RetroN 5 $129.99 with free shipping @ ThinkGeek - The RetroN 5 deals thread

Drclaw411

Drclaw411

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CURRENT DEALS:

$129.99 with free shipping at ThinkGeek


Important Information
​Warranty registration - http://www.retron5.com/warrantyregistration_/
Patch Notes / How to Update (Last update 6/10/2014) - http://retron5.in/?src=98f13708210194c475687be6106a3b84

I've included the text from the pre-order era of this OP in spoilers for reference.
UPDATE 5/27/14: It's real this time. Hyperkin's June 6 release date is happening. Many mom and pop stores that have received their units have started selling them already, and many people who have ordered from Amazon (myself included) are reporting getting emails from Amazon notifying them that their orders qualify for release day delivery and are updating estimated delivery status to June 6th, no longer showing the "we need more time" placeholder. It's worth noting that so far only people who have ordered the grey unit from Amazon are receiving order updates (which coincides with Hyperkin reporting on their facebook page that they had shipped Amazon's grey preorder units, but Amazon had yet to place an order for the black units). All consoles that have been shown off online by reviewers, people who have been able to buy them before the street date, or Hyperkin themselves have all been grey consoles to this point. No word on black consoles. Another note: Chris Gallizzi of Hyperkin responded to an inquiry about Newegg orders by saying that he is not aware of any issues with Newegg's preorders, and they should be good to go for the launch.

UPDATE 5/22/14: Just one day after IGN and Polygon reported that Hyperkin would begin shipping units to retailers on May 22 (today as of this writing), Hyperkin essentially confirmed that. They have announced that the launch date for the long overdue RetroN 5 is June 6th, 2014. In a much quieter fashion (just by responding to a random person's comment) they confirmed this would be for North America only and that the console would launch in the UK in September. There is also one more small hitch. The rumor that the first batch of units would be only for mom/pop B&M retailers and that NO units from this batch would go to Amazon or Newegg has been gaining some serious steam. While Hyperkin has been responding to a decent amount of comments on their facebook page from excited fans, they continue to ignore questions about when Amazon orders will ship. So it seems those of us who preordered on Amazon still don't have a solid release date. Fulfillment could happen any time between June 6th through September or beyond.

UPDATE 5/21/14: IGN today reported that the RetroN 5 would begin shipping out on May 22 (tomorrow, as of this writing)! This coincides with Chris Gazzilli, Hyperkin's project manager, posting a picture on his facebook page of a massive shipping container full of RetroN 5 units. Ladies and Gentlemen, it seems hell may have just frozen over.

UPDATE 5/13/14: Hyperkin has listed the RetroN 5, and it's controllers, on their company wholesale store for authorized retailers to buy. The console (both colors) and controllers (both colors) are listed as sold out. I'm not sure if they were in stock and sold out quickly, or if they haven't been made available yet. Regardless, it's good news that the system is listed for the first time ever. Additionally, reviewers such as GameSpot and several youtube reviewers have received their review units, which appear to be retail units. The RetroN 5 seems to finally be around the corner. We'll see, but things look promising right now. One thing to note: the listing for the console on Hyperkin's wholesale page indicates that each wholesale box contains six units. If this is the case, it would seem to debunk the previous report of the console being shipped in quantities of four per retailer.

UPDATE 4/25/14: While this hasn't technically been confirmed by Hyperkin, I take it as fact. It's worth remembering that NOTHING has been officially confirmed by Hyperkin. Hyperkin has remained silent until unofficially confirming almost all known info in random interviews with various youtubers and forum members. Therefor, again, I take this as fact:

I spoke to Hyperkin today.

Here are the "unofficial" details.

The "end of May" release is a "soft" release. Meaning they really are waiting for the next batch due in the summer for the official real release. Amazon is NOT getting any of the units released at the end of May. Each retailer is only getting 4 units. Retail on the unit is $139.99 and $39.99 for the additional controller. The reasons for the price increase are both cosmetic and technical but if it works as it should then it should be a great retro system.

