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

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$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 wouldn't worry about the 12/31 release date. It's not uncommon for them to use the last day of the year when they don't know an exact release date (even though Hyperkin has announced one).

I did get updated on my black one to the same time frame this morning.

 
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lost me at lack of MasterSystem slot
They've adapted the Retron 5 specifically so that it would be compatible with the Sega PowerBase Converter. If you have a PowerBase, or known where to get one, you can play Master System games on the Retron 5.

For a lot of classic gamers this will make Master System support a bit scarce. While the PowerBase Converter isn't extremely rare, it isn't particularly common either. Also, this move on Hyperkin's part is going to inflate the demand for the PowerBase on the secondhand market. If you want to play Master System games on the Retron 5, I would strongly advise looking for a PowerBase NOW.

 
Available at Newegg huh? Switch and skip out on the $20 in taxes or keep my Amazon preorder and get them significantly faster? Decisions decisions.
 
Available at Newegg huh? Switch and skip out on the $20 in taxes or keep my Amazon preorder and get them significantly faster? Decisions decisions.
Newegg isn't always the best at preorders, they've been known to cancel many times in the past. Is it worth saving ~$6 (or whatever your tax rate is, mine is 6%) to take that chance? Doesn't seem like it to me.

 
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They've adapted the Retron 5 specifically so that it would be compatible with the Sega PowerBase Converter. If you have a PowerBase, or known where to get one, you can play Master System games on the Retron 5.

For a lot of classic gamers this will make Master System support a bit scarce. While the PowerBase Converter isn't extremely rare, it isn't particularly common either. Also, this move on Hyperkin's part is going to inflate the demand for the PowerBase on the secondhand market. If you want to play Master System games on the Retron 5, I would strongly advise looking for a PowerBase NOW.
I think it's really cool of them to have re-designed it slightly for Master System support, but I suspect (or rather hope) that Hyperkin makes their own PowerBase Converter for the Retron 5. It wouldn't be the first time a company made something like this and something similar to the Master System II converter would be sufficient.

MasterSystemConverterII_MD_EU_Box_Front.jpg


 
Newegg isn't always the best at preorders, they've been known to cancel many times in the past. Is it worth saving ~$6 (or whatever your tax rate is, mine is 6%) to take that chance? Doesn't seem like it to me.



I've never had a problem with Newegg preorders but then it has been a while.
 
Not coming out until after Christmas? The holidays are ruined. What's my alternative, an Xbox One or PS4? No thank you. The graphics are too life-like and violent. 

 
I've never had a problem with Newegg preorders but then it has been a while.
Been using Newegg pre orders for 3-4 years and I believed they only cancelled on me once during a Black Friday deal they had. That aside, they ship fast, but the way they package anything generally sucks. Knowing how this will be likely be in a box, it's not that big of an issue. But if you have something that can be bend, say a paperback book, software (without a case), and or just something with a crappy box (Shin Megami Tensei IV is a great example), expect it to be bent or smashed.

As for Retron 5, I was originally not too into the idea of this console. It's not very good looking, but the OS and large range of systems it can run does sort of justify it's size. With me moving soon, I really don't want to put my retro games in storage. But having this could make it easier for having a sort of retro game night or a nostalgia weekend way easier than pulling out a a NES, SNES, Genesis, etc. along with having to find the proper hookups for each system.

The HDTV support is also great as it's another issue I have with playing retro games on an HDTV is that they always look like crap. I have an old tube TV that's sitting in my room exclusively for retro games but I might get rid of it now thanks to this (plus with the fact that it's big and heavy doesn't help either). Lastly, I got a ton of GB/GBC/GBA games that I haven't played since the GBA SP/DS Lite days. Having a console for just those without getting my GB Player via my Gamecube is also another plus.

 
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Wow, I was just looking into finally buying an HDTV for the living room today, and was worried about my stack of retro consoles having input lag.  This might be just the solution I need.

