bikeguychicago Posted October 11, 2013 Share Posted October 11, 2013 (edited) I will preface the following with a "what if"... Should the flashback provide controllers that replicate the originals and should those controllers be pin-compatible with Intv II and Super Video Arcade, would it be possible to produce controllers that would allow for simultaneous use of the disc and keypads or is there an inherent design issue with the original hardware where this would not be possible? Edited October 11, 2013 by bikeguychicago Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Loguidice Posted October 11, 2013 Share Posted October 11, 2013 I will preface the following with a "what if"... Should the flashback provide controllers that replicate the originals and should those controllers be pin-compatible with Intv II and Super Video Arcade, would it be possible to produce controllers that would allow for simultaneous use of the disc and keypads or is there an inherent design issue with the original hardware where this would not be possible? I don't know. Assume for now that it will replicate the 16 directions and three buttons (and keypad, of course), and offer no additional improvements like simultaneous functions. Even that in my book would be wonderful because then we'd finally have a source of replacement controllers. I'll do the appropriate testing when I get a unit to test, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1980gamer Posted October 11, 2013 Share Posted October 11, 2013 To be compatible with sears/intellivision II, this could not be fixed. It could be done IF they changed the controller design for the new console, PLEASE DON'T... Be compatible please. Next thing that could happen, I have thought about this, 1 controller could be wired to 2 ports. With keypad/fire buttons wiring isolated from the disc wiring. I was considering building my own controller that would allow the controller to be plugged in to both ports: With witches for left or right port being "connected" and "splitting" the controller across the 2 ports. I never got past some simple wiring drawings... Check out deathskulls lab, may need the wayback machine? but they have the controller layout, pinout etc. very good info when I was considering the project. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atariboy Posted October 11, 2013 Share Posted October 11, 2013 Why would you want to do that and why would AtGames want to do it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+intvsteve Posted October 11, 2013 Share Posted October 11, 2013 Why would you want to do that and why would AtGames want to do it? Games like Night Stalker and Tron Deadly Discs play better if you can move and shoot via the keypad simultaneously. Because of the original controller's encoding, you can't do this with one controller. Some people play these games using one controller for movement, and the other for shooting on the keypad. 1980gamer's suggested mod would use two controller ports for one controller, so you could play using one controller to achieve this. AtGames might want to eliminate the overlapping encodings in order to make such games easier to play, which could reduce frustration for most who only have a casual -- or no -- familiarity with the Intellivision and its limitations on the controller. But as noted, such a change by definition makes their controllers incompatible with the original system. Making them with a switch would likely add more expense. If they're "hackable" to be compatible with the original, great. If they're not compatible with the original, but more ergonomic, and the unit's successful, then perhaps a sequel unit could be more like the Flashback 2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atariboy Posted October 11, 2013 Share Posted October 11, 2013 (edited) I hope if they make it compatible that they don't go to those lengths then. Would be a shame to get compatible controllers that don't play everything. I don't think I've ever picked up on this. I've noticed keypad buttons not always doing what I want them to do, but I never made the connection. I just wrote it off to old game hardware being finicky and not always working with the first press of a button since my first Intellivision, a Intellivision II, was over 10 years old by the time I got it and none of these are getting any younger. Edited October 11, 2013 by Atariboy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pimpmaul69 Posted October 11, 2013 Share Posted October 11, 2013 this thing is gonna suck balls. they make a genesis arcade stick that has an sd card slot. they have a genesis system with a cart slot. both have absolute garbage audio as do all their systems. they made the atari flashback 3 and 4 only. both suck ass. they use a nintendo-on-a-chip with poorly converted games. this is the case with most things. the only reason they have a nintendo-on-a-chip and a genesis-on-a-chip is because they stole/obtained someone elses technology. im surprised they didnt steal the atari-on-a-chip from our good friends on this forum like curt vendell. i am curious if curt's crew designed the atari flashback 2 controllers. if they did then atgames stole the design of those as well changing the atari logo on them only. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+5-11under Posted October 11, 2013 Share Posted October 11, 2013 this thing is gonna suck balls. they make a genesis arcade stick that has an sd card slot. they have a genesis system with a cart slot. both have absolute garbage audio as do all their systems. they made the atari flashback 3 and 4 only. both suck ass. they use a nintendo-on-a-chip with poorly converted games. this is the case with most things. the only reason they have a nintendo-on-a-chip and a genesis-on-a-chip is because they stole/obtained someone elses technology. im surprised they didnt steal the atari-on-a-chip from our good friends on this forum like curt vendell. i am curious if curt's crew designed the atari flashback 2 controllers. if they did then atgames stole the design of those as well changing the atari logo on them only. The truth hurts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pimpmaul69 Posted October 11, 2013 Share Posted October 11, 2013 The truth hurts. i know, i should have brought lube and roses so the truth wouldnt hurt so much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atariboy Posted October 11, 2013 Share Posted October 11, 2013 (edited) I'm not aware of any AtGames products that use a NOAC on a chip. There very well may be some, but their Atari and Sega products aren't among them. They've improved their Genesis sound quality significantly. And their Atari attempts were far from disasters. A lot more issues than previous products but that's to be expected when you go from knowledgeable and passionate individuals to a company just trying to make a buck. But despite issues, many of the included games fared well with far worse attempts out there like the Flashback 1 that was crippled due to time constraints and the Intellivision NES on a chip garbage and that Atari joystick. There's actually a fare bit of fun that can be had with the Flashback 3 & 4. Edited October 11, 2013 by Atariboy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rev Posted October 11, 2013 Author Share Posted October 11, 2013 You could slap a running man logo on a turd and it will still sell a million units! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Loguidice Posted October 11, 2013 Share Posted October 11, 2013 You could slap a running man logo on a turd and it will still sell a million units! I also disagree about this. I think time and the current market situation has made any potential TV game device no longer the slam dunk it once was. There have been countless compilations and apps over the years, and the ubiquity of powerful mobile devices has kind of pushed the need for such a device to the side to a degree. Where such a device could likely sell around a million units in the past (at least for the first version or two), I suspect that these days a TV game device might sell in the hundreds of thousands, maybe peaking around the halfway point to a million units for something that does particularly well. I think there's potential for an Intellivision or ColecoVision TV game (done right) to sell on the upper end of that however, simply because that would be the first time we're getting such a device. Certainly one challenge is that many of these devices also only work on composite, which is really pretty unsatisfactory on most modern TVs. I'm glad that the RetroN 5, even though it's not directly equivalent, is going for HDMI. I suspect that that will have to be the norm for future TV game products sooner rather than later for there to be continued success. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Loguidice Posted October 11, 2013 Share Posted October 11, 2013 this thing is gonna suck balls. they make a genesis arcade stick that has an sd card slot. they have a genesis system with a cart slot. both have absolute garbage audio as do all their systems. they made the atari flashback 3 and 4 only. both suck ass. they use a nintendo-on-a-chip with poorly converted games. this is the case with most things. the only reason they have a nintendo-on-a-chip and a genesis-on-a-chip is because they stole/obtained someone elses technology. im surprised they didnt steal the atari-on-a-chip from our good friends on this forum like curt vendell. i am curious if curt's crew designed the atari flashback 2 controllers. if they did then atgames stole the design of those as well changing the atari logo on them only. I'm afraid you don't really know what you're talking about. All of their products use custom chipsets and they've made improvements with each generation. Even you may be surprised with the improvements they've made in their upcoming generation of products for the Genesis and all of the other new platforms they're now targeting. They also do their own design for the controllers based on the original schematics, so you're wrong about that as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rev Posted October 11, 2013 Author Share Posted October 11, 2013 At any rate, i really do hope it turns out good. I will buying one or two anyway. Simply because it will have a regular style controller. I passed on the other ones years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Loguidice Posted October 11, 2013 Share Posted October 11, 2013 At any rate, i really do hope it turns out good. I will buying one or two anyway. Simply because it will have a regular style controller. I passed on the other ones years ago. Me too, I hope it turns out good. I know the best intentions are there, so I'm optimistic, but it's a difficult system to replicate even though I think