@Goldgreen That's exactly why they are calling it divisive, there are people who are hating on it, and there are people who love it, there doesn't seem to be a middle-ground.
I will say this, there's a lot of people who are saying "nobody wants this", and that is very obviously false.
This is actually a $50 reduction being marketed as a $100.
On launch there was already going to be a $50 reduction (previously announced) before the use of any discount code, bringing the price to $450. The $500 price being touted by many press outlets didn't take this into account.
You may wish to edit your article to reflect this.
As a side note, the gold edition has not gotten so large of a discount.
If having those additions (earphones and "premium memory") makes it cost more than the original price was going to be then this price drop is a complete and utter con.
@mariteaux It does clarify it, as it states (and I quote), "Time Extension is looking for a talented and knowledgeable UK-based News Editor to join Jack and me on the site".
It is entirely possible that it was edited after you posted your comment, but the article as it stands at the time of writing is pretty clear cut.
@Guru_Larry It is running a fork of Sailfish OS with an Android compatibility layer, which is not the same thing as "running Android" as that implies that the core OS is Android.
It's not the first time we've seen such, some later Blackberry phones ran Blackberry OS but allowed for running Android apps via inclusion of an Android runtime (before Blackberry decided just to move all of their phones over to running Android OS natively).
Having had one of those Blackberry phones which had the Android runtime, app compatibility was patchy at best (an issue exacerbated by default screen dimensions which most Android apps were not designed to handle). I forsee issues with this new phone due to the way many Android apps handle logins by opening a web browser and then going back into the app itself, due to the fact that web browsers are blocked in this fork of the Sailfish OS.
I'd be interested to see if someone does a jailbreak for this phone, even thought it would go against everything the phone is purporting to be to begin with! 🤣
What is the difference between the Arcade Archives 1 version and the Arcade Archives 2 version, other than a price increase which I cannot see justified in any way?
@WaveBoy Yeah, the cases of individuals being prosecuted for downloading an old game ROM are next to non-existent because the issue is not possession, it is the distribution of them.
@Damo Sadly sometimes some people need to be saved from themselves, and especially when it comes to this hobby (see also: any number of crowdfunding campaigns which retro fans keep throwing money at despite them being covered in red flags). A media blackout on them would see that person disappear into obscurity, and nobody else gullible parted from their money.
@Guru_Larry Almost as bad as the Vega Plus though? I think that's hyperbole, but each to their own. There's been lots of problems with the C64 Ultimate, yes, but I don't think anything will ever come close to that debacle (apart from maybe that SuperSega grifter).
@Neotext You'd be surprised how many deeply unpleasant people there are who have retro computing and consoles amongst their hobbies, and how many of those would think it is humorous to participate in such horrendous acts such as this.
@Sketcz The bundled joystick with the standard edition Black AES is wired, but the oddly the bundled joystick with the white one is wireless, and with the Ultimate Edition you get one wired and one wireless joystick. I prefer wired myself as batteries in controllers have a shelf life on them, and if I cannot manually replace them then the controller would become essentially bricked before the point where the buttons and such have worn out.
@Martin_H The lack of regulatory protection is exactly why they target their fans for the investment, who may be willing to burn some money to show their fandom.
See also: Brew Dog with their "Equity For Punks" crowdfunding.
"After generating over $7 million in revenue and selling 250,000 controllers, Retro Fighters is looking to its fans for future investment. The company has taken to the investment platform WeFunder with a goal of raising $75,000."
If it has made $7,000,000 in revenue, why does it need $75,000 from their customers on top of that? In the US that's not even a year's wages for an electronics engineer. There's something quite fishy about this.
@h3s That's just false, Arcade Club ensure that the games do play well, which is why they have a massive maintenance department (which if I recall correctly also does repairs for external customers too).
The amount of broken cabinets in Arcade Club is minimal in comparison to the likes of NQ64 (the state of the cabs in those venues are abysmal).
What the hell is a cheevo? Is that one of those yank gamer words for Achievements?
