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Retro VGS, cartridge-based retro game console now on IndieGoGo
- Thread starter Dreamwriter
- Start date
Marty Chinn
Member
NoFaceNico
Member
HOW DARE YOU SHAME THE HOMER-MOBILE!!!!
I think they are good people with the heart at the right place but they lack the skills and knowledge to pull it off. I understand they want to create their dream machine and they want the best possible hardware possible for retro fans. I also think the Retro magazine is fairly great but the project currently has issue and Kevtris who appears to be knowledgeable on the hardware front paints them as a bunch of amateurs. They weren't even sure about FPGA and the board to use before the indiegogo and did not even have an agreement/contract with Kevtris to use his cores? I sure hope they have a good plan B.
Vipershark
Member
I was around live for the Dreamzle saga too but I didn't want to be the one to call him out on it....
I seem to remember Universe Alpha having a game breaking bug which allowed the player to clip between the asteroid wall at the beginning and basically moving out of bounds to the end of the game or something.
Did you patch that?
I seem to remember Universe Alpha having a game breaking bug which allowed the player to clip between the asteroid wall at the beginning and basically moving out of bounds to the end of the game or something.
Did you patch that?
OrbitalBeard
Member
Mike posted an update on the campaign page
This part kind of bothers me:
And, just quickly, I wanted to address the negative chatter that has been swirling out of control. Please don't let the opinions of people that are misinformed come between you and a product you want. I can tell you, as a gamer myself, that I am thrilled and lucky to have two proven, game industry veteran software and hardware engineers working on this product.
Steve Woita and John Carlsen have been producing real software and hardware products for over 25-years for companies like Atari, Sega, Tengen, Apple, Nintendo and Sony. They have been putting a lot of time and effort bringing you a piece of hardware that you will be proud to own and display next to the other great gaming consoles in your collection.
....
I'm not really a fan of being called "misinformed" because I'm wary of this project. I've been following it since the beginning and can confidently say I'm pretty up to date on the whole thing. People are negative towards the Retro VGS because it has very quickly become something it wasn't originally pitched to be and the project seems to lack a cohesive vision outside of "we're making a Retro box!!!". The lack of a prototype after six months of marketing the crowdfunding campaign throughout the retro community was the last straw for me personally. Well, that and the $300 price, double what they originally said they were going for ($150).
This part kind of bothers me:
And, just quickly, I wanted to address the negative chatter that has been swirling out of control. Please don't let the opinions of people that are misinformed come between you and a product you want. I can tell you, as a gamer myself, that I am thrilled and lucky to have two proven, game industry veteran software and hardware engineers working on this product.
Steve Woita and John Carlsen have been producing real software and hardware products for over 25-years for companies like Atari, Sega, Tengen, Apple, Nintendo and Sony. They have been putting a lot of time and effort bringing you a piece of hardware that you will be proud to own and display next to the other great gaming consoles in your collection.
....
I'm not really a fan of being called "misinformed" because I'm wary of this project. I've been following it since the beginning and can confidently say I'm pretty up to date on the whole thing. People are negative towards the Retro VGS because it has very quickly become something it wasn't originally pitched to be and the project seems to lack a cohesive vision outside of "we're making a Retro box!!!". The lack of a prototype after six months of marketing the crowdfunding campaign throughout the retro community was the last straw for me personally. Well, that and the $300 price, double what they originally said they were going for ($150).
NoFaceNico
Member
Anyone still wondering about bug control for their games?
Don't worry, they will have "a mechanism in place" for that. Developers will be ordered to give bug free games. If a bug is discovered, a massive recall will ensue (no word on who pays shipping to and from). "Simple as that."
Don't worry, they will have "a mechanism in place" for that. Developers will be ordered to give bug free games. If a bug is discovered, a massive recall will ensue (no word on who pays shipping to and from). "Simple as that."
^That's ridiculous. Bugs are sometimes found long after a game released. And more expense (in the form of shipping and packaging) handed down to the customer?
