Retro VGS Game Console

[Mathius]

LOL I knew what it was before pressing play.

As did I so I didn't even watch it. I play straight thru Pilotwings a couple times a year just to hear the tunes.

[Gentlegamer]

I don't think the video title shows up here, so I'll add it's "The Retro VGS Project in 48 Seconds"

[NightWolve]

The Ian? guy makes a good point: the RVGS is more concerned about collectors than players:

Part #1:

Part #2:

Pretty good! Same conversation almost that we already had, the whole thing was deconstructed. The point I made how RVGS is lauding the idea of "no patches, ever!" as being a 'positive' was addressed as well... Anyway, I guess partaking further in this thread is just grave-dancing at this point.

[DildoKKKobold]

The Ian? guy makes a good point: the RVGS is more concerned about collectors than players:

Interestingly, the Retro VGS guy called it a "drunken rant" on his facebook page, simply because Ian was drinking a beer.

[KnightWarrior]

So Collectors going only buy it just to display it?

[NightWolve]

The Ian? guy makes a good point: the RVGS is more concerned about collectors than players:

Interestingly, the Retro VGS guy called it a "drunken rant" on his facebook page, simply because Ian was drinking a beer.

Hahahaha!

[Bloufo]

The Ian? guy makes a good point: the RVGS is more concerned about collectors than players:

Interestingly, the Retro VGS guy called it a "drunken rant" on his facebook page, simply because Ian was drinking a beer.

[NightWolve]

The Ian? guy makes a good point: the RVGS is more concerned about collectors than players:

Interestingly, the Retro VGS guy called it a "drunken rant" on his facebook page, simply because Ian was drinking a beer.

Ha, this gets better all the time!

[KnightWarrior]

Just drop the whole idea of New Games for Retro VGS

Just make it Multi-Cart Port like the Genesis, Super NES, NES like the Retro Trio, Get the PCB for the Chips like the NOAC, GOAC & Chips for the SNES

[NightWolve]

From what I understood, you'd have to go to Kevtris for that as he's already done a lot of work towards that goal and he does now have his own support page for those interested in it.

Team RetroVGS dropped the idea for the FPGA aspect as they wanted the fundraising to get up to $3-4 million and since I think we can safely say they're not gonna reach ANY goal, it's moot... ;)

[KnightWarrior]

How a Company like Retro-Bit get parts to make a Retro Duo or the Super Retro Trio?

Do they pick out the Chip Set that goes in the Console?

[JoshTurboTrollX]

Hey, I've seen the Ouya being mentioned once or twice in this thread or people calling this the "Ouya 2".  I must say, this Retro VGS story isn't much at all like the Ouya.  The Ouya actually delivered what they said they would and has actually entertained a few of the people that went to bat for them (Me included!). 

It's a simple little indie/downloadable games/emu machine that I find really nice.  The price is great for those that want to check it out, but not break the bank. 

So.... quit picking on the Ouya ya jerks! 

[elmer]

I must say, this Retro VGS story isn't much at all like the Ouya.  The Ouya actually delivered what they said they would and has actually entertained a few of the people that went to bat for them (Me included!).

I agree! The Ouya guys had an idea, put it together (perhaps not in the greatest way) ... and then saw it fail in the marketplace.

Nothing particularly wrong with that, it happens all the time ... that's business.

That's a lot further than Mike Kennedy and friends are going to get.

It's hard to tell just what the idea behind the RETRO VGS is ... it keeps on changing, and the 3 "founders" can't even seem to agree on what they want to do.

Mike Kennedy has spent months trying to say how different his "concept" is to the Ouya.

Now that they're backing away from the FPGA side of things as fast as they can, they've finally posted some specs on the IGG page.

Doesn't look too different to the Ouya, hardware-wise, to me!

            RETRO VGS                        OUYA
CPU         1.6GHz Quad Core ARM Cortex-A9   1.7GHz Quad Core ARM Cortex-A9
RAM         1GB DDR3-800                     1GB DDR3-800
PROTOTYPE   Manufacturer's SoC eval board    Manufacturer's SoC eval board
OS          We won't have one (NetBSD?)      Android
CONTROLLER  Yes                              Yes
CARTRIDGE   Yes                              No
COST        $300                             $100

[NightWolve]

            RETRO VGS                        OUYA
CPU         1.6GHz Quad Core ARM Cortex-A9   1.7GHz Quad Core ARM Cortex-A9
RAM         1GB DDR3-800                     1GB DDR3-800
PROTOTYPE   Manufacturer's SoC eval board    Manufacturer's SoC eval board
OS          We won't have one (NetBSD?)      Android
CONTROLLER  Yes                              Yes
CARTRIDGE   Yes                              No
COST        $300                             $100

Hahahaha! The last line, it just... says it all, I guess. Somebody should put together a collection of the best roasting posts from elsewhere and here, I would be interested to see how much better of a job the public can roast this thing than us.