 
Wow, I was just looking into finally buying an HDTV for the living room today, and was worried about my stack of retro consoles having input lag. This might be just the solution I need.
If you have a Sega Genesis, it's possible it won't work on an HDTV (apparently due to variable horizontal frequency). That's why I'm considering the Retron5. I still have a pretty substantial Genesis collection that I can't use since I got rid of my last SDTV.

 
If you have a Sega Genesis, it's possible it won't work on an HDTV (apparently due to variable horizontal frequency). That's why I'm considering the Retron5. I still have a pretty substantial Genesis collection that I can't use since I got rid of my last SDTV.
I have sadly played all of my retro consoles on my HDTV. Atari 2600 (yes, it happened), NES, SNES, Genesis, 32X, Sega CD, etc. etc. They all work. No lag from what I recall. The graphics just looked a little smeared on a HDTV. But it's not too noticeable.

 
I have sadly played all of my retro consoles on my HDTV. Atari 2600 (yes, it happened), NES, SNES, Genesis, 32X, Sega CD, etc. etc. They all work. No lag from what I recall. The graphics just looked a little smeared on a HDTV. But it's not too noticeable.
I think it depends on the tv. I have a panasonic plasma that I've played NES/SNES/Gen on. With a/v cables they all lag badly. With rf out, they don't lag. Must just be the way my tv processes it. Its not that big of deal to me though. I got that component to rf input for like 4 dollars so I can use an av cable through the rf and don't have to rely on those crappy rf boxes.
 
so how does one get a second controller?
Forget the fake controllers and buy a original used. Seriously. Even consider replacing the innards of the original controllers before getting a copycat controller. Unless Hyperkin pulls off something they or anyone else never has.

 
Forget the fake controllers and buy a original used. Seriously. Even consider replacing the innards of the original controllers before getting a copycat controller. Unless Hyperkin pulls off something they or anyone else never has.
Agreed. There were some 3rd party controller manufacturers back in the day who were decent (Beeshu made some okay pads for the NES, and ASCII made some good ones for the SNES and Genesis, for example - stay away from Quickshot).

However, your best bet is as J7 suggested; buy used original controllers, take them apart to clean them, and do a search on eBay for "NES controller repair" or "SNES controller repair", etc. for the replacement silicone parts for the inside, then swap out the old silicone for the new. That's seriously all you need to do. Some replacement silicone parts are better than others, but even at their worst they're a million times better than buying a remolded replica.

 
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Come on, guys...

retron5firstworldproblems_zpse9db66d1.jpg
But out of curiousity, exactly how many people give two dumps over SMS games. I knew exactly one person who owned one when I was growing up (and that was AFTER they were discounted and on their way out).

I'm sure there are retro fans who want to (or have been) exploring the library and are curious to get into it, but I don't see that sector of gaming sky rocket, due to the release of this thing and the compatibility of the Power Base Converter now. Plus I've always thought SMS games were pretty crappy to begin with, but that's just me.

 
But out of curiousity, exactly how many people give two dumps over SMS games. I knew exactly one person who owned one when I was growing up (and that was AFTER they were discounted and on their way out).

I'm sure there are retro fans who want to (or have been) exploring the library and are curious to get into it, but I don't see that sector of gaming sky rocket, due to the release of this thing and the compatibility of the Power Base Converter now. Plus I've always thought SMS games were pretty crappy to begin with, but that's just me.
I'll be honest with you, I've played with video games for most of my 24 years on this earth and I've never seen anyone have or play a SMS in my entire life. I've seen a few in display cases (such as the Art of Video Games in DC) and in a few stores, but never have I played one. I guess the closest I got was with the Game Gear as graphically, it's almost the same thing.

 
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My cousin had a Sega Master System he got on clearence from Hills. He had about 15 games including one shooter that required the 3d glasses which he didn't have. It wasn't NES quality, but games like Golden Axe and Rastan were fun enough.

I should consider getting one of these. My NES is dead, my SNES only displays in black and white and I got rid of my Genesis long ago. Too bad it doesn't have a CD add on for Sega CD, TG16/PCE and Neo Geo CD games.