I fucking knew it. What a bunch of horseshit. Glad that someone like Kevtris, highly knowledgeable and with insider information, was able to confirm it. I'm relieved not to have sunk money into this mess.
I fucking knew it. What a bunch of horseshit. Glad that someone like Kevtris, highly knowledgeable and with insider information, was able to confirm it. I'm relieved not to have sunk money into this mess.
OrbitalBeard
Member
Yikes. Have these guys really worked in the industry? Nintendo has a massive internal QA branch and they still miss bugs from time to time and have to issue patches.
Ninja Scooter
Member
but has Nintendo ever thought about instructing developers to give them bug-free games?
A vanishingly small niche of a consumer base isn't going to cover those costs, especially if RVGA isn't planning on helping with QA.
Hero_of_the_Day
Member
So, how long until the cancel the indie go go so they can try to save face when they come back later? I mean, it's clearly not making their goal.
mightynine
Member
As it should. It's basically, "Trust us. We have nothing to prove you should give us that trust. But still, there's the donate button. Please give generously."
I would not be comfortable getting involved with this project at this point.
NoFaceNico
Member
Of course it's unrealistic. They don't even check their own shit. Even with video production they make obvious mistakes they don't catch.
In the RVGS YouTube pitch video the 3D render freezes at 6:16
And back when they launched their first KS campaign for their magazine, they misspell "INDIE" as "INDY" both times in their video.
Me neither, the system has tons of flaws going against it and the fact of the matter is that it isn't needed in today world.
We are slowly heading towards a digital future and this seem to be an attempt to offer something that not many people want nor need.
For example if I wanted to play Shove Knight it would be cheaper to download it on a system that I own or buy the retail release, rather than fork out $300 for console that is limited.
Not only is that unrealistic but it's also arrogant to assume that it will be problem free. I mean who's going to pay for the recall, patching the game and reproducing the cart.
Also how are you going to commutate with the customers to inform them that there's a recall?
At least with a patch it can be downloaded without any involvement of the customers and it's hassle free for the developers.
dancrane212
Member
I hadn't realised the FPGA part of the system had been cut down so much. I still think the original idea of a $150 - $200 FPGA system that, at a bare minimum, just played new printings of games like Gunlord and other homebrew titles could have done well.
No amount of press in the upcoming week will save the Retro VGS Indiegogo. In fact, it is far more likely stories from sites will call attention to the points of contention here and in AtariAge and leave the whole venture a bad mark it may never be able to shake off. I think it would be better to cancel quickly, try and mend some bridges and significantly downsize the project to make it far more cost effective. Start over on Kickstarter in a couple months with a prototype and a clear mission statement and maybe this could be salvaged.
If you have an extremely hard time selling your project to the 16000 fans who have been following your system for months how can you honestly expect to connect with the more casual user? Campaigns like Shenmue 3 are very successful because they have a huge groundswell of support that can draw in new backers as they get caught up in the excitement. There is no momentum behind Retro VGS - the campaign is dead.
No amount of press in the upcoming week will save the Retro VGS Indiegogo. In fact, it is far more likely stories from sites will call attention to the points of contention here and in AtariAge and leave the whole venture a bad mark it may never be able to shake off. I think it would be better to cancel quickly, try and mend some bridges and significantly downsize the project to make it far more cost effective. Start over on Kickstarter in a couple months with a prototype and a clear mission statement and maybe this could be salvaged.
If you have an extremely hard time selling your project to the 16000 fans who have been following your system for months how can you honestly expect to connect with the more casual user? Campaigns like Shenmue 3 are very successful because they have a huge groundswell of support that can draw in new backers as they get caught up in the excitement. There is no momentum behind Retro VGS - the campaign is dead.
Zomba13
Member
Of course it's unrealistic. They don't even check their own shit. Even with video production they make obvious mistakes they don't catch.
In the RVGS YouTube pitch video the 3D render freezes at 6:16
They weren't instructed to make a bug free pitch video.
clem84
Gold Member
I think we can all agree on that. After the first day rush, they're at 3%. Since 1pm this afternoon, 8 hours ago, there have been 5 new contributors. This thing will be lucky to reach 15% of the goal.
outunderthestars
Banned
I just think that they groaaly overestimated how much people are willing to pay for a secondary novelty system based on a format choice that offers very little incentive for the consumer.
