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

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.
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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Picked up a gray one from Amazon. $45 after some credit I had.

Looks like I'll have my cake and eat it too (RetroN 5 and Wii U, heh).

I've noticed that I've only see black ones "in the wild" at all the vintage game stores or hobby shops around. Wonder if they just sent gray to Amazon and black to everyone else.

 
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Other than saying a couple different times they sent them out already, which at this point doesn't seem to be the case, I haven't seen anything at all. If they'd just be honest about it I wouldn't mind waiting at all.
Damn it. That sucks. At this point it does not seem to me like they sent any black units to Amazon. They would have probably starting fulfilling preorders by now. I hope I'm wrong.

I completely agree about the honesty. It's not asking for too much for the most basic courtesy towards your loyal customers. I don't want to bitch and moan on their facebook page like a lot of people seem to do. Now I'm starting to understand why those people do it.

Was hoping Amazon would change my order from black to grey...but they wouldn't without changing the price. Ugh.
I was wondering about this. Thanks. You just saved me some time on the phone with customer service.

Picked up a gray one from Amazon. $45 after some credit I had.

Looks like I'll have my cake and eat it too (RetroN 5 and Wii U, heh).

I've noticed that I've only see black ones "in the wild" at all the vintage game stores or hobby shops around. Wonder if they just sent gray to Amazon and black to everyone else.
FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCCCCCCCKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK

You're probably correct. :wall:

 
Hydro, I bought my gray one at a retro game store so I doubt that was the case. Since I and a few others have seen black ones hit stores last week, I'm guessing it's going in the order of stores first, online later (just as hyperkin said) per color.

 
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Picked up a gray one from Amazon. $45 after some credit I had.

Looks like I'll have my cake and eat it too (RetroN 5 and Wii U, heh).

I've noticed that I've only see black ones "in the wild" at all the vintage game stores or hobby shops around. Wonder if they just sent gray to Amazon and black to everyone else.
I thought I had read Newegg had received and shipped black already. I'm not 100% on that though.
 
Picked up a gray one from Amazon. $45 after some credit I had.

Looks like I'll have my cake and eat it too (RetroN 5 and Wii U, heh).

I've noticed that I've only see black ones "in the wild" at all the vintage game stores or hobby shops around. Wonder if they just sent gray to Amazon and black to everyone else.
Great pick ups. Everyone is still drooling over the Xbox One and PS4... while the Retron 5 releases and the Wii U has established a pretty decent collection of games, including MK8! Wise decision, sir!

 
Im on chat with Amazon right now about swapping for the gray and no change in price. IF Hyperkin would just say something about the black ones I would wait too. But with no word I'm getting upset

 
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The pre-orders for black must have been huge compared to gray, because when I placed my order back in Sept. I only got gray because they were not accepting any more black pre-orders. I'm very happy now since mine arrived over the weekend.

 
Thanks OP about the Grey being instock. I was able to get Amazon CS to swap my order over to a grey unit at the $76.19 pre-order price. Should be at my home wednesday! I really wanted that black one but who knows when that thing will ship.

EDIT: I recommend anyone with a black unit who really doesnt care about color to try and swap out while it's available. 

 
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They swapped mine as well for $76.19. I had to pay the tax on it this time around because they started charging tax here this year. O'well, really wanted a black on but am tired of waiting. 9 months was long enough

 
They swapped mine as well for $76.19. I had to pay the tax on it this time around because they started charging tax here this year. O'well, really wanted a black on but am tired of waiting. 9 months was long enough
If it makes you feel any better they would have charged you sales tax either way. When Amazon started collecting sales tax in Arizona everything I had preordered before the change over was charged sales taxes anyway upon shipment. I was disappointed to see the increase in my order totals, but I really couldn't get upset since the transaction technically occurred after they started collecting sales taxes.

 
If it makes you feel any better they would have charged you sales tax either way. When Amazon started collecting sales tax in Arizona everything I had preordered before the change over was charged sales taxes anyway upon shipment. I was disappointed to see the increase in my order totals, but I really couldn't get upset since the transaction technically occurred after they started collecting sales taxes.
I had no idea. This was the last thing that I had preordered last year. I had also paid it off in full with gift cards last year too. Good thing I switched it, there was no other payment on the order so it wouldn't have shipped anyway if they charged tax, lol.