 
Interested, but cautiously optimistic; the Retron 3 had mediocre reviews on Amazon with most of the complaints relating to malfunction, bugs, etc. This would be nice, but I'm not preordering a product from a company who seems to have trouble making long lasting hardware...will wait for reviews.

anyone recommend a modernized retro TV with S video? Just curious because I'd rather get that than go to a pawn shop and buy some old question mark of a retro tv.
 
Interested, but cautiously optimistic; the Retron 3 had mediocre reviews on Amazon with most of the complaints relating to malfunction, bugs, etc. This would be nice, but I'm not preordering a product from a company who seems to have trouble making long lasting hardware...will wait for reviews.

anyone recommend a modernized retro TV with S video? Just curious because I'd rather get that than go to a pawn shop and buy some old question mark of a retro tv.
You know today alone I was on a bike ride and I saw about 3 tube tvs sitting on the curb. You might just to want to ride around and you would probably find something you like. S-Video TV's are harder to find, but it's worth a shot.

Also, bargaining with pawn shops help too. They don't want CRT TVs anymore so they will probably be glad to give a "deal" on one or 3.

 
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While I don't own a Retron, I've had a lot of experience with the Retron 3. It works, but there's no eject button for any of the cartridge slots. I always feel like I'm about to break something when pulling the cartridges out, especially the NES ones. No, really, you have to put a ridiculous amount of effort into pulling the cartridge out if you want it back. It even makes these "plasticy" noises when you try to pull or wiggle it out, like something's about to break somewhere. That can't be good for your cartridges. Don't even try to play an NES game that's worth any value just in case. I'm assuming they're not gonna bother to correct this problem on Retron 5.

Other than that, yeah, it works. I say go always go with the original consoles of course, but if you want a cheap alternative and you want something a little more realistic than emulators, go for it. The Retron may run an emulator, but I didn't even notice until I read this thread. Just make sure you have some of the original controllers to use and toss the ones that come with it.

 
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To me, this thing having HDMI is the single biggest feature it has. In my experience, SD consoles look like crap on LCDs, and I gave away the last of my CRTs almost 2 years ago. Granted, while I can easily buy a CRT at a local thrift for dirt cheap, for me, there's issue of having room for it in a smaller space. Plus, while CRTs are still regularly available now, in the coming years, I feel like we are going to be fighting a uphill battle in regards to to being able to easily find them.

 
While I don't own a Retron, I've had a lot of experience with the Retron 3. It works, but there's no eject button for any of the cartridge slots. I always feel like I'm about to break something when pulling the cartridges out, especially the NES ones. No, really, you have to put a ridiculous amount of effort into pulling the cartridge out if you want it back. It even makes these "plasticy" noises when you try to pull or wiggle it out, like something's about to break somewhere. That can't be good for your cartridges. Don't even try to play an NES game that's worth any value just in case. I'm assuming they're not gonna bother to correct this problem on Retron 5.

Other than that, yeah, it works. I say go always go with the original consoles of course, but if you want a cheap alternative and you want something a little more realistic than emulators, go for it. The Retron may run an emulator, but I didn't even notice until I read this thread. Just make sure you have some of the original controllers to use and toss the ones that come with it.
this is the most important post in this thread - thanks. Seemed cheap, glad you confirmed it. I might be better off spending that $100 on Craigslist for the originals
 
this is the most important post in this thread - thanks. Seemed cheap, glad you confirmed it. I might be better off spending that $100 on Craigslist for the originals
If you have a CRT tv then you might want to go with the originals unless you want to play many systems. Retron 5 is probably better choice for quality visuals on HDTV, all systems in 1, and the various bells and whistles like game saving without cart batteries.

It will be interesting to see how good it is in terms of quality. I'm hoping it's a step up from Retron 3 since they've made so many huge improvements to other parts of the console.

Interested, but cautiously optimistic; the Retron 3 had mediocre reviews on Amazon with most of the complaints relating to malfunction, bugs, etc. This would be nice, but I'm not preordering a product from a company who seems to have trouble making long lasting hardware...will wait for reviews.

anyone recommend a modernized retro TV with S video? Just curious because I'd rather get that than go to a pawn shop and buy some old question mark of a retro tv.
People like Sony Trinitron CRTs for old school gaming AFAIK. Don't know if they have S-Video, some probably do.
 