Yeah, I'm not a fan of them. Publishers used them to kill off actual in-game unlockables, and their platform-mandated nature killed off the fun cheat codes we used to have.
They suck, and have turned more recent gamers into playing games to tick boxes, not for actual fun.
I don't believe this for a second. They're going to up the price of it to align with increased RAM prices, and saying that gives them the cover to do so, I guarantee it.
@EvilBit I don't know what you mean, the code was discovered years previously, and posted elsewhere where it was not pay-walled, and the article linked to that too.
@PopetheRev28 I hate to say this, but Japanese companies have ignored the USA-centred craziness of the past few years on social media platforms, so they continue to use the ones a lot of westerners have left due to toxicity and such.
Remember kids (and adults), don't back Kickstarters unless you like seeing your money disappear, the product(s) never being delivered, or the product not being of the same quality as initially advertised!
@profkross It's really not shorthand for that though, it has become its own thing, or rather a way of, typically Americans, trying to punch down on games which were not developed in the USA or Japan.
And it has even spread to UK YouTubers trying to court that sweet sweet USA-viewer advert revenue.
I'm sick of it, and the revisionist history that it has created. I don't think this book will fix that by any means, but it is nice that it might exist at some point in the future.
(When I went to post this I was told my comment was too short. Although I understand why one word comments are generally disallowed, let this serve as mere padding, this post should only have been that one word).
You'll find that when it comes to games, unique is typically defined by the design of the gameplay mechanics, or the art style.
Not every game has to be pushing the technological boundaries of the hardware in some ill-fated attempt to be labelled "unique".
But there again, as you quoted yourself, it is aimed to "to enable users with minimal or no programming knowledge to make games", I didn't see the word "unique" there.
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Re: "I Almost Left Sony Over That One" - Meet The Unreleased PlayStation Pad With A PS1 Inside
@PZT Given the VGHF is more than a little dodgy, I would go elsewhere in trying to document this.
Re: "We Listened" - Commodore Reduces The Price Of Its Forthcoming Callback 8020 'Dumbphone'
@Goldgreen That's exactly why they are calling it divisive, there are people who are hating on it, and there are people who love it, there doesn't seem to be a middle-ground.
I will say this, there's a lot of people who are saying "nobody wants this", and that is very obviously false.
Re: "We Listened" - Commodore Reduces The Price Of Its Forthcoming Callback 8020 'Dumbphone'
@brakeman90 It depends what you mean. If you mean listening to them via the native apps they're on then it is a maybe depending upon the app.
If you just download them as an audio file and copy it over then it'll be a yes 100%.
Re: "We Listened" - Commodore Reduces The Price Of Its Forthcoming Callback 8020 'Dumbphone'
HANG ON A MINUTE.
This is actually a $50 reduction being marketed as a $100.
On launch there was already going to be a $50 reduction (previously announced) before the use of any discount code, bringing the price to $450. The $500 price being touted by many press outlets didn't take this into account.
You may wish to edit your article to reflect this.
As a side note, the gold edition has not gotten so large of a discount.
If having those additions (earphones and "premium memory") makes it cost more than the original price was going to be then this price drop is a complete and utter con.
Re: "Embarrassing" - These $100 Sonic Re-Releases Aren't Going Down Well With Fans
> "1 in 8 cartridges infused with Chaos Emerald energy"
Great, you get to pay $100 to enter what is basically a raffle.
Re: "This Isn't Your Granny's Flip Phone" - Commodore Defends Its $500 Dumbphone
@Fanboy_Destroyer "Credit where credit is due: he’s a condescending, gaslighting, gatekeeping master."
Can you elaborate upon this?
Re: Site News: Want To Work On Time Extension? Now's Your Chance
@mariteaux It does clarify it, as it states (and I quote), "Time Extension is looking for a talented and knowledgeable UK-based News Editor to join Jack and me on the site".
It is entirely possible that it was edited after you posted your comment, but the article as it stands at the time of writing is pretty clear cut.
