A Sega "Flashback"?

[Brian R.]

Dunno if this is the right place... or if it's old news to those "in the know"...

 

Wil Wheaton (Wesley Crusher of Star Trek: TNG fame) is at E3 and recently tweeted that he had seen a Sega Genesis system that is like the Atari Flashback, with 40 or so games on ROM, wireless controllers and a cart slot.

 

Nice that the cartridge slot is included and doesn't have to be hacked.

[Serguei2]

I wonder if this console can supports on non-HD TV sets.

[TwinChargers]

I wonder if it was something like this that has been around for awhile?

 

http://segaretro.org/Genesis_Gencore

 

or perhaps this-

 

http://segaretro.org..._Motion_Classic

 

If it is like some of the other Atgames consoles, they are at best okay, but pretty much just stuff to try out once and never to be used again. Definately not something to replace a Genesis, its more of a novelty item.

[Brian R.]

My guess is it's something new, otherwise why would it be at e3?

[Jess Ragan]

They can make a Sega Genesis with forty games built in, but they still can't make Wil Wheaton less annoying. Guess technology just isn't that advanced yet.

[+Gemintronic]

I've got a portable with only SD card slot and a Joystick model with SD and 2nd joystick port. All run off of standard batteries. The portable bricks itself if your ROM is too big. The joystick model is wired wrong so video output is bad on LCD TVs (fine on projectors).

 

If you couple these with a mini projector (running off of a PSP AAx Battery Charger) you can play Genesis games on the big screen completely off the grid.

Edited June 9, 2012 by theloon

[Draugr]

They can make a Sega Genesis with forty games built in, but they still can't make Wil Wheaton less annoying.

 

Wil Wheaton isn't that annoying unless... you might be Sheldon Cooper! LOL

 

A Genesis clone with SD card capability would be neat though!

[+thegoldenband]

Aww, I like Wil Wheaton well enough. (Wesley Crusher may be a different story, but Wil's not Wesley.)

[jadedrakerider]

I hope they release it. I quite like the Flashback 2 and I hope Sega goes with something as close to original hardware as possible. If we could get a Sega Genesis model 3 with an SD slot, I'd be all over that!

[fernando marrin]

Wil Wheaton isn't that annoying unless... you might be Sheldon Cooper! LOL

 

A Genesis clone with SD card capability would be neat though!

 

there are genesis clones with sd port, though they use emulation , and sound like shit

 

the way to go is original genesis + everdrive cart

[tokumaru]

Tec Toy has released several Mega Drive consoles with built-in games. Older ones (like this one) had cartridge slots, while newer ones are emulation-based and some have SD slots. Here are the links to their website: Mega Drive 3 with 81 built-in games, Mega Drive 3 with 86 built-in games, Mega Drive 4 Guitar Idol with 100 built-in games.

[iesposta]

I talk about it here:

http://www.atariage.com/forums/topic/206396-2012-flashback-4-sega-out-of-stock/

 

atgames.com

[iesposta]

Funny how it is called "Classic Game Console" (Sega Genesis), and "Ultimate Portable Game Player" (Portable Sega Genesis), but yeah, they use emulation and could be better. Still the Console can play carts, and the Portable can play ROMs on SD card, and both can connected to a TV.

[tokumaru]

I'm fairly sure that if a console plays carts it's not using emulation. It might be using system-on-a-chip cloned hardware that might not function identically to the original console, but in most cases that's still better than emulation.

[OldSchoolRetroGamer]

I'm fairly sure that if a console plays carts it's not using emulation. It might be using system-on-a-chip cloned hardware that might not function identically to the original console, but in most cases that's still better than emulation.

 

I have seen cloned hardware that definitely looks and sounds worse then software emulation, the Atgames Genesis clones are a good example.

[RodLightning]

I managed to get one of the Genesis handhelds by AtGames for cheap at Dollar General on Thanksgiving day. They sold out quickly and I had to go to three different stores to find one. It does everything they claim including running games from SD card. The power switch on mine went bad the next day and I have just now gotten around to repairing it. No replacement warranty seems to be offered on the things in any case. I also saw the console version being sold at Dollar General that same day. I have mixed feelings about this particular model. It's small, cell phone sized in fact, but a bit of a thumb buster when playing for extended periods. I posted a pin board with pictures of the tear down and switch repair for those interested:

 

http://pinterest.com/rodlightning/atgames-genesis-ultimate-portable/

[Retro Rogue]

Old news, already covered (and reviewed) in another thread by Bill L. It's by AtGames, the same people who tookover the Atari Flashback brand. I got one over the summer for review, the emulation isn't the best.

