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| Retron 5 (aka 4) |
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| satoshi_matrix:
whoops, meant to post this earlier. There's a long and detailed thread over at digitalpress if you guys want more, but here's the basic run down. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OcNy7t17LA Hyperkin has announced Famicom 60 pin cartridge support, changing the name to the Retron5. It has also confirmed GB and GBC support! This means the RetroN5 will play natively support Famicom, NES, SNES, Super Famicom, Genesis, MegaDrive, GameBoy, GameBoy Color and GameBoy Advance games. It also may even support the Famicom Disk System, Sega Master System via the Power Base Converter and possibly the Sega 32X (though likely you'll need to modify in the support). That's a LOT of support right there. It will feature six controller ports - 2 NES, 2 SNES, 2 Genesis. What's news is that players will be able to use any controller they want for any system! The example they give is that users will be able to use SNES controllers to play Genesis games. This is spectacular news and washes away the worries of what controllers will or won't work with GBA games. The system will also feature AV (not S-Video too?) video outputs as well as the aforementioned HDMI. It will also have a USB port for charging the wireless controller. No more AAA batters makes me very happy. The bluetooth wireless controller will have a six button layout similar to the Genesis, but will look nothing like the Genesis looking controller that came with the Retorn3. It also will not have a d-pad, but an microswitch driven click-stick, which seems similar to the NeoGeo CD. The NeoGeo Pocket Color has in my option the best click stick EVER, but using it in place of a standard dpad? That might work, but it might fall flat on its face. Impossible to tell without actually using it. The wireless controller will also allow users to custom map the button layout, and it will save custom configurations. As well, button remapping will also be available for original NES, SNES and Genesis controllers! This is yet more good news. It means for example, Ninja Gaiden Trilogy for SNES can be remapped with a real SNES controller to use the Y & B buttons instead of the B and A as originally used. Also Famicom and NES games that have "reversed" controls like Challenger can be fixed, making them much more enjoyable. The system will have an OS that will be more than just a digital system switcher. It will allow users to create save states, it will auto-save for when the system is suddenly turned off, will offer a "cheat menu" (which could mean built in GameGenie/Action Reply support) and also offer what Hyperkin is calling Manual & Passive Overclocking - gamers will be able to change the speed of their game anytime they wish, offering both slowdown and fast-forward. These are all common emulator features. To see them in a dedicated console that plays actual cartridges is very, very welcome. Confirmed: Retorn5 will up-convert video signals to a max 720p. Users can also choose the aspect ratio - you can choose the original 4:3 if you so desire, or stretch to 16:9. VERY WELCOME OPTION. It will feature something Hyperkin calls "Audio Interpolation" which they claim will clean up analog audio for digital output. Spoiler alert - this isn't a good thing. Audio Interpolation is what SNES audio sound muffled whereas Genesis/NES audio sounds clear and well, sharp. To me, this will only be an issue if Hyperkin doesn't include the ability to enable/disable it. Questions asked by the audience (as best I could hear due to poor audio): Q: What will the price be? A: We don't have a price point [at this time] but we will say it will be under $100. Q: Will you be adding N64 game support in the future? A: We have looked into that, and we won't make a comment as of this time. Q: What is the release date? A: Essentially, TBA, though they said they will announce something after June. Q: Do you have a demo unit? A: Yes, we currently have an alpha system that is running Street Fighter Alpha 2. Q: Will the Retorn5 support firmware updates? A: Yes, although how exactly is yet to be determined. Q: Have you thought of adding support for other retro systems (Atari, Amiga, TurboGrapfx16/PC Engine)? A: It's market depending. If that market grows, then yes. [this is marketing jargon for "no, probably not"] Q: Will lag be an issue? A: hard to tell what they said. I think they said essentially no, beyond what was there natively with the original games. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- So yeah. Hyperkin has a lot of past baggage and so yes, a lot of retro gamers have legitimate concerns for the Retron4.....err, Retron5. However, based on the newest information Hyperkin has provided, things are looking brighter than ever for them and the community as a whole. With all the announcements they made through, Hyperkin still didn't say a word about compatibility of past problematic games like Castlevania 3, Mario RPG and Virtua Racing for example. Still, that doesn't mean a thing at this point. Until it's actually released, predictions are completely pointless, either for or against individual game compatibility. Anyone who says otherwise is full of it. It's like someone saying they can predict who will win the Superbowl - in 20 years from now. There's really nothing we can do but wait and see. Hyperkin also didn't say anything about some other features. The alpha system shown doesn't have a reset button. This might be incorporated into the software itself though. With Famicom support comes a whole lot of Famicom only soundchips, so will the Retron5 be able to run these correctly? Speaking of which, they still didn't say anything about the NES/Famicom HD video output. I wish someone had asked if NES/Famicom games would run in 720p. Regardless, for me personally, all this news pretty much confirms that Hyperkin is going to be running an emulation based, dedicated computer that will be extremely different from anything the market has seen thus far. Sophisticated emulation software that runs the original cartridges sounds like voodoo magic to me, and yet here apparently is. If Hyperkin can pull this off well, they have a real chance at being the dream system many of us have been wanting pretty much since childhood. |
| Heilman11085:
In for 1 for sure. |
| videogametrader:
Speaking as a retailer I can tell you that my customers are very, VERY interested. We sell a lot of the Hyperkin and Retro-Bit products. I know clone systems have had a questionable past, but the newest versions of systems from Hyperkin and retro-bit are pretty good. We have sold tons of SupaBoys and Retron 3s with no returns. (I know, the Retron 3 wireless controllers suck). We also sell alot of the Retron 2 and the RDP console. We also sell that cheapy Retro-bit $20 NES console (one of our best sellers) and again, no returns or any issues with them. We are starting to take Pre-orders for the Retron 5 next week. They should be out by the end of the Summer and should retail at $99.99 maybe $119.99 but i dont' see them being any more than that. |
| Blumpkin:
I've been waiting for more info on h Retron 5. Hyperkin said that pricing and release date would be announced at E3, but I haven't seen them post any updates yet. |
| JDavis:
All I've seen from people who've visited their E3 booth is "aiming for later this summer" and "shooting for under $100" etc. |
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