The "Modern Retro" Console - A modern console with no internet

[Judge Dredd]

There's an poorly named idea I've seen floating around that there should be a "modern retro" console, and wonder what Kiwis think about it.

The idea is this. A new console with no internet capability and an original library of games.


I see the idea credited to Stuttering Craig of Side Scrollers, though he's far from the first to come up with the concept. What is being described is basically a fantasy console. I don't know where Craig said it, so I don't know if it would have specific technical limitations like a fantasy console, or what features it would include. But it's likened to a PS2.

The lack of internet connection means no live service trash or microtransactions. No patches. Once a game is pressed to cart/disc, that's it. Multiplayer would be couch co-op, so if you want to play the new hotness in multiplayer it means going to someone elses house.

The console would also be cheap. $100 or less. (I personally think it should but up to $300 to account for inflation) It would also be underpowered compared to a gaming PC. I don't know if it would just play games, or if would play movies too.


As someone in their late 30s with strong nostalgia for the PS1, PS2, and Xbox 360, I like the idea, but I also think it wouldn't sell, and AAA publishers wouldn't touch it. Even if they did, it would be mobile tier low effort slop. Kind of like the state VR ended up in. The Ouya tried something like this and failed. Pico 8 is popular by fantasy console standards, but it's still a niche and there's no money to be made on it.

And as said, I think calling it a "modern retro console" is a bad name, as it makes it sound like a mini console, a Raspberry Pi emulation system, or one of those Chinese emulation handhelds.

But despite my cynicism about it working in practice, I like the idea. The indie game anthology UFO 50 is my current obsession and is the closest to the concept we're likely to see. Something with some 3D capability might be nice, as I'd like to see a return to the glory days of the PS2, Dreamcast, or even the PS1.

 

[Coolio55]

Already a bunch.
Spectrum Next
MEGA65
X16
Agon Light

 

[Judge Dredd]

Already a bunch.
Spectrum Next
MEGA65
X16
Agon Light

Yep. And none of them went anywhere. In part because they're trying to copy really old C64 era machines, and in part because there's no worthwhile games. Just tech demos and a million ports of various c64 classics. You might as well just emulate a c64 and cut out the highly priced middle man.

 

[Pee Cola]

Yep. And none of them went anywhere. In part because they're trying to copy really old C64 era machines, and in part because there's no worthwhile games.

Sort of.

The ZX Spectrum Next is an evolution of the ZX Spectrum. Over 9000 units were produced across two Kickstarter campaigns, there's now a clone for those who missed out on the Kickstarters, and there are plenty of games specifically for the Next.

As for the Agon Light, that's more of a cheap hobbyist tinkering board with a Z80 on it than a gaming machine, unless you like ports of BBC Micro games. That said, an attempt has been made to turn the Agon Light into a console, though idk how successful it's been. Not sure how many have been sold, but the FB group has a couple thousand members.

The MEGA65 is a Commodore 65 clone and quite expensive (though significantly less expensive than a real Commodore 65).

The Commander X16 is a complete boondoggle imo.

Spoiler: Disclosure (PL?)

I own a ZX Spectrum Next and an Agon Light. I haven't touched the Agon in ages but I use the Speccy Next on a semi-regular basis to play Next games, as well as classic Spectrum 48k/128k titles

 

[TheArtilleryman]

I think if you're autistic enough to want to play older games, you're autistic enough to emulate. A mid level computer or even laptop for a couple hundred can play everything you mentioned and will have tonnes more utility asides that, you should honestly consider that instead.

Mini retro consoles do exist and some are good. I got the NES Classic Mini just because I thought it was neat and the game selection was good. I didn't need to, even a phone can store and play all NES games, but I still got a lot of hours out of it.