[PukeSter]

            RETRO VGS                        OUYA
CPU         1.6GHz Quad Core ARM Cortex-A9   1.7GHz Quad Core ARM Cortex-A9
RAM         1GB DDR3-800                     1GB DDR3-800
PROTOTYPE   Manufacturer's SoC eval board    Manufacturer's SoC eval board
OS          We won't have one (NetBSD?)      Android
CONTROLLER  Yes                              Yes
CARTRIDGE   Yes                              No
COST        $300                             $100

I love that they still think Cartridges are an actual benefit.

The Ouya is not that great, but still has dozens of games worth playing, even for free if you sideload.

And it is a great emulation box.

A single Retro VGS cartridge will cost $20 at least, and even the emulation part of it is crap.

[Gentlegamer]

            RETRO VGS                        OUYA
CPU         1.6GHz Quad Core ARM Cortex-A9   1.7GHz Quad Core ARM Cortex-A9
RAM         1GB DDR3-800                     1GB DDR3-800
PROTOTYPE   Manufacturer's SoC eval board    Manufacturer's SoC eval board
OS          We won't have one (NetBSD?)      Android
CONTROLLER  Yes                              Yes
CARTRIDGE   Yes                              No
COST        $300                             $100

Hahahaha! The last line, it just... says it all, I guess. Somebody should put together a collection of the best roasting posts from elsewhere and here, I would be interested to see how much better of a job the public can roast this thing than us.

There's a 120+ page thread on Atari Age where you can find the genesis of most of these.

[SignOfZeta]

Well, the Ouya had the benefit of having a billion dollar free OS and of course Android evangelicals, who were at the loudest and most obnoxious during this time. For some reason they seem to have quieted down a lot in the last year...

[SuperGrafx]

Crikey.

That's not a very flattering picture of Kennedy.
He looks like an OLD drunken sot that you'd see at the local bar.

[elmer]

There's a 120+ page thread on Atari Age where you can find the genesis of most of these.

Haha, 124+ pages now. Yep, I'm certainly one of those that's been guilty of cross-posting!

I'm totally addicted to watching this and seeing the hour-by-hour fluctuations in their IGG funding.


I've never seen 3 people who seem to have so little capability to actually run a business, go out there and ask total strangers for millions of dollars.

I'm also beginning to suspect that a couple of the "fans" are now actually cancelling earlier pledges and then re-pledging under new accounts just to make it look like new people are backing the campaign.   

He looks like an OLD drunken sot that you'd see at the local bar.

The whole RETRO VGS project sounds just like something that a bunch of old, disillusioned, developers would come up with after spending a long day (or 2) in the bar at GDC/E3. 

[NightWolve]

I've never seen 3 people, who seem to have so little capability to actually run a business, go out there and ask total strangers for millions of dollars.

Quote/Sig-worthy.

[DildoKKKobold]

I've never seen 3 people who seem to have so little capability to actually run a business, go out there and ask total strangers for millions of dollars.

Mike Kennedy is an interesting piece of work. Game Gavel is a miserable failure. For example, there are SIX SNES games on the site right now, total. And all 6 are sports games. I've read somewhere (it might have been here) that RETRO magazine has delivered a total of 10 issues over two years, when it was supposed to be monthly.

The thing I'm curious about, is if he's super passionate about retro stuff, but just not that bright, or is he just trying to cash in on the retro fad, and not very good at it? Either he's a lovable loser, or an incompetent villain. I don't know which.

[o.pwuaioc]

I've never seen 3 people who seem to have so little capability to actually run a business, go out there and ask total strangers for millions of dollars.

Mike Kennedy is an interesting piece of work. Game Gavel is a miserable failure. For example, there are SIX SNES games on the site right now, total. And all 6 are sports games. I've read somewhere (it might have been here) that RETRO magazine has delivered a total of 10 issues over two years, when it was supposed to be monthly.

The thing I'm curious about, is if he's super passionate about retro stuff, but just not that bright, or is he just trying to cash in on the retro fad, and not very good at it? Either he's a lovable loser, or an incompetent villain. I don't know which.

There's really nothing lovable about him. I wouldn't call him a villain, but mix those things up and you get close to reality: an incompetent loser.

[JoshTurboTrollX]

I've never seen 3 people who seem to have so little capability to actually run a business, go out there and ask total strangers for millions of dollars.

I've read somewhere (it might have been here) that RETRO magazine has delivered a total of 10 issues over two years, when it was supposed to be monthly.

I subscribe to RETRO, it's not a bad magazine.  It's 4-6 issues a year, I want to say every other month.  I don't think they ever said it would be every month though.