$350 for a system that will only have a handful of games that cost 4-6 times what a digital version would? That is a hard sell regardless of how the campaign has been managed.
$350 for a system that will only have a handful of games that cost 4-6 times what a digital version would? That is a hard sell regardless of how the campaign has been managed.
The Shadow
Member
Not impossible, but cost prohibitive, because those specific chips aren't produced en masse anymore. Using FPGA and/or System-on-a-chip designs are the cheaper, modern way of replicating them.
This whole fiasco saddens me as I was very much sold on the original concept of an inexpensive system that plays retro-styled games on long lasting cartridges. However, the development team went overboard with their design, and feature-creep has made this system DOA.
They need to really pare down the features, bring the price back down to the original amount they kept stating ($150- $200,) get rid of the ability to play cartridges from other systems, not insist that it be made in the US, have actual hardware before they ask for money from the public, and start fresh. Stop the current Indiegogo campaign, possibly rebrand, and start again. Hopefully they haven't killed off all interest, and goodwill.
Addendum: If they do choose to start again, please get someone with experience running an Indiegogo/Kickstarter campaign as their current one is a bit of a joke. Their video is too long, seems a bit cheap, doesn't feature any actual hardware, and there is no sizzle. They also need to be as vocal as they can be, get on Twitter, contact gaming websites/blogs/etc. and let people know that it is coming, but not just a couple of days beforehand. Kickstarter also seems to much more respected, and trusted than Indiegogo.
They need to really pare down the features, bring the price back down to the original amount they kept stating ($150- $200,) get rid of the ability to play cartridges from other systems, not insist that it be made in the US, have actual hardware before they ask for money from the public, and start fresh. Stop the current Indiegogo campaign, possibly rebrand, and start again. Hopefully they haven't killed off all interest, and goodwill.
Addendum: If they do choose to start again, please get someone with experience running an Indiegogo/Kickstarter campaign as their current one is a bit of a joke. Their video is too long, seems a bit cheap, doesn't feature any actual hardware, and there is no sizzle. They also need to be as vocal as they can be, get on Twitter, contact gaming websites/blogs/etc. and let people know that it is coming, but not just a couple of days beforehand. Kickstarter also seems to much more respected, and trusted than Indiegogo.
Oh man the Atari age forum thread is so damning and I was someone who was pretty interested in the system for the novelty of it all. But a friend linked me to it and reading all of that just killed any hope and interest in it.
Interesting enough the fan site retrovgsclub.com has deleted its twitter and website. Pretty well run fansite by someone who seemed like a giant fan but I guess even they lost interest in it all quick.
Interesting enough the fan site retrovgsclub.com has deleted its twitter and website. Pretty well run fansite by someone who seemed like a giant fan but I guess even they lost interest in it all quick.
NoFaceNico
Member
That part is pretty sad. The guy who runs it is on this forum and I even sent him compliments after listening to their first and only podcast. They did a really good job and presented information fairly.
His co-host put up a video when the campaign started and when asked about follow up episodes it doesn't seem like it's going to happen.
In YouTube comments:
This pretty much sums up my thoughts exactly.
This didn't need to get this crazy (afaik, disclaimer on this post, I'm far from knowledgeable). Seems unreasonable to me that they can't get a generic SoC with moderate power on the cheap, throw it in the Jag shell with a few controller adapters and a cartridge interface. The FPGA in my eyes isn't helping, most indie games will already have PC ports or be able to get there. The only hope I had for this is that it would be something that would allow cheap (for developers) ability to produce physical versions of games that would otherwise be stuck on Steam, or the eShop, or whatever.
It's a shame this system became what it is. The niche I think is there, but it has to be priced to compete with a used SNES or Dreamcast today (not to say it needs to actually be that cheap, but closer to that range), not to compete with a PS4. And it doesn't need to do anything that Retron does (even if this does it better or whatever, which it kinda doesn't if you need add-ons).