Our 4 are already taken with pre-orders. If you know any stores locally that are getting units, and you want one for end of May, then i suggest you contact them and put money down. Keep in mind that each store is getting 4 units only for the soft launch.
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UPDATE 4/17/14: Hyperkin has increased the price of the RetroN 5, saying "north of $100, between $129.99 and $149.99". Alll pre-orders from Amazon should be honored via their pre-order price guarantee. I believe Newegg has the same guarantee, I am not sure about Stone Age Gamer or 8 Bit Classics. Think Geek still hasn't opened pre-orders on the unit, instead offering a link to be signed up for email notifications as to when it will be available. Also on the Amazon front, they have sold out or pre-orders. Furthermore, it is more likely you'll learn the ETA from Amazon, Newegg, or whoever you ordered it from. Hyperkin has gone on record of saying they will never again announce a hard release date for anything.

UPDATE 4/12/14: After Hyperkin denied the console was delayed again and vigoruosuly shoved the month of April up everyone's ass for half a year, today they delayed the vaporware console yet again. At the Midwest Gaming Classic, they did their annual presentation. They ignored the planned April 2014 release, but finally somebody in the crowd asked about it. The Hyperkin rep said it was releasing in "30 days, guaranteed". This is not the first time they used the word "guaranteed", last time was about April so this doesn't mean jack shit. So maybe it'll randomly show up at people's houses at the end of may, maybe it wont, and maybe my ass will fly out of my ass.

Retron 5 Delay History:
-Summer 2013 (which they continued to say after summer was over, claiming they meant "Indian Summer" or "California Summer"....i'm not making this up)
-December 10 2013
-Quarter 1 2014
-Quarter 2 2014
-First two weeks of April
-April 2014, guaranteed
-Gauranteed within 30-40 days of April 12, 2014
-June 6 2014

DELAYED. ANY UPDATES FROM HYPERKIN WILL COME ON THEIR FACEBOOK PAGE: https://www.facebook.com/HyperkinGames

UPDATE: In a recent interview, Hyperkin confirmed that the initial batch of units WILL NOT BE ENOUGH to meet day ome demand. Also confirmed was the ability for the system to act as a multitap. Example: in a four player SNES game, two players could use snes controlles, one player could use the retron controller, and one player could use a genesis controller. Interview can be found here.


Pre-order at Amazon (SOLD OUT)
Pre-order at Newegg: Black (SOLD OUT) or Grey (SOLD OUT)
Pre-order at Stone Age Gamer (DUE TO HIGH DEMAND, RELEASE DAY DELIVERY NOT PROMISED)
Pre-order at 8 Bit Classics (DUE TO HIGH DEMAND, RELEASE DAY DELIVERY NOT PROMISED)





UPDATE: Hyperkin claims that they opened up some packaged retail units and discovered some units had faulty pins. because of this, the Retron 5 has been delayed. No new release date has been announced, although Hyperkin has stated the unit will release in 2014 and that they are aiming for Q1. This is the Retron 5's third delay.

EDIT: Preorders are sold out at Amazon and Newegg.

Retron5 pre-orders have finally (about damn time) opened.

For those of you who have been following this console, you know it's quite highly anticipated and looks to be far better than any clone system released before.

For those unfamiliar, here's a little info:

  • It's one system that plays games for the following systems: NES, SNES, Genesis, Mega Drive, Famicom, Super Famicom, Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance.
  • Two controller ports for each console will be built in with the system. It will also come with one wireless universal controller.
  • Outputs in HDMI and upscales for HDTVs. Early impressions and videos of this have been extremley postive. From the website: "The RetroN 5 will up convert the video signal to show clearer and cleaner images, with vibrant colors on an HDTV with a resolution output of up to 720p through the use of shaders. You will also be able to select the aspect ratio in our GUI, from the standard 4:3 to the HD ratio of 16:9."
  • Features a user interface (dashboard. Somewhat similar of the PS3 interface in appearance, in my opinion).
  • Features save states. From the website: "Most games did not allow for you to freely save your games. The RetroN 5 will allow you to save their games at any point during gameplay, and will feature an autosave feature upon shutdown. You will be able to load your saves at anytime during gameplay."
  • Button reassignment supported. From the website: "Users will be able to program the controller to assign buttons to their preference. In turn, the RetroN 5 will save these custom layouts, so that users will not have to constantly reconfigure the button configuration. This feature will also be available to people wanting to remap their buttons on their original controllers."
  • 100% game cartridge compatibility, without lag.
  • Sega Power Base Converter compatible, allowing Sega Master System games to be played.
More information is here. It may be a bit dated since this was from back when they first announced the console, but I figured it was the best site to link since it also featured some screenshots as well. http://hyperkin.com/blog/2013/03/retron-5-details-revealed-from-the-midwest-gaming-classic/ There is also plenty of info on Hyperkin's facebook page.

I've been looking forward to this for a long time, and i'm extremley excited that pre-orders are finally open. For one console that not only plays all of these console's games, but upscales them and features save states (either to the cartridge (if supported) or the console itself)...this seems like a great deal. And if you've been following the hype for the console, there is a good chance it could end up selling out. Hyperkin isn't a huge company and this thing has a TON of pre-release demand (just check out the comments on the facebook page). I like the look of the black one a bit better, because it seems to be the traditional console color nowadays. But I opted for the grey model because the black console and controller seem like they'd be fingerprint magnets.

Preorder either color here at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Hyperkin-RetroN-Gaming-Not-Machine-Specific/dp/B00DZIX3CQ/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&qid=1378958043&sr=8-13&keywords=retron+5 or here at Newegg: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=retron%205&N=-1&isNodeId=1&RandomID=65244712392254220130925161655

Here are pictures of the two consoles, since the pictures on Amazon aren't that great:

Grey:
Retron-5.jpg


Black:
e3_retron5_03550.jpg

 
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ghostsong said:
I'm glad I have that $76 price locked in on Amazon. Probably be a good idea to screenshot your orders in case they try to cancel and 're-list.
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Same here! :D
I actually pre-ordered one of each color from Amazon b/c I wasn't sure which one I wanted at first but both got dropped down to $76 so I'm going to keep both and set em up in different rooms. :)

 
If they really did raise the price than I'm just gonna buy another sega genesis and figure out a way to hook all this crap up without too much clutter. That or just build a small pc and use it a an emulator machine

 
It's pretty sad it's come down to this plus a possible price increase. I have one on preorder with Amazon back on the odd $76 price tag. I'm at the point where I am loosing interest fast. I may just keep the order going if there's a price increase to resell it. I don't think these orders are going to stick though. What's stopping Hyperkin from coming out with a new color, then axing the two previous colors (gray and glossy black)? There go the preorders.

Emulation exists and really kills this console badly. Sure there's the argument of legality and not getting the "true experience", but each time this system gets delayed, the alternative looks a little better. I almost feel like buying a cheap Mac Mini with HDMI capabilities, loading OpenEmu, and using my own bluetooth controller. My main interest in this console was for playing black & white Game Boy games. I'm 9 titles shy of owning the entire North American release set. I will admit, I tried OpenEmu on my iMac and its actually quite nice playing my GB games and then leaving them on my shelf.

 
Chrono Gear said:
I would really hope that anyone willing to shell out the $70-100+ a cart goes for knows what they are buying (btw there is only one Gargoyle's Quest on NES the first game was on Game Boy ;) ). That being said feel free to scare off as many potential buyers as possible so the value drops and I can scoop it up for a more reasonable price.
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There's no harm in giving an opinion on a game a person has played. Wouldn't want people buying a game solely based on the opinion of those who enjoyed it the most. I was though posting more for those who had not already decided to purchase it.

