General Category > General Discussion
New Project, looking for input & gauging interest
wiggy:
OK, so I've mentioned (on a few occasions) that I'm working on a new project that may interest you guys. I FINALLY got Solidworks up-and-running on my Windows 7 machine which has allowed me really start moving forward with the idea. I was going to wait until I was a bit further in, but I'm too amped at this point to keep it to myself, and hopefully you guys will share some of my enthusiasm.
I'm guessing that many of you have seen the console-ized MVS Neo Geos and possibly even the awesomely beautiful and well crafted wooden MVS units (http://www.analogueinteractive.com/). In the same vein, I am working on new casings for retro systems. I'm not taking about cheesy clear replica Xbox360 shells with a zillion LEDs and liquid cooling. What I am shooting for is a re-envisioned aesthetic for many of our favorite old-school machines!
Here's my rationale for the project:
Many of us old-school gamers are adults with "real" jobs, wives/long-term girlfriends/domestic partners, houses and kids of our own. I can't speak for all of your partners, but mine doesn't really care for the look of my bright orange N64 or the frumpiness of the Super Nintendo. Not to mention that many of us are being paid well over our minimum wage burger flipper jobs now and we have some disposable income to throw at our hobby instead of having to save our allowance week-to-week, month-to-month just to afford a new "game tape".
The inconsistent design of all the various consoles is another issue I want to address. Optimally, I'd like to create new cases for as many of the older consoles as possible with a similar aesthetic in the way that various pieces of high-end stereo equipment look like they belong together.
On the other hand, many of of you may want something that's closer to the other end of the spectrum. Maybe something like a prototpye design that was left on the cutting room floor?
I've decided to start with the SNES mini. I've wanted one for a long time, and this gave me an excuse to make that purchase. Also, it's super compact, which gives me a lot of freedom to alter the appearance without having to make it any larger. In fact, the gutty-wuts are significantly smaller than the original plastic housing. With that in mind, I plan on a final product that's actually a fair amount more compact. I just finished mocking up the guts as a template and I'd like to get moving on a design as soon as possible.
So, I'm here to ask for your input. I know what I want, but not at all what everyone else wants and I'd like to turn this into something that gives me and my little one man design firm some extra business.
Here's what need from you:
* Crazy spaceship looking, high-design, or something else?
* What consoles would you like to see re-shelled?
* What price would you be comfortable paying for an item like this?
* Do you want extra features or not? Things like lighting, custom paint, personal logos and whatnot, etc.
* Do you want to re-case the console yourself, or have me provide a service?
* Do you want to preserve the original state of the internals? I.e. Do you want to be able to easily slap the guts back into the original shell, or are you interested in something that has been modified to fit into a vastly different casing, or has repositioned switches, or whatever?
* Are you even interested in this idea at all?
Speak up! I'd love to hear what you folks think whether you hate it or love it ;D
scarmullet:
If you could make a SNES shell that works with fat SNESs and looks like SFC/PAL SNES, that would be groovy.
Forte:
Good god that SoNintendo PlayStation mockup looks amazing.
I'd like to see things along the line of that, prototype/unreleased console shells we can put existing hardware in, like the Sega Neptune and that wonderful PlayStation.
shenske:
There is definitely a market for a reshelled fully compatible NintendoPlayStation that looks just like the prototype. I've considering having a hack as a PSone and SNESmini for quite some time but i don;t have a full grasp on the technical know-how.
TyrannicalFascist:
Wow this is a cool idea. I must say a NintendoPlaystation shell would be so awesome. Would that be for SNES or PS1...or both?
Maybe you could find a way to create the long-lost Sega Neptune... As cool as it is to have a Genesis/CD/32X now (with the wireless controller reciever on the front too), the thing looks like a monstrosity, and takes up a butt-load of room. Maybe you could find a way to combine them into a shell that looks like the Neptune? I know the Sega CD wasn't supposed to be included, but if it were possible, then it would amazing.
I don't know if this is possible, but what about a small console-like device that would house a computer designed to play old DOS or Windows games on your TV. I know I could just use a small computer and USB controllers/keyboard, but it would be cool to have some aesthetically nice looking machine for playing those old classics as if it were a video game console. Not to mention playing Wacky Wheels or Star Wars: X-Wing and TIE Fighter on my TV would be so awesome. Maybe set up so you could plug in either USB or original computer devices? Then maybe someone could create some kind of start up menu that can let you quickly play installed games like a console game menu, rather than going to an OS like Windows 98 or something. I'm probably talking about a project beyond what you're suggesting, but I'm just spit-balling here.
Lots of possibilities. I'm curious to see what everyone suggests. Let me ponder this for a while...