 
[quote name="jcmeadows" post="11847287" timestamp="1402955085"]I had no idea. This was the last thing that I had preordered last year. I had also paid it off in full with gift cards last year too. Good thing I switched it, there was no other payment on the order so it wouldn't have shipped anyway if they charged tax, lol. [/quote]

They would have sent you an email about the shortfall before canceling the order. Unless you can't afford the tax now you would have been fine.
 
[quote name="Chrono Gear" post="11847218" timestamp="1402953376"]If it makes you feel any better they would have charged you sales tax either way. When Amazon started collecting sales tax in Arizona everything I had preordered before the change over was charged sales taxes anyway upon shipment. I was disappointed to see the increase in my order totals, but I really couldn't get upset since the transaction technically occurred after they started collecting sales taxes.[/quote]
Weird, I wasn't charged for the tax on my gray system and Amazon had started charging sales tax last month in Florida. Guess I was lucky and just got overlooked on it by their system.
 
Talking to Amazon support to see if they have any news and I'm talking to MR Amazon himself


You are now connected to Amazon from Amazon.com
Haha I've gotten "Amazon from Amazon.com" before as well.

I tried to get the 1Button App credit to apply to the Retron 5 system since it didn't seem to apply properly, and they transferred me literally 5 times before I got to the right person. First time that has ever happened to me.

Excited to get my Retron... I was actually going to cave and go buy a black one from a hobby shop today. My procrastination finally worked out.

 
I've chatted three times now and they can't/won't change my order!

Finally got a rep to price adjust a new order and they canceled the old one...Yeesh!

EDIT: What a clusterfuck. The rep practically argued with me in chat because he didn't want to apply an old credit I had put on the order. He didn't want to budge from $99, even though I had put a $10 credit on the first order. >.<

Finally got it sorted out and got the shipping adjusted. Took nearly a half hour.
 
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I still want the black one so I'm keeping my order. This last conversation just gave me saying the order is just "unknown" so I really don't think they got any shipped to them.

Amazon that is

 
Not sure why everyone is getting so antsy about changing their orders, especially if you really want the black color.  I mean, you guys waited this long, what's a little longer, plus the aspect of having a good amount of updates in place to make sure the system works well when you do get it.  But I guess to each their own I suppose.

 
I called and had my black preorder switched to the gray. I honestly wouldn't care if the console was hot pink, as long as it works okay. The call only took a couple minutes. The Amazon employee was really helpful.

I stressed how I've been waiting for the console since September and it's been frustrating watching the gray console come in stock for purchase while the same exact console with black plastic hasn't been shipped yet.

 
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I'm pretty convinced my console is hosed. I figured I must have been missing something regarding using the original controllers. I even checked the included manual but that thing is nigh worthless. I tried plugging in a NES, Genesis and SNES controller all in on the left side of the unit. I was able to navigate the in-game menus of Baseball Stars without issue with the Genesis controller but still couldn't get back into the game with any button. The SNES controller seemed to react to every other d-pad command. The NES controller wouldn't respond at all. I then plugged the NES controller in to the port on the right side and it seemed to work a bit but I still couldn't un-pause the game (I had paused using the RetroN wireless) and get back into the game.

Please tell me the controller ports on this thing aren't borked and I'm just missing something here?

 
The grey console sold out quickly after I got off the phone with amazon. There were 5 in stock at the time. There were 16 in stock when I rushed home from work after reading about all of you guys switching your preorders over. Thank you for reporting your experiences everyone. I wouldn't have even bothered trying otherwise.
 
I'm pretty convinced my console is hosed. I figured I must have been missing something regarding using the original controllers. I even checked the included manual but that thing is nigh worthless. I tried plugging in a NES, Genesis and SNES controller all in on the left side of the unit. I was able to navigate the in-game menus of Baseball Stars without issue with the Genesis controller but still couldn't get back into the game with any button. The SNES controller seemed to react to every other d-pad command. The NES controller wouldn't respond at all. I then plugged the NES controller in to the port on the right side and it seemed to work a bit but I still couldn't un-pause the game (I had paused using the RetroN wireless) and get back into the game.

Please tell me the controller ports on this thing aren't borked and I'm just missing something here?
Go to 12:37 of the video, he demonstrates how to switch controllers, see if that works for you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4FkuI9CcP0

 
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Not sure why everyone is getting so antsy about changing their orders, especially if you really want the black color. I mean, you guys waited this long, what's a little longer, plus the aspect of having a good amount of updates in place to make sure the system works well when you do get it. But I guess to each their own I suppose.
For me, choosing the black over grey wasn't too much of an issue. Yes, the black console looks nicer...but I'm tired of waiting. And I ordered late. Who knows how many waves they'll have to go through to fulfill all of them.