 
Brachabre said:
Hmm I've yet to see or demo this thing in person, but is it just me or in pretty much every live demo video posted on youtube, they always stick to showing off games from one system: usually either nes or snes?

While I could see a sham like this happening in the earlier Silicon Valley days, it seems far fetched to think their handful of demo units actually contain an original NES, SNES, or Genesis motherboard w/ tons of soldered wires bridging the system board contacts to a vertical facing aftermarket 72pin hahahaha.

What combination of platforms/games has anyone seen witnessed being played at public events such as PaxEast? This conspiracy could be debunked by an eyewitness or finding a live video of their demo units playing an NES, SNES, Genesis, and GBA all in the same session lol.

EDIT: Conspiracy that Retron 5 demo units actually containing NES/SNES/Genesis/etc. motherboards debunked.
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I was at Midwest Gaming Classic and they switched from NES (super mario bros) to Game Boy Advance (F-Zero GP Legend) with no problems other than a little loading time for the system to dump the GBA rom.

The device is real but there have also been real problems with bringing it to market.

 
ryanflucas said:
Emulation exists and really kills this console badly. Sure there's the argument of legality and not getting the "true experience", but each time this system gets delayed, the alternative looks a little better. I almost feel like buying a cheap Mac Mini with HDMI capabilities, loading OpenEmu, and using my own bluetooth controller. My main interest in this console was for playing black & white Game Boy games. I'm 9 titles shy of owning the entire North American release set. I will admit, I tried OpenEmu on my iMac and its actually quite nice playing my GB games and then leaving them on my shelf.
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Emulation is not the right alternative to this console at all. The right alternative would be the original systems. Solves the legality issue as well as provides the "true experience".

 
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I was going to cancel my preorder yesterday, nothing to do with the delays just on the assumption that I don't need it right off the bat and I could wait.  Got lazy and forgot about it.  Now with the price increase, if I do cancel it I think I just stick with my original systems.

 
Chrono Gear said:
Emulation is not the right alternative to this console at all. The right alternative would be the original systems. Solves the legality issue as well as provides the "true experience".
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It's not the right alternative, but it will quickly become the easiest to access alternative. The cost of classic games is going up so much that it is going to start getting out of reach to average people. Not all people are not going to spend hundreds of dollars to obtain a cartridge to play a rare classic game. That will be a luxury for those who take a hefty portion of their income and go on the hunt to find these games for their collection. I know that feeling, why else would I collect the entire North American Game Boy catalog if I didn't love original gaming. Regardless of how this turns out, I will continue to collect original classic Game Boy games for the authentic experience. If there was a way to share that with anyone, I would do so in a heartbeat.

I really wish there was a universally accepted time period in which any games that reach that age are public domain. Nintendo could still charge for these games on virtual console since they are providing a service in selling you the ability to play them easily. At the same time however, companies could release "official roms" of their older catalog and release them as public domain. There may not exist a console that 100% models the original intended way to play these games, but it doesn't mean that the major populace shouldn't be able to experience them. I think of them as art personally. With games reaching an age where they are available to public domain, entire museum exhibits could be created without fear of having to pay royalties to the companies who long ago produced them.

A "Project Gutenberg" of gaming. Perhaps certain intellectual properties are withheld, especially if a sequel is being produced. Although, I can't see a marketing equivalent as effective as "Here's a free copy of our first game in the series and the ability to play it. If you like what you see, consider buying our current title." What grinds my gears is the current obsession companies have with reselling you the classics, not because of greed or resale, but because they need to sell you something to stay in business. The industry of new ideas is drying up fast. If all the major companies were doing well financially with new game ideas, they would likely be warmer to the idea of releasing some of their oldest titles to the public. Kind of like how people spent money like it was water back in the 90's because the economic bubble hadn't burst yet.