I think the PS1 was the most recent console to recieve the retro mini treatment but AFAIK it didn't do too well. Licensing and copyright issues (and possibly also the many remakes in the pipeline around this time) meant that most of the significant titles you would actually want to play weren't there. Nintendo avoided this by maintaining a tight hold on their IPs, the Atari 2600 and SEGA Genesis minis were also decent I heard because similarly it was easier to package their synonymous titles within, but any retro repackagings of consoles newer than the 5th gen when big publishers and licenses started to mingle with the industry won't feel "whole" for lack of a better word.

 

[Judge Dredd]

I think if you're autistic enough to want to play older games

Read the OP. This is a new console for new games.

 

[TheArtilleryman]

Read the OP. This is a new console for new games.

I did. He described an offline console packaged with older games, specifically PS1, 2 and XBOX 360. The PS1 and PS2 aren't new (XBOX 360 you could argue is), and my reply made the point that anything past gen 5 probably won't get what he had in mind (or at least what I think he had in mind).

EDIT: I didn't even realise you're OP. Well whatever you want then.

 

[Grub]

Every time I hear about one of these things I think the same thing. Why? Why would I purchase something that's limited to a handful of what's going to essentially be the same shit as thousands of indie games on steam? The idea sounds good until you realize that kind of shit only worked in the past because those were the only devices that could play games like that.

Nothing is stopping people currently from making simple offline games without microtransactions. They choose not to. Why would people suddenly decide to develop games for a limited platform with a limited audience when they could make literally the exact same game and release it on every modern device in existence?

These kinds of products just seem like they exist for people who are so fucking ADHD riddled they can't just decide not to fuck around online and buy gacha shit.

 

[TATE MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOODE!!]

I bought my friends evercade capcom edition for $50 unopened.

It does have a wifi connection but it's just for firmware updates, but it's all cartridge based.

While a lot of the games are ports, there's been a few indie games made specifically for the console. Got one on order I'm interested in trying out.

Not probably what you're looking for but I'm interested in seeing where this goes.

 

[Mr. Racewar1488]

Why can't you just buy a Dell surplused from an office and install some emulators on it? Most even come with DVD drives.

 

[Marcus Zuttenheim]

Any emulator ever. Just disconnect your internet after setting it up, along with whatever games.

 

[Calandrino]

I bought my friends evercade capcom edition for $50 unopened.

It does have a wifi connection but it's just for firmware updates, but it's all cartridge based.

While a lot of the games are ports, there's been a few indie games made specifically for the console. Got one on order I'm interested in trying out.

Not probably what you're looking for but I'm interested in seeing where this goes.

The Evercade is exactly the kind of modern retro console I'd want, and I'm pretty bad with money, and I still didn't buy one, so that's what you're up against...

 

[SNEED.EXE]

The Grorious Peopre's Repubric of China produces some decent emulation handhelds nowadays. Some of them are weird shapes, but the good ones are capable of emulating up to 5th-6th gen consoles. Anbernic and Retroid are some decent ones

 

[TrinityReformed]

For it to have a chance to work, I think you need 3 things, OP.

1. It needs to have something in it's hardware to make it unique. A custom cpu or something along that line. Preferably something that developers won't suicide themselves coding an engine for. This would also hopefully prevent emulation for a while.

2. It needs to launch with a bunch of good exclusive games. You need to get them invested in the system to keep interest in it going.

3. Timing. Right now, despite the state of gaming currently, it's still not dire enough. Not yet. Maybe when Microsoft or Sony gives up on the home console. That's when you spring.

It will be very difficult, imo. Not sure if it's even possible.

 

[BrunoMattei]

A guy tried that with a console that used Atari Jaguar molds.

They never had a working model and the whole thing went up in flames.

 

[David Brown]

Let me pitch my microniche indie game to the smallest install base possible, with none of the features that modern gamers want. I will stake my life's income on this

 

[Merton J. Dingle]

If you want a dedicated retro machine, it's probably best to just get a mini-PC, load it with emulators, and hook it up to a monitor of your choice. Ayaneo even has some shaped like a retro consoles. You could also hook it up to a CRT monitor using adapter cables if you want that sort of effect.

 

[I_Am_Not_Bruce_Willis]

Remember the PlayDate? The "Modern Retro" handheld? The one with the crank?