I liked that they were pretty communicative on the forums here pre-launch, but the actual campaign launch has been a bust. I read over the whole page hoping for something new, but nothing (at least nothing important?) Maybe a couple of those games weren't already announced. Certainly nothing reassuring. And the chart is laughable, should have been more over the top to make sure people know they were joking (I don't think the chart was a joke, but I sure hope it was).
OrbitalBeard
Member
Update from Facebook
Hey Everyone! First off, I wanted to come in here and say that we are very appreciative of those of you who have contributed to our campaign so far. In what are typically slow crowdfunding days, to hit $50K in our first 24-hours was amazing.
First off, as a gamer myself, I have to say that it's amazing to have two tried-and-true game industry veterans working with me to bring RETRO VGS to life. Unlike many of the people who are infesting this project with negativity, people who have never written a line of code or developed any marketable hardware of any sort, Steve Woita and John Carlsen have been actually making successful and fun gaming software and hardware for a few decades for companies like Apple, Atari, Sega, Nintendo, Tengen, Activision, Iguana Entertainment, etc. We have all previously enjoyed the fruits of their labors and will continue to do so if RETRO VGS becomes reality.
And, I want everyone to know they have been putting their heart and soul into the design of RETRO VGS and we (myself and all of you) are damn lucky to have this caliber of people involved. These are not fly-by-night game hobbyists but real life engineers who know a lot about bringing successful video game products to market. I am in great hands having these two guys as partners and I know the machine they are building will be great, just like everything else they have produced in their careers.
We've done what we can to get this machine in the $300-$350 range and realize it might be a stretch for many of you. But, in the end, if you want to play some great new retro style/influenced games on cartridge, and have these games to play for years to come, then you will enjoy owning this system. If you are like me, and haven't bought a new video game in years, and want to get back into gaming and play games like you loved growing up then you will enjoy owning this system. If you have children and want to give them a system that can grow with them and be there years later when they want to play and collect the games they played growing up, then you will love owning this system. If you are tired of being forced to download your games, patch your games and sit through common and lengthy system updates, then you will love the simplicity of this system.
.....
The bolded is really frustrating. People are not going to support the project if this is going to be the attitude of the man behind it. Even if they relaunch with more realistic ambitions, the damage will have been done. You cannot treat your potential backers like this. A lot of the negativity is coming from people who are actually interested in this console!
Hey Everyone! First off, I wanted to come in here and say that we are very appreciative of those of you who have contributed to our campaign so far. In what are typically slow crowdfunding days, to hit $50K in our first 24-hours was amazing.
First off, as a gamer myself, I have to say that it's amazing to have two tried-and-true game industry veterans working with me to bring RETRO VGS to life. Unlike many of the people who are infesting this project with negativity, people who have never written a line of code or developed any marketable hardware of any sort, Steve Woita and John Carlsen have been actually making successful and fun gaming software and hardware for a few decades for companies like Apple, Atari, Sega, Nintendo, Tengen, Activision, Iguana Entertainment, etc. We have all previously enjoyed the fruits of their labors and will continue to do so if RETRO VGS becomes reality.
And, I want everyone to know they have been putting their heart and soul into the design of RETRO VGS and we (myself and all of you) are damn lucky to have this caliber of people involved. These are not fly-by-night game hobbyists but real life engineers who know a lot about bringing successful video game products to market. I am in great hands having these two guys as partners and I know the machine they are building will be great, just like everything else they have produced in their careers.
We've done what we can to get this machine in the $300-$350 range and realize it might be a stretch for many of you. But, in the end, if you want to play some great new retro style/influenced games on cartridge, and have these games to play for years to come, then you will enjoy owning this system. If you are like me, and haven't bought a new video game in years, and want to get back into gaming and play games like you loved growing up then you will enjoy owning this system. If you have children and want to give them a system that can grow with them and be there years later when they want to play and collect the games they played growing up, then you will love owning this system. If you are tired of being forced to download your games, patch your games and sit through common and lengthy system updates, then you will love the simplicity of this system.