 
This thing looks fantastic! I'm definitely going to be keeping my eye on this thing! Hooray for still having a bunch of old ass cartridges from back in the day as a kid! The awsome memories are flooding back in slowly! xD

 
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Eh, I don't think it's too expensive is an acceptable excuse for theft. I can't afford a Ferrari but that doesn't mean I can go out and take one.

That being said I do approve of the emulation movement as a way to protect games from disappearing forever. MAME has saved hundreds if not thousands of games from the abyss of history. However, games that are still available should be acquired legitimately. If you can't afford to buy it, save for it. If the cost is so steep it's not feasible then it's time to prioritize or move on. We are talking about video games after all. As much as I love them there is no single game I would be willing to resort to theft to play (especially given the size of my backlog of games I haven't even touched yet let alone all the other games I still go back and replay from time to time).

 
Chrono Gear said:
Eh, I don't think it's too expensive is an acceptable excuse for theft. I can't afford a Ferrari but that doesn't mean I can go out and take one.

That being said I do approve of the emulation movement as a way to protect games from disappearing forever. MAME has saved hundreds if not thousands of games from the abyss of history. However, games that are still available should be acquired legitimately. If you can't afford to buy it, save for it. If the cost is so steep it's not feasible then it's time to prioritize or move on. We are talking about video games after all. As much as I love them there is no single game I would be willing to resort to theft to play (especially given the size of my backlog of games I haven't even touched yet let alone all the other games I still go back and replay from time to time).
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Not condoning piracy, but there's a big difference between a physical good and a digital one.
 
ryanflucas said:
It's not the right alternative, but it will quickly become the easiest to access alternative. The cost of classic games is going up so much that it is going to start getting out of reach to average people. Not all people are not going to spend hundreds of dollars to obtain a cartridge to play a rare classic game. That will be a luxury for those who take a hefty portion of their income and go on the hunt to find these games for their collection. I know that feeling, why else would I collect the entire North American Game Boy catalog if I didn't love original gaming. Regardless of how this turns out, I will continue to collect original classic Game Boy games for the authentic experience. If there was a way to share that with anyone, I would do so in a heartbeat.

I really wish there was a universally accepted time period in which any games that reach that age are public domain. Nintendo could still charge for these games on virtual console since they are providing a service in selling you the ability to play them easily. At the same time however, companies could release "official roms" of their older catalog and release them as public domain. There may not exist a console that 100% models the original intended way to play these games, but it doesn't mean that the major populace shouldn't be able to experience them. I think of them as art personally. With games reaching an age where they are available to public domain, entire museum exhibits could be created without fear of having to pay royalties to the companies who long ago produced them.

A "Project Gutenberg" of gaming. Perhaps certain intellectual properties are withheld, especially if a sequel is being produced. Although, I can't see a marketing equivalent as effective as "Here's a free copy of our first game in the series and the ability to play it. If you like what you see, consider buying our current title." What grinds my gears is the current obsession companies have with reselling you the classics, not because of greed or resale, but because they need to sell you something to stay in business. The industry of new ideas is drying up fast. If all the major companies were doing well financially with new game ideas, they would likely be warmer to the idea of releasing some of their oldest titles to the public. Kind of like how people spent money like it was water back in the 90's because the economic bubble hadn't burst yet.
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It has nothing to do with an accepted period of time. Copyrights last ridiculously long in the United States. Copyrights last 95 years after creation or 70 years after the death of the author (whichever expires first). Therefore a "Project Gutenberg" of video gaming can't exists for at least another 50-60 years. I'm all for emulation as a means of preservation and I just hope that the download-only games of today are preserved by pirates for future generations.

 
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The price on this thing isn't really an issue. The crowd most likely to purchase the RetroN5 are classic game collectors. The casual crowd doesn't care about this device. A few nostalgia hounds might go for it, but they aren't going to be deterred by anything less than $200. The more dedicated collecting audience will snatch this system up at anything approaching a reasonable price.

