoke to all of the usual suspects, too.