 

[The Mass Shooter Ron Soye]

As someone in their late 30s with strong nostalgia for the PS1, PS2, and Xbox 360, I like the idea, but I also think it wouldn't sell, and AAA publishers wouldn't touch it. Even if they did, it would be mobile tier low effort slop. Kind of like the state VR ended up in. The Ouya tried something like this and failed. Pico 8 is popular by fantasy console standards, but it's still a niche and there's no money to be made on it.

And as said, I think calling it a "modern retro console" is a bad name, as it makes it sound like a mini console, a Raspberry Pi emulation system, or one of those Chinese emulation handhelds.

At the end of the day, I think Nintendo is closest to fulfilling what you want:
* A console with an "original library of games" - exclusives (Xbox/PlayStation are moving away from exclusives and are more like easy-to-use gaming PCs).
* Still uses physical media, the ROM carts. Likely to be carried over to the Switch 2 generation, while PS6 makes disc drives fully optional. Do most of the games work without updates? I don't know.
* Low price point, although they overcharged throughout its lifespan for what was old hardware even at launch.

Removing Internet features is cutting off your nose to spite your face, no significant amount of the market actually wants it. Patching is unfortunate but a consequence of the vastly more complex/bloated AAAA games made these days, or worse programmers on the indie side, etc. Read-only optical discs are being phased out by the electronics industry and this will only get worse in the coming years, but Nintendo's approach with ROM carts could be viable... if you are shipping millions of units. Otherwise it will be a boutique product (and even the fully original Playdate mentioned above uses Internet distribution).

Next is the Steam Deck. It's an accessible "PC console", relatively cheap ($300 on sale now) and shows you don't need an overpowered "gaming PC". 720p was fine for the most part (the successor will probably target 1080p and $500 MSRP). It's full of Internet features but gamers generally approve of how Steam/Valve handles things. As for the PC game developers messing around with live service and microtransactions, you have to vote with your money and time.

Chinese emulation handhelds don't add much to the conversation, but they are a reminder that piracy can be a beautiful thing. They can ship you thousands of old games ready to go, and make it easy to get new ones:
Emulation Console Update Bakes in Instant Free [Pirated] Game Downloads

Android/mobile gaming generally sucks, and is where microtransactions and ads have ruined everything far worse than on PCs. But at the same time, it has over 1 billion users. If you look at where the Ouya was in 2012-2013 with its crap hardware and game library, a simple reroll of this concept with today's cheap Android hardware and larger game libraries could go further, and that's basically what the Chinese devices do since they all run Android. Android SoCs can even emulate and play x86 PC games like Fallout 4 at this point, and that could trickle down to the $50-200 handhelds eventually.

Finally, almost any device with a USB port should be able to play movies without Internet. Typically files on a flash drive, or an external DVD drive if supported.

 

[ducktales4gameboy]

The emu handhelds are really amazing and I highly suggest anyone with an interest pick one up. Aside from being good for gaming they're effectively portable raspberry PIs with built in screens and can do a large chunk of the cool stuff you'd use a pi for, on battery. I've got a RG35XXSP and use it infrequently to drive a funky laser engraver that I don't want to dedicate a machine to, iirc it cost me $40 plus another 5 for a non-shit SD card (protip: the cards they ship with are complete shit, ditch them immediately)

Gamingwise, personally I really like what's going on with SNES emulation. Ever since the SNESCD hardware got 'emulated' and people started porting games to it there's been an idea floating around in the community of the idea of doing a modern expansion chip based on something like a Teensy or other fast AVR that can act as a memory pager/coprocessor and make the SNES marginally more user-friendly to program for, possibly with some nice basecode library like GB Studio. I'd love to see that happen because it'd keep the platform alive and is low-spec enough it'd actually require thought on design instead of foisting everything off on heavy middleware like every modern platform including Atari's new bullshit 'retroconsole' seem to be deadset on using for everything. gimme my fucking OAM tables and interrupts goddammit