Re: Commodore's Next Hardware Release Is Dumb, And Proud Of It
@Guru_Larry It is running a fork of Sailfish OS with an Android compatibility layer, which is not the same thing as "running Android" as that implies that the core OS is Android.
It's not the first time we've seen such, some later Blackberry phones ran Blackberry OS but allowed for running Android apps via inclusion of an Android runtime (before Blackberry decided just to move all of their phones over to running Android OS natively).
Having had one of those Blackberry phones which had the Android runtime, app compatibility was patchy at best (an issue exacerbated by default screen dimensions which most Android apps were not designed to handle). I forsee issues with this new phone due to the way many Android apps handle logins by opening a web browser and then going back into the app itself, due to the fact that web browsers are blocked in this fork of the Sailfish OS.
I'd be interested to see if someone does a jailbreak for this phone, even thought it would go against everything the phone is purporting to be to begin with! 🤣
Re: "We Didn't Want To Keep You Waiting" - Here's The Resurrected Amiga 1200 In The Flesh
It looks exactly as I expected it would which can only be a bad thing. I cannot say I am tempted to purchase it.
Re: "A Small Tribute To One Of My Favorite Games" - Game Boy Tetris Is Being Ported To Sega Genesis
Nice, is it getting a Mega Drive port too?
Re: Necro Pop Is A New Game "Built From The Ground Up" For Neo Geo
Turns out it is pre-order, it does not release until May 2027.
Re: "I'm Considering That Possibility" - The Neo Geo AES Might Be Getting The EverDrive Treatment
@mjparker77 You do know that if you only want the cases then you can buy the games without the console, right?
Re: MegaWiFi Brings Online Play To The Sega Genesis / Mega Drive
Crowdfunder: "Give me money".
Also, Crowdfunder: "I don't think my audience is worth committing brain power to writing a sales pitch for myself, I'll just outsource that to AI".
Re: "A First-Of-Its-Kind Collaboration" - You Can Now Own Sonic, Dreamcast And Genesis Office Chairs
Get a Herman Miller Aeron, your spine will thank you later.
Re: Taito's Legendary Brick Breaker 'Arkanoid' Lands On Consoles This Week, Alongside An NES Shooter From Nichibutsu
What is the difference between the Arcade Archives 1 version and the Arcade Archives 2 version, other than a price increase which I cannot see justified in any way?
Re: Review: SuperStation One - This $210 FPGA PlayStation Puts Sony's PS Classic To Shame
@WaveBoy Yeah, the cases of individuals being prosecuted for downloading an old game ROM are next to non-existent because the issue is not possession, it is the distribution of them.
Re: "An Unparalleled Experience No FPGA Console Could Come Close To" - SuperSega Is Back, And It's Even Crazier Than Last Time
@Damo Sadly sometimes some people need to be saved from themselves, and especially when it comes to this hobby (see also: any number of crowdfunding campaigns which retro fans keep throwing money at despite them being covered in red flags). A media blackout on them would see that person disappear into obscurity, and nobody else gullible parted from their money.
Re: Review: SuperStation One - This $210 FPGA PlayStation Puts Sony's PS Classic To Shame
@WaveBoy Eh? My question of "And?" was "And your point is what exactly, since nobody cares about the dubious legality of ROM sharing?".
Re: "An Unparalleled Experience No FPGA Console Could Come Close To" - SuperSega Is Back, And It's Even Crazier Than Last Time
@Damo Counterpoint: Without the continuing coverage given by news outlets nobody would be funding (i.e. being conned by) that biff.
Re: Review: SuperStation One - This $210 FPGA PlayStation Puts Sony's PS Classic To Shame
@WaveBoy "It's technically illegal, like with any MiSter since you're downloading roms off a website"
And?
Re: Sunsoft Is Bringing Back PS1 Cult Classic 'Hard Edge' As A Real-Time Tactical Card Battler
I loved Hard Edge, just sad that the new entry in the series is yet another card game.
Re: Saudi-Funded Metal Slug Reboot Looks To Be Taking The Series Back To Its Pixel Art Roots
Small reminder that the same fund also has a (albeit far smaller) stake in Nintendo.