[108 Stars]

Atgames is not really very good. We could have brought Pier Solar to their clones long ago, and our coder visited them; but actually they had very little clue of the Mega Drive, they aren't exactly tech wizards. They did not understand half about the hardware of what Fonzie does. It's okay if you want some short, cheap MD fun or for kids to learn to know the games, but for serious gamers quality is just too low.

 

They're at E3 every ear btw.

[jadedrakerider]

It baffles me that manufacturers turn to companies like ATGames for emulation hardware when there are companies that have already made close-to-original hardware. Sega already had Radica. They already put out a line of many-in-one mini consoles, that are battery-powered, there's a

, and Ben Heck has made a prototype for a portable version using that hardware. So what's the deal?

 

I'm assuming it's the economy of scale. ARM systems are mass produced and can do everything reasonably. It's a shame, though, to see the technology there and Sega chooses to do something mediocre instead. Why bother?

 

If a revamp of Ben Heck's Exodus that included a proprietary USB cable that could be sold seperately to give money to copyright holders (just like the Canadians do with blank CD's) that lets people load roms onto the system memory, how great would that be?

 

I love the idea of using something resembling original hardware. The Sega collections on disc are good and all, but somewhere along the line the old systems are going to break and it'd be nice to still have access to the games as experienced back in the golden age. The guys who developed Pier Solar have shown that there are still stories worth telling and games worth making.

 

/rant

 

I'm hoping that someday the boards will become cheap to order, patents will eventually expire, and we'll all be able to order our own, custom built, ergonomically designed mini hardware. Cuz there's a small-to-mid size market for such products. Hooray for technology!

[tokumaru]

I have seen cloned hardware that definitely looks and sounds worse then software emulation, the Atgames Genesis clones are a good example.

I see. Well, I was thinking of the typical emulators built in these cheap devices, with lots of lag, dropped frames, bad sprite priority and atrocious sound, not the decent emulators made by people who give a damn.

[thegamezmaster]

I've got a portable with only SD card slot and a Joystick model with SD and 2nd joystick port. All run off of standard batteries. The portable bricks itself if your ROM is too big. The joystick model is wired wrong so video output is bad on LCD TVs (fine on projectors).

 

If you couple these with a mini projector (running off of a PSP AAx Battery Charger) you can play Genesis games on the big screen completely off the grid.

 

How big is too big a rom on the Sega Portable?

[onmode-ky]

It baffles me that manufacturers turn to companies like ATGames for emulation hardware when there are companies that have already made close-to-original hardware. . . . It's a shame, though, to see the technology there and Sega chooses to do something mediocre instead. Why bother?

 

I think you're misinterpreting how the scenario played out. In all likelihood, it was not Sega who turned to AtGames to produce the Genesis/Mega Drive emulation systems, but rather AtGames who approached Sega offering to give them licensing revenue for the legal right to make and sell those devices. Thus, Sega invested very little into the project (just paying their lawyers for the licensing bit and risking their brand image), and they got income from legacy properties that otherwise weren't bringing in much revenue. If some other firm were to approach them with a binary-compatible hardware solution (and assuming AtGames' contract were either expired or non-exclusive at that time), I think Sega would make the same deal with them--but is there anyone making that offer? I'm guessing the answer is no.

 

Marty will correct me if I'm wrong, but I recall that the Atari Flashback project came about in the manner I described above. It was not Atari that went to Legacy Engineering wanting to do the project but rather Legacy approaching Atari. Atari replied, "Okay, but only if you can prove the market for it exists by making us something on a really tight timeframe to sell this holiday season," resulting in the NOAC first Flashback.

 

onmode-ky

[jadedrakerider]

Onmode-ky,

 

That does make more sense. Still I think it's sad that good OAC hardware gets shafted the way it does. Alas, what can one do?