For someone who is only interested in playing the games, there are plenty of other alternatives. For someone who specifically wants to test and play classic cartridges, this is the best alternative. The primary market for the RetroN5 is not modern gamers, but older collectors who want to be able to access their collections on modern hardware.

 
PenguinMaster said:
It has nothing to do with an accepted period of time. Copyrights last ridiculously long in the United States. Copyrights last 95 years after creation or 70 years after the death of the author (whichever expires first). Therefore a "Project Gutenberg" of video gaming can't exists for at least another 50-60 years. I'm all for emulation as a means of preservation and I just hope that the download-only games of today are preserved by pirates for future generations.
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Yeah, the problem to non-copyright holders is we have no liberty to decide whether or not a work should be preserved before the copyright time is up. It sucks balls, but it's what's legal. All we can really do legally in our lifetime is lobby the hell of original copyright holders to assign, license it, give it away, sell it, leave it at will, or pass and do nothing. Might as well lobby change of the current US copyright laws unless particular games are worth hounding the owner about hahaha

 
At the end of the day they need funding to make the next Retron 6 with N64 support. SO whats a lil more money so we can have a 6? Eh

 
Boss said:
At the end of the day they need funding to make the next Retron 6 with N64 support. SO whats a lil more money so we can have a 6? Eh
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Hyperkin is going to release some info on an N64 project they're working during E3 according to the MGC presentation and interview. It could be an N64 clone console with HDMI and the Retron 5 OS.

 
If a game is unacceptably priced in the secondary market and the rights holder has no means to pay them for a version of the copyrighted work I don't see emulation as a bad thing.

If I want to play Little Samson on NES, Taito or SquareEnix does not have any possible way of giving them money to do so.

Paying $800 for a copy to some reseller helps the original copyright holder as much as downloading a rom does.

I say go for it.

Now downloading Super Mario Bros 3 instead of going to the virtual console, that would be the wrong thing to do. Nintendo has gone out of its way to make many titles available legally for purchase and you should therefore purchase them.

 
I wouldn't worry about quality. Hyperkin is including a 1 year warranty. Also, those who have used the units they bring to conventions (which run the final firmware but aren't even final units) say they are really durable feeling.
 
I updated the OP with today's info:

UPDATE 4/17/24: Hyperkin has increased the price of the RetroN 5, saying "north of $100, between $129.99 and $149.99". Alll pre-orders from Amazon should be honored via their pre-order price guarantee. I believe Newegg has the same guarantee, I am not sure about Stone Age Gamer or 8 Bit Classics. Think Geek still hasn't opened pre-orders on the unit, instead offering a link to be signed up for email notifications as to when it will be available. Also on the Amazon front, they have sold out or pre-orders. Furthermore, it is more likely you'll learn the ETA from Amazon, Newegg, or whoever you ordered it from. Hyperkin has gone on record of saying they will never again announce a hard release date for anything.

Hyperkin says they will not announce a hard launch date here: http://underratedretro.com/2014/04/overheard-at-pax-hyperkin-ready-to-launch-retron-5/

 
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Drclaw411 said:
I updated the OP with today's info:

UPDATE 4/17/24: Hyperkin has increased the price of the RetroN 5, saying "north of $100, between $129.99 and $149.99". Alll pre-orders from Amazon should be honored via their pre-order price guarantee. I believe Newegg has the same guarantee, I am not sure about Stone Age Gamer or 8 Bit Classics. Think Geek still hasn't opened pre-orders on the unit, instead offering a link to be signed up for email notifications as to when it will be available. Also on the Amazon front, they have sold out or pre-orders. Furthermore, it is more likely you'll learn the ETA from Amazon, Newegg, or whoever you ordered it from. Hyperkin has gone on record of saying they will never again announce a hard release date for anything.