But nobody mentions that.
(Edit for accuracy: Another article on the site does indeed mention it, alongside stakes in Capcom, Take-Two, and Embracer)
Re: "We Know This Might Feel Restrictive" - Commodore Explains Why It's Locking Down The C64 Ultimate
@Guru_Larry Almost as bad as the Vega Plus though? I think that's hyperbole, but each to their own. There's been lots of problems with the C64 Ultimate, yes, but I don't think anything will ever come close to that debacle (apart from maybe that SuperSega grifter).
Re: "That Was Crazy" - Retro Panel Gets Interrupted After Bomb Threat
@Neotext You'd be surprised how many deeply unpleasant people there are who have retro computing and consoles amongst their hobbies, and how many of those would think it is humorous to participate in such horrendous acts such as this.
Re: "We Know This Might Feel Restrictive" - Commodore Explains Why It's Locking Down The C64 Ultimate
@Guru_Larry Sounds like a script for an upcoming clickbait video of some sort.
Re: Guide: Where To Pre-Order The Neo Geo+ AES
@Sketcz The bundled joystick with the standard edition Black AES is wired, but the oddly the bundled joystick with the white one is wireless, and with the Ultimate Edition you get one wired and one wireless joystick. I prefer wired myself as batteries in controllers have a shelf life on them, and if I cannot manually replace them then the controller would become essentially bricked before the point where the buttons and such have worn out.
Re: This Popular PSP SNES Emulator Is Getting Revived After Eight Years Away
Amazing news! It will be interesting to see if other PSP projects are taken out of mothballs and also see similar upgrades over the coming years.
Re: More Classic Capcom Titles Have Arrived On Steam, But, Of Course, There's A Catch
@Sketcz Is "Cheevo" one of those yank Gamers(TM) terms for Achievements?
Re: "Long Live Retro" - Retro Fighters Wants Fans To Invest In Its Future
@Martin_H The lack of regulatory protection is exactly why they target their fans for the investment, who may be willing to burn some money to show their fandom.
See also: Brew Dog with their "Equity For Punks" crowdfunding.
Re: "Long Live Retro" - Retro Fighters Wants Fans To Invest In Its Future
"After generating over $7 million in revenue and selling 250,000 controllers, Retro Fighters is looking to its fans for future investment. The company has taken to the investment platform WeFunder with a goal of raising $75,000."
If it has made $7,000,000 in revenue, why does it need $75,000 from their customers on top of that? In the US that's not even a year's wages for an electronics engineer. There's something quite fishy about this.
Re: This Long-Running Website Has Apparently Been Nuked From Google Thanks To AI-Written Resident Evil Review
FAFO. MEGALOL.
Re: Ex-Xbox Icon Larry "Major Nelson" Hryb Joins Commodore International
According to photographic evidence, Larry Hryb has been the same age for the last twenty years.
Re: "One Of The Best-Run Arcades I've Ever Seen" - Take A Look Inside Prince Arcades
@h3s That's just false, Arcade Club ensure that the games do play well, which is why they have a massive maintenance department (which if I recall correctly also does repairs for external customers too).
The amount of broken cabinets in Arcade Club is minimal in comparison to the likes of NQ64 (the state of the cabs in those venues are abysmal).
Re: Achievement Unlocked - This Free Service Has Changed The Way I Play Retro Games In 2026
What the hell is a cheevo? Is that one of those yank gamer words for Achievements?
Yeah, I'm not a fan of them. Publishers used them to kill off actual in-game unlockables, and their platform-mandated nature killed off the fun cheat codes we used to have.
They suck, and have turned more recent gamers into playing games to tick boxes, not for actual fun.