The US is the only place to get any units. Hyperkin has lied more than once on these things. Who know how long they'll take to send some to Amazon?

I actually think they're avoiding sending them to spite the largest vocal group that was giving them shit. (That's just my opinion/guess though.)
 
I highly doubt they did it out of spite but I would like to know where those units shipped to amazon are...but to be fair I don't know if that is official or not.

A lot of misinformation has come out of this thread....

 
For me, choosing the black over grey wasn't too much of an issue. Yes, the black console looks nicer...but I'm tired of waiting. And I ordered late. Who knows how many waves they'll have to go through to fulfill all of them.

The US is the only place to get any units. Hyperkin has lied more than once on these things. Who know how long they'll take to send some to Amazon?

I actually think they're avoiding sending them to spite the largest vocal group that was giving them shit. (That's just my opinion/guess though.)
The color wasn't much of an issue for me either. When I initially preordered I didn't even give it much thought. If I knew the black consoles were going to be shipped even one day later, then I would have gone with another color. I didn't want to wait any longer.

Go to 12:37 of the video, he demonstrates how to switch controllers, see if that works for you.
Gentlemen, I must admit that the controller switching feature is considerably dope. Knaw waam sayen? :D

 
Ok. So, after watching that video and further testing I've come to the conclusion that it appears the NES1 and SNES1 controller ports are fucked. The NES controller plugged into port 1 doesn't respond at all and when I plug the SNES controller in port 1 it sounds like a button is being held in and it's trying to cycle through menus, and also won't respond. The Genesis1 seems fine as do all of the side 2 ports.

This blows. As much as I love this thing it does seem to be very cheaply made. I guess I need to contact Hyperkin.
 
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LOL. So I just got off the phone with Hyperkin. Because I ordered with Amazon they told me I have two options: 1) to send it back to Amazon or 2) Send it back to them. The last I checked Amazon was OOS so if I did that they would just refund my money and since I only spent $99 I'd be screwed. If I send it back to Hyperkin I need to pay for the shipping back to them. The best part is that they tell me that they initial console came with a 12 month warranty. The replacement console will only have a 6 month warranty! But they GUARANTEE the replacement will be thoroughly tested before it's sent to me. LMAO.

So, let me get this straight Hyperkin. You send me a broken console and now I have to pay to send it back to you. On top of that, when I get a replacement it will only have HALF the warranty the original broken one had. But hey, it's GUARANTEED this time. We swear!

 
LOL. So I just got off the phone with Hyperkin. Because I ordered with Amazon they told me I have two options: 1) to send it back to Amazon or 2) Send it back to them. The last I checked Amazon was OOS so if I did that they would just refund my money and since I only spent $99 I'd be screwed. If I send it back to Hyperkin I need to pay for the shipping back to them. The best part is that they tell me that they initial console came with a 12 month warranty. The replacement console will only have a 6 month warranty! But they GUARANTEE the replacement will be thoroughly tested before it's sent to me. LMAO.

So, let me get this straight Hyperkin. You send me a broken console and now I have to pay to send it back to you. On top of that, when I get a replacement it will only have HALF the warranty the original broken one had. But hey, it's GUARANTEED this time. We swear!
Hyperkin sounded shady before but this is laughable. Sounds like you'd be getting a refurb console.

 
LOL. So I just got off the phone with Hyperkin. Because I ordered with Amazon they told me I have two options: 1) to send it back to Amazon or 2) Send it back to them. The last I checked Amazon was OOS so if I did that they would just refund my money and since I only spent $99 I'd be screwed. If I send it back to Hyperkin I need to pay for the shipping back to them. The best part is that they tell me that they initial console came with a 12 month warranty. The replacement console will only have a 6 month warranty! But they GUARANTEE the replacement will be thoroughly tested before it's sent to me. LMAO.

So, let me get this straight Hyperkin. You send me a broken console and now I have to pay to send it back to you. On top of that, when I get a replacement it will only have HALF the warranty the original broken one had. But hey, it's GUARANTEED this time. We swear!
What the heck? This sucks. I'm sorry about this situation. How much do you think it would cost to ship?

I'd procrastinate a while and see if it comes back in stock at amazon. You probably have something like 20 days.
 