Hyperkin says they will not announce a hard launch date here: http://underratedretro.com/2014/04/overheard-at-pax-hyperkin-ready-to-launch-retron-5/
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I don't think increasing the price a huge amount going forward, especially after a bunch of delays is in their best interest, lol. Definitely waiting for a sale after that.

 
Drclaw411 said:
I updated the OP with today's info:

UPDATE 4/17/24: Hyperkin has increased the price of the RetroN 5, saying "north of $100, between $129.99 and $149.99". Alll pre-orders from Amazon should be honored via their pre-order price guarantee. I believe Newegg has the same guarantee, I am not sure about Stone Age Gamer or 8 Bit Classics. Think Geek still hasn't opened pre-orders on the unit, instead offering a link to be signed up for email notifications as to when it will be available. Also on the Amazon front, they have sold out or pre-orders. Furthermore, it is more likely you'll learn the ETA from Amazon, Newegg, or whoever you ordered it from. Hyperkin has gone on record of saying they will never again announce a hard release date for anything.

Hyperkin says they will not announce a hard launch date here: http://underratedretro.com/2014/04/overheard-at-pax-hyperkin-ready-to-launch-retron-5/
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Where has there been an official statement saying there is a price increase? I haven't found anything official anywhere.

I am glad I preorder with Amazon back in September, $76 is better then $100 and way better then $150 if it's true. I don't mind the delays at all. I would rather have a good feature rich product at launch rather then a buggy system. Don't know way everyone is getting there panties in a wad about the delays. It happens with small companies. Plus I have working originals of all the systems, it will just be nice having one system to take there places. No rush.
 
The thing is, some people just assume that delays = better quality. It could go the other way too.

Glad I got in the $100 pre-order if the price does increase. Slowly building up the retro collection again...

 
jer7583 said:
If a game is unacceptably priced in the secondary market and the rights holder has no means to pay them for a version of the copyrighted work I don't see emulation as a bad thing.

If I want to play Little Samson on NES, Taito or SquareEnix does not have any possible way of giving them money to do so.

Paying $800 for a copy to some reseller helps the original copyright holder as much as downloading a rom does.

I say go for it.

Now downloading Super Mario Bros 3 instead of going to the virtual console, that would be the wrong thing to do. Nintendo has gone out of its way to make many titles available legally for purchase and you should therefore purchase them.
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to add to this I also say sometimes licenses get swallowed up....same a smaller company licensed a game but is then bought out by a bigger company....that copyright is still in effect and likely to never be used for anything by the bigger company who may not even be aware it owns whatever the game is you want to play.

also roms are strange in that last time I checked even if you own a copy of the game you cannot play that rom unless you yourself made the backup of it from the actual game. this is why so many game backup sites ban people for asking for downloads when in reality downloads are infinitely easier because companies keep putting backup prevention crap on their games.

my only beef with torrents is some of the lesser known things are not as likely to keep having people seed it so stuff will disappear eventually so really is a matter of getting it while you can.

and of course these laws vary from country to country.

 
is swear amazon better not go around cancelling orders now or ill be mega pissed i dont know how i did but i got this in my gold box and got some discounts on it. my order total shows at 82.29!!!!   so yah im happy as its cheaper then most collectors editions these days and i stopped collecting the newer games.  i honestly find the older snes and n64 etc.. rpgs to be alot more fun then the crap made these days.

 
I always thought less than $100 for this sounded too good to be true. A store near me that accepts trade ins of electronics and books was selling Retron 2's. I paid little out of pocket for what I traded in, so thought why not ? First one I bought the controller didn't work. Some buttons worked, but would perform different functions, such as pressing one of the buttons would have same effect as hitting the D pad left.

I returned that one to the store, and got a replacement. That was ok, until the power jack port on the back literally fell apart and broke.

Needless to say I am wary of the build quality on the Retron 5. I have hopes that it'll be great, however.

 
thebytewasbit said:
I always thought less than $100 for this sounded too good to be true. A store near me that accepts trade ins of electronics and books was selling Retron 2's. I paid little out of pocket for what I traded in, so thought why not ? First one I bought the controller didn't work. Some buttons worked, but would perform different functions, such as pressing one of the buttons would have same effect as hitting the D pad left.