.....
The bolded is really frustrating. People are not going to support the project if this is going to be the attitude of the man behind it. Even if they relaunch with more realistic ambitions, the damage will have been done. You cannot treat your potential backers like this. A lot of the negativity is coming from people who are actually interested in this console!
ElectricThunder
Member
It isn't just the VGS debacle that gets most folks goat like me I'd reckon---but the fact that it is another, especially sizable this time, pissing in the communal well that has already taken in downpours when it comes to independent tech projects even somewhat within this niche. There's no accident to this, not with this much semi-public lead up and moving parts---they banked on a cash surge of low information retro and tech enthusiasts getting tantalized by their vague rhetorical appeals to authority as there sure as hell weren't sufficient specifics and nostalgic heart string tucking while drowning out dissenting voices from legitimate critics. It is known to anybody far and wide remotely into this that the bridge to actualization beyond private garage and bedroom tinkering that will likely never enter into the hands of people that don't live within 5 minutes of you is a fragile one, especially coming off the Ouya which they took the strangest damn tack of comparative values on... If you try to hock some dodgy ways and means hot dogs by passing the lot of it off as high-end artisinal sausage making---the legit latter community is going to suffer the brunt of the ill effects far longer and in a more pronounced fashion than one's little stunts since their back is already to the wall from the last jokers.
Future projects by folks entirely divorced from this mess will have yet another layer of trouble and rightfully instilled cynicism to get through---barriers that may well dissuade many(Let's be real, there are relatively few of these sorts (left alive) and the growth numbers aren't exactly such that The Future will arrive in a grand flourish any day now) talented folks that actually mean and have the skills to follow through but just don't/won't deal with having such an albatross around their necks right off the blocks from the starting line.
I guess FPGA's will have to wait for something else to truly get their moment in the spotlight and enter into the enthusiast and periphery thinking consciousness---if nothing else they squandered a fantastic teaching opportunity/moment for that brief, big spotlight that they enjoyed the few minutes such that it was. Amazing that the Natami Project folks, for all their things that went so horribly awry, could probably stumble upon the wreckage heap of this and think, "Well, at least we kinda had some actual prototypes while not trying to skip to the cash of the greater public stage"
^^That passive-aggressive ransom nonsense above just seals it even further----this is on the same level of the worst of the old grognard nonsense in the P&P Tabletop scene save for now it being centered on chips and wafers.
Future projects by folks entirely divorced from this mess will have yet another layer of trouble and rightfully instilled cynicism to get through---barriers that may well dissuade many(Let's be real, there are relatively few of these sorts (left alive) and the growth numbers aren't exactly such that The Future will arrive in a grand flourish any day now) talented folks that actually mean and have the skills to follow through but just don't/won't deal with having such an albatross around their necks right off the blocks from the starting line.
I guess FPGA's will have to wait for something else to truly get their moment in the spotlight and enter into the enthusiast and periphery thinking consciousness---if nothing else they squandered a fantastic teaching opportunity/moment for that brief, big spotlight that they enjoyed the few minutes such that it was. Amazing that the Natami Project folks, for all their things that went so horribly awry, could probably stumble upon the wreckage heap of this and think, "Well, at least we kinda had some actual prototypes while not trying to skip to the cash of the greater public stage"
^^That passive-aggressive ransom nonsense above just seals it even further----this is on the same level of the worst of the old grognard nonsense in the P&P Tabletop scene save for now it being centered on chips and wafers.
Marty Chinn
Member
What is this crap assumption? I've done both written code and worked on new gaming hardware platforms. How does he explain someone like me? He needs to stop talking down and making assumptions on the people who raise questions and criticism.
Hero_of_the_Day
Member
I thought the first and last few days are when most Kickstarters make most of their money?
Also, yeah, it's never a good sign when you have to spend the majority of your time trying to talk down the naysayers.