LOL. So I just got off the phone with Hyperkin. Because I ordered with Amazon they told me I have two options: 1) to send it back to Amazon or 2) Send it back to them. The last I checked Amazon was OOS so if I did that they would just refund my money and since I only spent $99 I'd be screwed. If I send it back to Hyperkin I need to pay for the shipping back to them. The best part is that they tell me that they initial console came with a 12 month warranty. The replacement console will only have a 6 month warranty! But they GUARANTEE the replacement will be thoroughly tested before it's sent to me. LMAO.

So, let me get this straight Hyperkin. You send me a broken console and now I have to pay to send it back to you. On top of that, when I get a replacement it will only have HALF the warranty the original broken one had. But hey, it's GUARANTEED this time. We swear!
Don't worry bro. When Hyperkin sends you a broken console, they'll give you a 3 month warranty, make you pay shipping+20% restocking fee, and really, really, really guarantee the next one to work!

 
LOL. So I just got off the phone with Hyperkin. Because I ordered with Amazon they told me I have two options: 1) to send it back to Amazon or 2) Send it back to them. The last I checked Amazon was OOS so if I did that they would just refund my money and since I only spent $99 I'd be screwed. If I send it back to Hyperkin I need to pay for the shipping back to them. The best part is that they tell me that they initial console came with a 12 month warranty. The replacement console will only have a 6 month warranty! But they GUARANTEE the replacement will be thoroughly tested before it's sent to me. LMAO.

So, let me get this straight Hyperkin. You send me a broken console and now I have to pay to send it back to you. On top of that, when I get a replacement it will only have HALF the warranty the original broken one had. But hey, it's GUARANTEED this time. We swear!
Honestly, at this point it might be Better Business Bureau time.
 
Got my replacement in from Amazon, this time, the system came in a bag like I remember seeing posted here and the lights on the controller actually lit up right away (didn't last time). Plus, this system came with stickers and the last one I got didn't, thought that was kind of weird. Anyways after plugging this one in it did work, as did all of the game slots and player one controller slots (The gameboy slot seems a little finicky though, hopefully it get's better and not worse).

LOL. So I just got off the phone with Hyperkin. Because I ordered with Amazon they told me I have two options: 1) to send it back to Amazon or 2) Send it back to them. The last I checked Amazon was OOS so if I did that they would just refund my money and since I only spent $99 I'd be screwed. If I send it back to Hyperkin I need to pay for the shipping back to them. The best part is that they tell me that they initial console came with a 12 month warranty. The replacement console will only have a 6 month warranty! But they GUARANTEE the replacement will be thoroughly tested before it's sent to me. LMAO.

So, let me get this straight Hyperkin. You send me a broken console and now I have to pay to send it back to you. On top of that, when I get a replacement it will only have HALF the warranty the original broken one had. But hey, it's GUARANTEED this time. We swear!
That sucks, both in that you have to pay for the shipping AND the warranty getting halved, why would they do that?

 
Ya, I was a little annoyed that I paid for an extended warranty at gamestop for a reburbished PSP GO. It broke in 1 month, and I had to buy a completely new service agreement despite having 5 months left.

 
Ya, I was a little annoyed that I paid for an extended warranty at gamestop for a reburbished PSP GO. It broke in 1 month, and I had to buy a completely new service agreement despite having 5 months left.
That is how all warranties work. You pay to have them replaced if the item is defective or breaks in a certain amount of time. You have it covered for that amount of time and get a whole new item or the item fixed and it's far less in cost.

 
Hello all, been following this topic for a while. Signed up here to post because it's one of the few discussions I've found on this product online.

Anyway, I followed the advice of an earlier user who said retron5's were available at 2nd & Charles in DE. I live in Philly and figured I'd take a chance. Unfortunately they were sold out, but a nearby store "gamer doc" had one in stock.

I got home and everything was going well. Games worked, looked great, played well - even the few imports I have ran fine. Then I found the flaw... My consoles gba slot is faulty. Nothing registers in it at all. Bummer.

I contacted hyperkin and am waiting to see what type of malarkey they give me. I figure I could fix it myself as I have the skill and general knowledge, but I don't want to void any warranty.

It's a shame because when this thing works it's really fantastic. The low quality and shoddy production is the only drawback, and it's a major drawback.

Thanks for reading. I appreciate being part of your community.
 