Re: Hallelujah! The Dubious Quest To Find Monkey Ball's Lost "Adult" Levels Is Complete
@James-Bond Thanks for reminding me they closed down fourteen years ago, and making me feel a lot older as a result.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxH_zFzXMzo
Re: "I Would Like To Express My Deepest Apologies" - AYANEO Suspends Pocket PLAY Crowdfunding And Apologies For Failing Customers
I don't believe this for a second. They're going to up the price of it to align with increased RAM prices, and saying that gives them the cover to do so, I guarantee it.
Re: Here's How To "Fix" Knuckles' Chaotix, One Of The Most Divisive Sonic Games Of All Time
@EvilBit I don't know what you mean, the code was discovered years previously, and posted elsewhere where it was not pay-walled, and the article linked to that too.
Re: Capcom Has Invited Fans To Design Their Own Mega Man Boss, & Even A Nintendo Legend Is Getting In On It
@poyo_pie Lies detected.
Re: Capcom Has Invited Fans To Design Their Own Mega Man Boss, & Even A Nintendo Legend Is Getting In On It
@PopetheRev28 I hate to say this, but Japanese companies have ignored the USA-centred craziness of the past few years on social media platforms, so they continue to use the ones a lot of westerners have left due to toxicity and such.
Re: Hyper Sentinel Fusion Ships On A "Floppy Disk" And Is Coming To Kickstarter Soon
No thank you, I don't do 100% customer risk pre-orders.
Re: The TimeSplitters Series May Be On Ice, But This Impressive Fan Project Will Help Soothe The Pain
@FR4M3 The first entry was a bit pants compared to 2 and 3 in all honesty. But I also acknowledge that 1 walked so 2 could run and 3 could fly.
Re: R-Type Delta HD Boosted May Not Be The Definitive Way To Play This PS1 Gem, After All
"But it's certainly still the cheapest"
Pirated downloads say otherwise.
Re: The Vectrex Mini Kickstarter Is Now Live
Remember kids (and adults), don't back Kickstarters unless you like seeing your money disappear, the product(s) never being delivered, or the product not being of the same quality as initially advertised!
Re: Tired Of "The Usual North American Perspectives", This New Book Aims To Offer A Global View Of Game History
@profkross It's really not shorthand for that though, it has become its own thing, or rather a way of, typically Americans, trying to punch down on games which were not developed in the USA or Japan.
And it has even spread to UK YouTubers trying to court that sweet sweet USA-viewer advert revenue.
I'm sick of it, and the revisionist history that it has created. I don't think this book will fix that by any means, but it is nice that it might exist at some point in the future.
Re: Android PS2 Emulation Just Took A Huge Step Forward
You do know that's a PS3 controller in the picture, right? 😛
Re: "I Told Him I Loved Him, Because I Do" - A Tribute To The Late Dead Or Alive Creator Tomonobu Itagaki
Beautiful.
(When I went to post this I was told my comment was too short. Although I understand why one word comments are generally disallowed, let this serve as mere padding, this post should only have been that one word).
Re: The FPGA 'SuperStation One' PS1 Looks To Be Getting Its Own Line Of Super Affordable Memory Cards
@Arcadia_Official Not for $10.
But that's fine as long as it does what it says on the tin (functions as a PS1 memory card).
Re: "The Mega Drive / Genesis Ecosystem Is Getting Even Richer" - Say Hello To MD Engine
@GravyThief You didn't originally say "make a game", you said "make any sort of unique game". Those are two different things.
But in this case, GB Studio uses a WYSIWYG editor, which is fairly intuitive and easy to use.
Re: "The Mega Drive / Genesis Ecosystem Is Getting Even Richer" - Say Hello To MD Engine
@GravyThief Define "unique".
You'll find that when it comes to games, unique is typically defined by the design of the gameplay mechanics, or the art style.
Not every game has to be pushing the technological boundaries of the hardware in some ill-fated attempt to be labelled "unique".
But there again, as you quoted yourself, it is aimed to "to enable users with minimal or no programming knowledge to make games", I didn't see the word "unique" there.
Re: "The Mega Drive / Genesis Ecosystem Is Getting Even Richer" - Say Hello To MD Engine
@AllieKitsune Such an odd comment, stating that those things don't already exist.