Also, Read Only Memories comes out NEXT WEEK on the Ouya!  I've played the demo twice and can't wait to play the whole game!  Really great game that everyone should check out!  Especially if you're a fan of the SNATCHER/King's Quest style point n' click adventure.

[elmer]

It's all over ... they just pulled the plug on the campaign and told everyone to claim their refunds.

Final total $63,546.

[Bloufo]

Only move they could make. Finally.

[Mathius]

Hey Everyone! It's clear, in its current state the RETRO VGS Indiegogo campaign is dead in the water and thusly will be shut down early. Once the Indiegogo team explains to us how we can do this, the plug will be pulled and all of you who have contributed will receive a refund post haste. Or you can go in and request a refund from Indiegogo right now.

The good news is we aren't giving up and have made some adjustments to our hardware team, which includes the involvement of... other hardware gurus who were part of our venture in the very beginning. We will also be lowering the price while maintaining most of the cool features you all want.

We will be back in the near future with a prototype RETRO VGS system, front-and-center playing our games on our cartridges and with our USB controller. Sit tight, be patient and RETRO VGS will return.

Thanks again for your support, patience and understanding while we regroup and prepare for the relaunch of a new crowdfunding campaign.

Mike Kennedy

Maybe they'll get their act together for the next run. Maybe Kevtris is back in the fold?

[NightWolve]

Maybe they'll get their act together for the next run. Maybe Kevtris is back in the fold?

Doubtful, on both points. With the bad blood that gets created with how Kevtris publicly joined in on the roasting, they wouldn't want him back on principle, and for Kevtris to have done what he did, he was probably already very sure the prospects for any kind of partnership was permanently over.

[jlued686]

Maybe they'll get their act together for the next run. Maybe Kevtris is back in the fold?

Doubtful, on both points. With the bad blood that gets created with how Kevtris publicly joined in on the roasting, they wouldn't want him back on principle, and for Kevtris to have done what he did, he was probably already very sure the prospects for any kind of partnership was permanently over.

Agreed. I would imagine that these guys have burned through any goodwill they may have had. What sucks is they've probably made it harder for anyone who wants to take on a similar project in the future as well. I'd absolutely consider backing a $100-$150 cart-based console if it had a few killer exclusive games and, you know, some hint of a working prototype. These guys, though? Not a chance. My bullshit detector went on overdrive the moment I saw them speak.

[CrackTiger]

So they're now saying, "we can actually give you the more expensive product we originally promised, with all of the features we wound up cutting due to cost... but this time it's going to cost you less than the neutered system we wound up fundraising for".

It's nice to hear that they're become infinitely more qualified overnight and can suddenly do what they recently said was impossible.

I'm guessing that they're talking ahead of themselves again and their plan is to just get more non-celebreties to pretend to be involved and advertise their phantom ware as "who are you going to listen to, everyone in the world with common sense, or those of us insiders who are better than all of you?"

[SignOfZeta]

I'm pretty sure at least one of the three won't be around for any future attempts. Their hardware guy sounded pretty upset and out of the loop.

[esteban]

It's not over. It's just beginning. Retro VGS.

[Opethian]

Retro VGS
the future was then

[NightWolve]

It's not over. It's just beginning. Retro VGS.

[Gentlegamer]

It's not over. It's just beginning. Retro VGS.

[Mathius]

Retro VGS
the future was then

*chuckles*

[ToyMachine78]

Awww man! The lulz were just getting good. I hope theres a final Nostalgia SHIT video

[DildoKKKobold]

Doubtful, on both points. With the bad blood that gets created with how Kevtris publicly joined in on the roasting, they wouldn't want him back on principle, and for Kevtris to have done what he did, he was probably already very sure the prospects for any kind of partnership was permanently over.

Maybe they ate some crow, groveled to him,  and he forgave them for being fucktards. Its a possibility.

That said, I think that they totally misjudged everything about this release, and if they think they'll get even half of the response they got in the re-do, then they are still smoking crack.

[NightWolve]

Doubtful, on both points. With the bad blood that gets created with how Kevtris publicly joined in on the roasting, they wouldn't want him back on principle, and for Kevtris to have done what he did, he was probably already very sure the prospects for any kind of partnership was permanently over.

Maybe they ate some crow, groveled to him,  and he forgave them for being fucktards. Its a possibility.

Getting past pride is a tough thing... Their statement that "he's not the only game in town..." or "his is a failed model from the start..." and given that Kevtris was willing to join the roasting shows they all were pretty sure they were done with each other. From their perspective, would you trust Kevtris not to go out and embarrass you again like that if things get tough ? I dunno how you patch things up after such a very public debacle... Heh.

That said, I think that they totally misjudged everything about this release, and if they think they'll get even half of the response they got in the re-do, then they are still smoking crack.