NormalFish
Banned
hilarious bit is that the most damning critic is someone with more experience than these guys lol.
they definitely are lmao
That has absolutely been the case in every Kickstarter I've seen. Granted, I haven't seen a whole lot.
It could be a little different on Indiegogo, there's some kind of difference in when the payment is collected. Not sure how different it is with fixed funding.
But basically my interpretation there was that it's shameless, blatant spin. I can't verify the stat, but it sounds believable; weekend days probably would be statistically slower in the big picture, since you're less likely to have campaigners in the office updating and promoting the Kickstarter/igg.
Bar81
Member
Nice find. This is pretty much what we suspected and have been telling them for some time in the original thread - this thing has been killed by a lack of focus, feature bloat and an inexperienced team that simply doesn't want to listen to common sense. A lot of people were really hyped by the original vision of a $150-$200 cartridge based system but this disaster is another thing entirely - maybe after all the salt from this colossal failure is gone in a few months, the team will have the professionalism to take a hard introspective look at all the mistakes they made (but probably not given their juvenile behavior to date of labeling all critics as haters, etc.) and return to the original vision and most importantly, listen to people who are trying to help them make something like that a success.
edit: Doesn't seem like their ego and hubris is going by the wayside soon. If they keep this up, even if they stop being asshats down the road they'll have burned too many bridges for this thing to succeed even in its original incarnation. Protip: Blaming potential customers for not being gullible idiots is bad PR.
D
Deleted member 10571
Unconfirmed Member
What an annoying, smug move. People should know better at this point than to talk down fans on social media, I can't think of a single case where that turned out to be in anyones favor.
Yeah, this project is dead, and the more the guy says, the more I think "rightfully so".
Fredrik
Member
Why do they need to hold on to our cash like that, are they investing it in the stock market or are they just scared the pledges aren't real or what?
NoFaceNico
Member
PSA:
Kevtris is now conducting a poll on AtariAge to gauge public support for an FPGA gaming system of his own design. Nothing confirmed, he's playing it safe and smart by just seeing if there's even enough support for an idea such as this.
Link: http://atariage.com/forums/topic/242970-fpga-based-videogame-system/
For those who just see his name in passing- this guy is quickly earning a name for himself in the retro gaming community. He made the NES HDMI kit which basically saved Analogue's ass just recently and he tells us he has many working FPGA emulation cores. Then he was jerked around by the RVGS team as you may have read here.
Just follow the link above for more info about his ideas right now.
THAT is the system we wanted and that makes sense today. I hope he sees that people would support his vision, especially because he has earned the respect people are giving him by showing tangible results from his hard work. Not by buying Atari tooling and e-begging. I'm just hoping the Retro POS doesn't poison the well if he tries crowdfunding.
Even his screen name was made for a console! Which would you rather buy? The Retro VGS or The Kevtris!
Kevtris is now conducting a poll on AtariAge to gauge public support for an FPGA gaming system of his own design. Nothing confirmed, he's playing it safe and smart by just seeing if there's even enough support for an idea such as this.
Link: http://atariage.com/forums/topic/242970-fpga-based-videogame-system/
For those who just see his name in passing- this guy is quickly earning a name for himself in the retro gaming community. He made the NES HDMI kit which basically saved Analogue's ass just recently and he tells us he has many working FPGA emulation cores. Then he was jerked around by the RVGS team as you may have read here.
Just follow the link above for more info about his ideas right now.
THAT is the system we wanted and that makes sense today. I hope he sees that people would support his vision, especially because he has earned the respect people are giving him by showing tangible results from his hard work. Not by buying Atari tooling and e-begging. I'm just hoping the Retro POS doesn't poison the well if he tries crowdfunding.
Even his screen name was made for a console! Which would you rather buy? The Retro VGS or The Kevtris!
OrbitalBeard
Member
Man, I would buy this in a heartbeat! It sounds awesome. I hope he goes through with it!
Quadraphonic
Member
When you spend more time pitching the console shell color and have literally only a potato camera photo of the controller to demonstrate a "prototype", then I'm really starting to think this product is way behind what they were pitching.
ultrazilla
Member
The system Kevtris basically has done is what I was
expecting from the RetroVGS.