Dude, try it. It looks BEAUTIFUL on the retron 5.
Holy cow, games look AMAZING when played on this. It will be hard to go back to viewing my retro game collection on anything else. The audio is fantastic as well, especially the ability to enhance the audio on NES/Famicom with simulated stereo.

GameBoy games look superb, eliminating the blur that made a lot of games harder to play. The (mild) downside is that some effects in stone GameBoy games cleverly took advantage of the blur to create neat effects (some Mega Man game intros, part of the intro to Bionic Commando, if I remember correctly) but that is a minor tradeoff for truly superb visuals. Maybe now I can beat the GameBoy Contra games :)
 
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I believe I said there was one retron 5 left at the 2nd and Charles in Newark,Delaware. Chances of that being available after I posted here for even an hour was probably unlikely due to rarity and shortage. I am glad to hear you didn't waste your trip and found one at Gamer Doc. I have not tried the Game Boy slot yet, but thanks to your post I did. I am sorry to hear yours is not working. The only GBA game I could not get to work was a repo that I received from a botched Ebay auction. I agree with you, the Retron 5 is fantastic but the build quality is subpar. Hopefully you can get a replacement Retron 5 soon.

Hello all, been following this topic for a while. Signed up here to post because it's one of the few discussions I've found on this product online.

Anyway, I followed the advice of an earlier user who said retron5's were available at 2nd &amp; Charles in DE. I live in Philly and figured I'd take a chance. Unfortunately they were sold out, but a nearby store "gamer doc" had one in stock.

I got home and everything was going well. Games worked, looked great, played well - even the few imports I have ran fine. Then I found the flaw... My consoles gba slot is faulty. Nothing registers in it at all. Bummer.

I contacted hyperkin and am waiting to see what type of malarkey they give me. I figure I could fix it myself as I have the skill and general knowledge, but I don't want to void any warranty.

It's a shame because when this thing works it's really fantastic. The low quality and shoddy production is the only drawback, and it's a major drawback.

Thanks for reading. I appreciate being part of your community.
 
Yeah, I had assumed that the store having "only one" remaining would be sold out but I had the day off and used it as an excuse to take a quick road trip with the missus.

I hope I get the problem squared away soon because I have a nice pile of gameboy games I'd love to see shine on this baby.

I guess what bothers me the most is how badly I want this product to be great. It trys so hard but the cut corners on quality basically guarantee that if it isn't broken out of the box, it likely will break soon even with careful/delicate use.

It rattles my chain because I have consoles 30+ years old still working fine but something manufactured this year can't last a day.

Never mind me. I'm just salty mine is defective. The working results are pretty awesome. :)
 
I know what you mean. I have been collecting consoles/portables for over 30 years (35 console/handhelds and counting). I own a Supaboy from Hyperkin and it still works. I am sadly anal when it comes to taking care of my systems. Despite the R5 shoddy exterior, I am very impressed on what it can do. Not trying to put salt in your wound, but GBA games look and play great on it.
 
I know what you mean. I have been collecting consoles/portables for over 30 years (35 console/handhelds and counting). I own a Supaboy from Hyperkin and it still works. I am sadly anal when it comes to taking care of my systems. Despite the R5 shoddy exterior, I am very impressed on what it can do. Not trying to put salt in your wound, but GBA games look and play great on it.
 
I'm just going to echo wjat everyone else is saying. What the console does, when it works, is pretty damn amazing. It just seems to be do shoddily constructed. Their customer service obviously sucks as well. They're a smaller company do they use that excuse. They told me that they don't pay for the return shipping because they were sending out RMA labels and people weren't using them, which costs them money. Here's an idea then. How about you shop me a replacement with a RMA label. You charge my credit card. If I don't return the defective console then you don't refund the charge. Seems simple enough.
The other thing I find amusing is that almost every time I tweeted Hyperkin about how excited I was for the console release, prior to the release, they would reply and/retweet me. Now that it's out and I'm questioning their return policy on Twitter, no response. Shocker.
 
Now that the console has been out a few weeks and some reviews and first observances have bee published, I'm actually quite shocked at the number of people who said that the games they tried putting in were not recognized.  Wasn't one of the delays due to the fact they were trying to test as many games as possible?  Did hyperkin ever release a list of know issues with games?  I'm glad I held out on buying this console with all the issues they're experiencing.  I may have save a good deal of money with an Amazon pre-order, but this thing is far from reliable as a retro console clone.

 
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