Exactly. You can't show lack of professionalism in these types of endeavors as tempting as it is to get down and dirty and tell it like it is... With them taking shots at each other, all the fumbling around, so little in planning yet asking so much in money, amateur hour videos that you or I could've done properly summarized as "Power goes in, video goes out!" (HAHAHAHAHAHA!), etc. who would put trust in these bumbling bumblers again ?? Wanted millions of dollars, didn't get past $60k (which is still scary to me), but MAYBE in round 2 they'll have a better shot... Rrrrriiiiigggghhhhhtttt.

Agreed. I would imagine that these guys have burned through any goodwill they may have had. What sucks is they've probably made it harder for anyone who wants to take on a similar project in the future as well. I'd absolutely consider backing a $100-$150 cart-based console if it had a few killer exclusive games and, you know, some hint of a working prototype. These guys, though? Not a chance. My bullshit detector went on overdrive the moment I saw them speak.

But here's the thing, why would game developers wanna give an exclusive to something like this ?? Exclusives are already something that should be happening less and less.

They can give you a "killer app" right now, they can put it up cheaply on their website or pay a bit to Steam and get more marketing from an established site like that... That cuts out the closed-license fee model of consoles, production of pieces of plastic in the form of CD/DVD/BluRay/carts, you get instant world-wide distribution, that's millions of people around the world that'll have access to it... All the money spent on upfront costs in the old console model could instead be spent on making the game better!

This whole thing is fueled by nostalgia... I love my old retro consoles too, but, ya know, their purpose came and went with the times... I see how my cheap $30 tablet with its HDMI output and USB input can be turned into a powerful gaming console on the side with a USB gamepad and yet still do all the other things we can't live without like Internet, etc. Why do I want yet another library of carts divided onto yet another console when all the games made for it could pretty much run on my PC/tablet ??

[Mathius]

Bumbling Bumblers

This will be the title of the book. And that group pic post-country cruise? It will be the cover.

[SephirothTNH]

HAHA! someone backed this for $1 three hours ago.  From what I understand of IGG you can't cancel a campaign once it's made any money.  It would be hilarious if they got everyone to ask for a refund but that $1 pledge stayed until the very end.

[Gentlegamer]

HAHA! someone backed this for $1 three hours ago.  From what I understand of IGG you can't cancel a campaign once it's made any money.  It would be hilarious if they got everyone to ask for a refund but that $1 pledge stayed until the very end.

https://support.indiegogo.com/hc/en-us/articles/527416-Deleting-a-Campaign

All campaigns that have raised funds must be kept live in order to preserve your campaign information and contributor details. Campaigns can only be deleted if they have not raised any funds.

Teh lulz keep on comin'

[Psycho Punch]

My god ahahahah

Some people seems to be hoping for a retreat so they can reformulate their strategy and do it again. WTF? Isn't it clear by now that the console is just so they can make their egos bigger and get $$$ from collectards?

[elmer]

Awww man! The lulz were just getting good. I hope there's a final Nostalgia SHIT video

Here you go ...

[NightWolve]

Ha, the head of "Nostalgia Industries" came back for a finisher to conclude this debacle! 

[Mathius]

Ha, the head of "Nostalgia Industries" came back for a finisher to conclude this debacle! 

The phone call at the end was brilliant.

[JoshTurboTrollX]

Stolen from neo-geo.com

[jlued686]

But here's the thing, why would game developers wanna give an exclusive to something like this ?? Exclusives are already something that should be happening less and less.

Sorry, I should've clarified: I was talking "first party" exclusives. Which I realize is laughable in this case as these clowns aren't developers. But if they put together a team and put up 2-3 cool games showing what the system could do, that'd go a long way to prove to other developers that the console was worth a look. But, like everything about this campaign, they were relying more on bullshit and unicorns.

[Bloufo]

So the hardware guy Carlsen is out. Not too surprised by that.

End part of his Facebook message:

I take pride in knowing that we created a good design and offered it at a fair price through an honest campaign, and made many friends in the process.
 
Sincerely yours,
John Carlsen

Yeah? No, I'm kinda thinking you guys did the opposite.

[CrackTiger]

So the hardware guy Carlsen is out. Not too surprised by that.

End part of his Facebook message:

I take pride in knowing that we created a good design and offered it at a fair price through an honest campaign, and made many friends in the process.
 
Sincerely yours,
John Carlsen

Yeah? No, I'm kinda thinking you guys did the opposite.

I think that this was just one final trolling.

[SignOfZeta]

For all we know, HE might have sorta done that. Then that other douche might have hyped it all to hell with pseudo specs/unsubstantiated fever dreams turned into press releases.

Maybe.

The hardware guy always seemed like the other two guys probably had to tell him all sorts of lies just to get him to work on the thing. Not the brightest bulb in a box but maybe the least sleazy of the VGS posse.