I'm personally sad about how the RetroVGS stuff
has turned out. I had mentioned feature creep and
missing their initial target price ($150-$200)would really hurt.
Then switching the campaign to Indiegogo at the last minute, high price of $350 and multimillion dollar
goal all but made it d.o.a. IMO.
I like Mike and his enthusiasm but somewhere the
system hit the bermuda triangle and lost its way.
I'd buy the Kevtris system in a heartbeat.
expecting from the RetroVGS.
I'm personally sad about how the RetroVGS stuff
has turned out. I had mentioned feature creep and
missing their initial target price ($150-$200)would really hurt.
Then switching the campaign to Indiegogo at the last minute, high price of $350 and multimillion dollar
goal all but made it d.o.a. IMO.
I like Mike and his enthusiasm but somewhere the
system hit the bermuda triangle and lost its way.
I'd buy the Kevtris system in a heartbeat.
longnosedgoblin
Member
Pretty cheeky to imply that anyone who doesn't have any involvement in software or hardware design is misinformed. So all the collective hours we have spent in our hobby mean nothing.
I'm pretty sure if they had asked experienced gamers what they wanted at the start this would have gone differently. I think alot of the negativity is because of what this could have been.
I'm pretty sure if they had asked experienced gamers what they wanted at the start this would have gone differently. I think alot of the negativity is because of what this could have been.
Bar81
Member
That's good insight and on the money.
Doctor Ironic
Member
Which is to say, nothing.
This console is built on the nostalgic ideal; the idea that old video games were inherently better, and NEVER featured these pesky "bugs" that we experience today. Watching one hour of AGDQ will pretty quickly prove that wrong.
Vipershark
Member
I'd be really cool with Kevtris' system if it included some kind of developer interface (which the VGS intended to do).
My main desire for the VGS was to be able to develop for old hardware using modern tools and with modern documentation and the availibility of internet resources to develop on a system that will allow me to easily test and play on the actual hardware.
I want the console to be a devkit (which is also part of why I liked the OUYA but lol at that).
I know emulators and such exist but they simply can't match playing a game on hardware. If this is the closest I can get to developing directly on SNES or Genesis hardware using modern techniques, that's what I want to do. Emulators won't cut it.
My main desire for the VGS was to be able to develop for old hardware using modern tools and with modern documentation and the availibility of internet resources to develop on a system that will allow me to easily test and play on the actual hardware.
I want the console to be a devkit (which is also part of why I liked the OUYA but lol at that).
I know emulators and such exist but they simply can't match playing a game on hardware. If this is the closest I can get to developing directly on SNES or Genesis hardware using modern techniques, that's what I want to do. Emulators won't cut it.
McBradders
NeoGAF: my new HOME
Kevtris sounds like he knows what he is doing and that is a desirable, lovely system he's designed. The Retro VGS, even on paper, is backwardly designed with some weird ideological pipe dream attached to it.
I would love for the Retro VGS to succeed but there's nothing there to grasp on to that makes it sound viable or even practical in a modern world.
I would love for the Retro VGS to succeed but there's nothing there to grasp on to that makes it sound viable or even practical in a modern world.
panda-zebra
Banned
I don't recall reading that, do you have a link? With the quotes I've seen recently regarding their concerns of piracy (...) I can't imagine the two could be reconciled.
Or maybe, similarly to the cart recall procedure, they have a plan in place to vet every potential developer and have them prove their credentials and intentions.
Vipershark
Member
Directly from the FAQ on their website:
In other words, in addition to the FPGA cores, they were intending to also allow you to develop for those cores and seemingly provide SDKs for them (or at the very least allow the community to create them) but the main point is that the system itself is/was intended to be a development box as well. That's what the big USB type-B connector on the back is for. I seem to recall Mike talking about this in more depth elsewhere but I don't remember where it was.
If I can't program on a real SNES devkit, having a cycle for cycle clone is the next best thing.
lol Brilliant.