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But out of curiousity, exactly how many people give two dumps over SMS games. I knew exactly one person who owned one when I was growing up (and that was AFTER they were discounted and on their way out).
I give two dumps about Master System support. But then, I do acknowledge that I am a bit off the beaten path. I already own an original Master System, and I actually have a Power Base converter as well. It isn't all that important to me, especially given all the other systems available on the Retron 5. But I am still glad they are peripherally providing support for it. Like most systems from that time period, the original Master System does not look good on HD screens.

While I have a few Master System games already, I mainly want to get a copy of Phantasy Star 1. I'm collecting all of the original Phantasy Star games, and the first in the series is one of the only ones I don't have.

 
this is the most important post in this thread - thanks. Seemed cheap, glad you confirmed it. I might be better off spending that $100 on Craigslist for the originals
Good luck getting all the consoles in good condition with cords for 100. It seems like they are putting a lot more care into this one then all the others so I would expect them it work well.

 
I give two dumps about Master System support. But then, I do acknowledge that I am a bit off the beaten path. I already own an original Master System, and I actually have a Power Base converter as well. It isn't all that important to me, especially given all the other systems available on the Retron 5. But I am still glad they are peripherally providing support for it. Like most systems from that time period, the original Master System does not look good on HD screens.

While I have a few Master System games already, I mainly want to get a copy of Phantasy Star 1. I'm collecting all of the original Phantasy Star games, and the first in the series is one of the only ones I don't have.
Yeah basically, since few users got to witness its colossal improvement in hardware terms.

First ever RGB capable US console.

 
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As logn as this thing is confirmed to play any and all games correctly and without issues (barring those having motion controls or something else like many GBA games), i am highly interested. I do seriously wish it had N64 too just because i tried playing Goldeneye on my HD tv and good LORD was it a blurry mess.  If they make a Retron 6 it should have an N64 slot, a Jaguar slot, a neo geo slot, and then a disc drive that plays Sega cd/PS1/Saturn/Dreamcast/turbo grafx 16 cd/ games and I'd be in. lol I just realy need to hear reviews cuz i dont wanna drop $100 for this console, find out half the games I wanna play on it don't work properly, and then it be useless since I OWN every system it plays (except famicom but i dont own any famicom or super famicom stuff anyway) and have them all hooked up to one TV right now.

 
Good luck getting all the consoles in good condition with cords for 100. It seems like they are putting a lot more care into this one then all the others so I would expect them it work well.
well for $50 I'm about halfway there PLUS getting a working ps1. It even came with some Lara croft memory card. People actually sell their retro consoles for cheaper than you may think
 
well for $50 I'm about halfway there PLUS getting a working ps1. It even came with some Lara croft memory card. People actually sell their retro consoles for cheaper than you may think
I think he was referring more to how expensive the older retro consoles are. The NES, SNES, and Famicom consoles are all usually $50+ depending on where you look. The Genesis/Game boy consoles, not as much. Lastly, any disc based console is typically cheaper, especially if it was something that was both successful and mass produced - like the PlayStation.

 
This thing is worth it for the NES part alone. The Toaster NES design, is finicky as hell. The ZIF connector for the cartridge to the motherboard is complete crap making playing games a pain. And RGB modding it is difficult and not 100% perfect.

If they offer Component/potentially RGB out of the AV Out for CRTs it's a great solution for basically perfect RGB in that aspect too. Let alone over HDMI which will almost certainly be pixel perfect 100% RGB.


And REMEMBER people, that other Retron consoles were CLONES. This is EMULATION.



Ignore the sound quality in their videos though. They often have Sound Enhancement and EQ on. Which are awful sounding. Mostly the EQ. It just makes the low end Muddy and boomy.

Those vids are great, but they don't show how the games will actually look on an HDTV; they look like direct captures from HDMI.
Actually it is pretty representative of what it will look like if this is a 100% direct capture. If anything it will look and sound better on your actual TV due to the compression used in the video. (Even more so if your TV is calibrated and has low input lag like the Sony w900a)
 
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How old do patents or copyrights have to be before they can make consoles? Like for PS1/N64 in a Retron 6?