I returned that one to the store, and got a replacement. That was ok, until the power jack port on the back literally fell apart and broke.

Needless to say I am wary of the build quality on the Retron 5. I have hopes that it'll be great, however.
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All of these clones are cheap, Chinese made knock offs so you can't expect much. Hyperkin basically said the Retron 5 would change all of that and I too am hoping they pull through.

However, I'm very weary about them due to the fact that they've delayed it so much and they can't even handle PR. Did they really not expect a backlash with all of these delays and now, the price hike? It's like they've never been on the internet before. They should have just apologized and kept moved on but instead, it seems like their responses are gradually becoming more in line with those they're responding to.

 
I have mine locked in at the $76 price point.  Well $80.16 after tax.  I bought an Ouya when Amazon had them on sale.  I've been playing old school games on that for the time being.  With that said I am now 50/50 on getting the retron or not.  I could get EVERYTHING on the ouya.  I also have around 100 games for the Retron 5.  So I could just play the games on the OUYA that are not available for the Retron 5 such as Comm 64, Atari, Game Gear, and so on.  

I am so torn right now.  If my pre-order gets cancelled on Amazon then I will 100% not get it.   AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

 
I am almost starting to feel bad for Hyperkin based on their Facebook page. It is totally true that they have handled this entire situation very poorly. But I feel like a vocal group on Facebook just rip them any chance they get. Gotta have some thick skin for sure.

 
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At this point, I honestly wish some other company would step in, make this system, better, and release it before Hyperkin. Their business ethics are dismal.

Only other hyperkin product I own, bought for me as an x-mas present by my wife, was the supaboy. To be honest, it's a piece of crap. Sound is horrible, screen goes in and out and poor compatibility. Like many others, I jumped on the hype of what all the Retron 5 can do, especially being a collector for over 10 years will be nice to trim down the systems in living room and save from having to replace a ton of batteries for saves. 76$ on amazon is where I am at, and comfortable with such.

HOWEVER , the sheer lack of communication on their end concerning their new flagship product is a joke. They have no problem showing off new system concepts and parading around probably the only handful of retron 5's that exist..... yeah

/rant off

 
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Wow I really wanted this but any price over $100 is a joke. There is no way they will sell enough of these at $150.
 
Indiana said:
Wow I really wanted this but any price over $100 is a joke. There is no way they will sell enough of these at $150.
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^This. I should have jumped on this when it was a $100 or less. No way, am I going to pay $130 to $150.

It would probably be cheaper for me just to get the Retro Bit Trio and a composite/s-video to HDMI adapter.

 
I was really excited about this console and was willing to wait, but I'm not willing to wait and pay 50 more dollars for it.  I might just go the emu route.  I guess I'm just that cheap, but I don't see the point in paying that much to play games that, in some cases, are almost 30 years old.  The console would cost more than my wife's ps3.  That seems crazy to me.

 
For  fuck 's sake would the whiners and complainers please cancel your preorders and move the F on? I'm so tired of reading your complaints about a product that you claim to want then crap all over when it doesn't release on time. Seriously, some of you people really need to chill out and relax already. Surely you have some other games you can enjoy until this releases. I hate using the expression entitled but it sure seems like there are a lot of people around here that feel like Hyperkin owes them anything at all. They don't. If people would stop pressuring them to give a release date for a product they aren't ready to ship they wouldn't keep missing their times. Just let the poor fools work on the console in peace. If you want to play the old school games bad enough go buy an original console already. You should have one anyway if you have the games. If you are like me and looking to save some shelf space then you have absolutely no reason to complain as this product is strictly a convenience piece that isn't hurting you at all while you wait. I understand the frustration (I'm right there with you) but for the love of god learn some patience.

 
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