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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=|

I know I'm getting old when we're talking about the sharpness and picture of games that are like 20 years old. Alright, whatever. I'll take your word for it, lol.

 
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Hyperkin's facebook page is a shitshow today. The entire world went there today looking for a release date because it is now April. All Hyperkin has posted is their April Fool's joke about a RetroN Arcade console. Nobody is having fun with it and everybody is just shitting on them in the comments. One guy is calling the R5 the "RetroNever 5". Another guy simply commented "Hyperkin you are an ass.", and that one wasn't even in response to the joke...it was just a stand alone comment. It's honestly kind of funny, but at the same time I kind of feel bad for Hyperkin, everybody crapping down their eye sockets. They continue to say "April 2014" is the release date, but haven't given an exact date. Amazon hasn't updated their page or given ETA ship dates. Newegg customers are saying their orders are showing an April 30th release, which Hyperkin hasn't commented on and has ignored all inquiries about.

One guy said he was emailing with a Hyperkin tech who told him that they are just waiting for their big ass shipment to get here from China, and that they already had one shipment but the "boards were screwed up"...the guy didn't know if the tech was referring to the issue with faulty pins from last December or if this was something new. Hyperkin did post that they received the boxes and posted a picture...these weren't boxed units, they were actual empty boxes. Sooo...is the small tiny staff at Hyperkin just boxing the consoles up themselves and then sending them out to Amazon, Newegg and the like? Could that be why they won't give an actual date? They have no idea when they'll be done boxing and sealing these up?

 
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how do they still not have a release date if it's supposed to release this month?
I'm beginning to wonder if "April 2014" is the actual date. As in, no street date but the retailers will have their orders arriving throughout the month and can go ahead and start shipping shit out as soon as they get it.

 
So its April. Whats the official release date?

Maybe it was in front of us all along.

April 2014

20/14

April 20, 2014

HL3 confirmed!

 
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I just hope we get some kind of notice. I have Amazon credit sitting in my account that I plan on using on these whenever they actually release. However, I'm not going to just blindly apply it when I could use that credit on something else between now and then.

 
They said it's still coming in April "OH so soon". OH's atomic mass is 17. April 17, 2014 comfirmed. Half Life 3 confirmed. Ridley confirmed for Smash Bros 4. Retron 5 cancelled. Balls.

 
I think they made a mistake of taking preorders before having a firm release date on when they could have it available. They seem to have a lot more demand for this product then their previous offerings so I guess it caught them off guard and they have been overwhelmed.

 
I'd rather the console be delayed again instead of it showing up at my house in April and have it not work correctly.

I just hope we get some kind of notice. I have Amazon credit sitting in my account that I plan on using on these whenever they actually release. However, I'm not going to just blindly apply it when I could use that credit on something else between now and then.
Exactly. I'm so glad I didn't apply it to my Retron 5 because I was able to get a $254 PS4 with just amazon credit.

 
I intentionally opted not to pre-order the RetroN5, despite being very excited for the product. I've purchased clone systems before, with a greater to lesser degree of success. Before I put money down on this one I wanted to hear some reviews and accounts of how it is in the wild, and confirm that the build quality was up to snuff.

This might mean that I will have to wait a little longer than some others to actually acquire one. I'm willing to put up with that, especially considering that most of the games I want to play on this system are two decades or more old. They aren't getting any younger, so I don't see any reason to rush.

Decent April Fool's gag, too bad more people just don't know how to take a joke. I wonder if you could use some of the more advanced features of the HDMI standard to use an HDMI cable for video/audio transfer as well as controller signals? I want to say that sort of functionality would actually be possible. (depending on the TV you use it with)

As always with the RetroN5, it gets here when it gets here.

 
I think they made a mistake of taking preorders before having a firm release date on when they could have it available. They seem to have a lot more demand for this product then their previous offerings so I guess it caught them off guard and they have been overwhelmed.
People do that all the time. You can preorder games that don't come out until march of next year or some that are just TBD. It happens and I'm okay with that.