This thing is worth it for the NES part alone. The Toaster NES design, is finicky as hell. The ZIF connector for the cartridge to the motherboard is complete crap making playing games a pain. And RGB modding it is difficult and not 100% perfect.

If they offer Component/potentially RGB out of the AV Out for CRTs it's a great solution for basically perfect RGB in that aspect too. Let alone over HDMI which will almost certainly be pixel perfect 100% RGB.


And REMEMBER people, that other Retron consoles were CLONES. This is EMULATION.



Ignore the sound quality in their videos though. They often have Sound Enhancement and EQ on. Which are awful sounding. Mostly the EQ. It just makes the low end Muddy and boomy.


Actually it is pretty representative of what it will look like if this is a 100% direct capture. If anything it will look and sound better on your actual TV due to the compression used in the video. (Even more so if your TV is calibrated and has low input lag like the Sony w900a)
What do you mean by RGB? I thought RGB was just component.

 
Component video as we know it in the west is fairly different than traditional component and traditional RGB.


Component video in NTSC countries breaks the signal into  YPbPr (Luma+sync, difference between luma and blue and the difference between luma and red.), which is the analog version of YCrCb (YCC)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Component_video

RGB is how things are processed internally on the consoles themselves before they are transcoded to a different signal depending on the system. On some like the PS2 for example it can output in YPbPr or RGB. NTSC-U CRT televisions will only accept YPbPr and not pure RGB (Without a transcoder anyway) as is capable in PAL countries and NTSC-J via things like SCART (Which is the highest quality video output you can get out of a system usually).


There exists an entire community dedicated to getting RGB out of old consoles and even scaling those to modern televisions too. But it's expensive and requires some trial and error

http://retrogaming.hazard-city.de/

 
How old do patents or copyrights have to be before they can make consoles? Like for PS1/N64 in a Retron 6?

What do you mean by RGB? I thought RGB was just component.
Component is easier to use. Allowing from 240p to 1080p.

While RGB gets limited to 480i and below (480p plus are usually output as VGA).

To be fair RGB ready consoles are years older than component. SMS launched 1986, Playstation 2 in 2000.

 
god damnit, i really didn't think it would sell out this friggin early. Ridiculous. I was on the fence on it and now that i went to get it it seems amazon is just totally out? I wanted the grey one and i cant find that on newegg at all. Is the black newegg one the only option now? That really sucks if thats the case. I wanted the grey one

Will amazon get more pre orders up, or is this something i can just get down the road after release

 
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god damnit, i really didn't think it would sell out this friggin early. Ridiculous. I was on the fence on it and now that i went to get it it seems amazon is just totally out? I wanted the grey one and i cant find that on newegg at all. Is the black newegg one the only option now? That really sucks if thats the case. I wanted the grey one

Will amazon get more pre orders up, or is this something i can just get down the road after release
You can still get to the gray one on Newegg from the link in the OP, it still works. I'm sure you'll be able to get it after release at some point if you need to, I'm sure Hyperkin would love the money.

 
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I suppose it depends who they are making it for. SMS was huge everywhere except US and Japan. They even made original games and ports well into the 90s.

 
I would be shocked if they didn't keep on re-stocking Amazon. If Hyperkin is making a lot of money there, I am sure they will try to keep up with the demand.

 
You can still get to the gray one on Newegg from the link in the OP, it still works. I'm sure you'll be able to get it after release at some point if you need to, I'm sure Hyperkin would love the money.
I'm not sure I'd call it ridiculous. Hyperkin is a small company. Extremely small, relative to most companies in the industry. I doubt they've ever had a product with this kind of pre-release demand before. Have they ever even offered pre-orders or had to name a street date on any of their products before? I'm sure they are producing these things as fast as they can afford to, but they don't come close to having the means that the bigger companies do. Anyway, neither color is sold out for launch, just sold out at Amazon. Newegg still has both in stock.
 
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