 
There was a temporary price drop at one point. Any pre-orders placed before or during said price drop get the lowest price. 

 
I got the powerbase mini in anticipation of the Retron 5's release, but getting nothing but black screens in my Genesis 2 running a 32x and Sega CD on it. Anyone here get a powerbase mini yet and try it out?
 
I got the powerbase mini in anticipation of the Retron 5's release, but getting nothing but black screens in my Genesis 2 running a 32x and Sega CD on it. Anyone here get a powerbase mini yet and try it out?
No luck. 32x does not support master system games.

 
You sure about that? I can't find anything on stoneagegamer that states that. Regardless, I tried it with the 32x disconnected, and same results. Just a black screen staring back at me.

And if anyone asks, yes I've reached out to them as well, no response so far.
 
...and no sooner do I say that, that I find a PDF users guide online for the power base mini that clearly states it won't work with a 32x because it prevents the Master System Mode when attached. Bummer, doesn't explain why it did the same when I detached the 32x though, unless it somehow doesn't play well with the Sega CD attached too.

All of this could be avoided if Hyperkin would just release the Retron 5 already! They did at least respond to someone on twitter asking for a release date since its officially Q2 now.

"soon, friend."
 
The cartridge slot overrides Sega CD in normal circumstances. Not always, otherwise backup RAM carts wouldn't work.

Though Master System games aren't actually compatible with it either. You can't run them from a CD.

 
Removed the 32x again, left the Sega CD intact, and got the Power Base Mini to boot up master system games without any issues. No clue what was different this time, but nice to get some Hang On and Choplifter time in!
 
My wife and I have been slowly building a small classics collection for a while now since we have a couple retro systems...cannot wait for this thing to be out in the wild and for the reviews to flow in.  If there's any good sort of warantee, I'm throwing caution to the wind and plunking down the cash.

 
There was a temporary price drop at one point. Any pre-orders placed before or during said price drop get the lowest price.
Exactly. When I see people complaining about the wait, I think "hey my patience paid off, and I'm getting mine $20 cheaper than everyone else." Happy me.

Was looking into a decently prices copy of Terrigma (pal) and decided, I'd pass, I love the game, but too much $$$ for a decent copy of it.

 
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9AM is quickly approaching in CA. Can this Monday morning finally bring new? Only time will tell ladies and gentleman. 

 
they posted a long ass confusing post or re-post yesterday about why it is delayed again or was delayed in december. nobody knows wtf they are talking about and they are refusing to respond as to wtf that post meant.

 
You'd think Hyperkin would want to be as transparent as possible with its potential customer base after the amount of bad press they've gotten for multiple delays. I think the majority of us would handle delays a lot better if they would just be up front with the issues they're working through.

Putting up a wall and hiding behind it is just going to make things worse.
 
I'm not quite sure what all the fuss is about. They seem like they've been fairly transparent to me. I also think a lot of the "bad press" they've gotten is simply from a vocal minority who pre-ordered the RetroN5 last year. Anyone who didn't already lay down money for this thing isn't really losing out by having it release a little later. The pre-order customers are the ones who feel as though they are already invested. The rest of us are just waiting for it to finally come out. The general gaming press has barely mentioned the delay of the system.

I have no real objection to the RetroN5 taking its time. It sounds like the extra time is being used to refine the system and its firmware, and to test the crap out of the thing to insure the highest game compatibility possible. These all seem like worthwhile endeavors for improving the product. I'd rather get a solid product later than a half-assed buggy product now.

My collection of cartridges is in no danger of getting up and walking off. I can wait as long as I have to.

 
As I've said more than once here now, it's not like this is a new console. It's a console designed to play ancient games from our childhoods, many of which admittedly kinda suck so it's not like it's a huge priority item. Even so I would say us consumers would have a right to be pissy with them if they had ever given us an official release date and as far as I know they never did. They've given estimates but those are not official dates. It's out when it's out, not like you don't have I don't know...newer games to play in the meantime.

 
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