all possible care has been taken. I still have no ETA when I'll get a test unit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bikeguychicago Posted October 11, 2013 Share Posted October 11, 2013 Hopefully there will be anonymous blurry-cam images of the unit once it's out in the field Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pimpmaul69 Posted October 11, 2013 Share Posted October 11, 2013 I'm afraid you don't really know what you're talking about. All of their products use custom chipsets and they've made improvements with each generation. Even you may be surprised with the improvements they've made in their upcoming generation of products for the Genesis and all of the other new platforms they're now targeting. They also do their own design for the controllers based on the original schematics, so you're wrong about that as well. would you like me to unscrew the handle off of their joysticks and show you they stole the joystick design on the flashback 3? they are not based off of the original design. i have several of these atgames products and also work in a game business that tries to push these pieces of junk. no offense but they are the worst retro game hardware on the market. at least people like yobo and retron still makes systems for nes, snes, and genesis. i do hope you are right about them improving their systems. i am not impressed by anything they have pushed out yet. but if you feel there is any good quality systems that dont suffer audio problems and is good quality feel free to let me know. i am always up for good quality retro systems. not meaning any kind of war with you, i just wish they made better quality stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pimpmaul69 Posted October 11, 2013 Share Posted October 11, 2013 (edited) Even you may be surprised with the improvements they've made in their upcoming generation of products for the Genesis and all of the other new platforms they're now targeting. since you may have tested some of these upcoming products i hope you are right. any systems in particular i should be looking for? names of the consoles they made that you are talking about? Edited October 11, 2013 by pimpmaul69 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Loguidice Posted October 11, 2013 Share Posted October 11, 2013 I can't talk about any of the upcoming products until an official announcement happens, but there will be new tv game consoles, handhelds and apps for various combinations of Sega and Intellivision platforms, as well as other classic platforms. Once the official announcements happen I can talk about it more, including what is powering each. Their main chips to date have been Noza (8-bit SMS/GG chip), Red Kid (16-bit Genesis), and MK-Monkey King (32-bit dual core), with a new generation of chips on the way. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ignorama Posted October 11, 2013 Share Posted October 11, 2013 (edited) Intellivision Handheld with Cart-Slot, thats what I need There are more than enough TV Plug In Consoles. Well, if they have a Cart Slot its might be something cool as well, but just build in games? Nah, dont need that. Edited October 11, 2013 by Ignorama Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Loguidice Posted October 11, 2013 Share Posted October 11, 2013 Intellivision Handheld with Cart-Slot, thats what I need There are more than enough TV Plug In Consoles. Well, if they have a Cart Slot its might be something cool as well, but just build in games? Nah, dont need that. We're not going to see that on any of these products (except for the Sega stuff), but there's a definite possibility for future versions (not first versions) to have SD card slots if these prove successful. I think that's probably more valuable than a cartridge slot, though of course for those of us with flash-/multi-carts, it wouldn't matter either way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ignorama Posted October 11, 2013 Share Posted October 11, 2013 SD would be cool too. I just wonder which games will be build in. Again the Mattel and INTV Corp games? They were released so often now, I dont expect people want the same games again and again. Hopefully there are at least 3rd party games included.Imagic, Activision, Parker and so on. But I doubt that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Loguidice Posted October 11, 2013 Share Posted October 11, 2013 SD would be cool too. I just wonder which games will be build in. Again the Mattel and INTV Corp games? They were released so often now, I dont expect people want the same games again and again. Hopefully there are at least 3rd party games included. Imagic, Activision, Parker and so on. But I doubt that. It will be a very nice selection, but yeah, third party games (and licensed games) have obvious limitations in many cases. Either the cost is prohibitive or there's no easy way to strip out the branding. If you recall, some products had multiple branding "issues," meaning even if you got permission from one holder, you'd still need it from the other. It's a mess. In regards to Activision and what they hold, I don't think they're giving access to anyone to their back catalog, which I think now includes the Imagic stuff. Hopefully that eventually changes because they obviously made some of the best games for pre-Crash systems. Again, if a future product were to have SD card support, that would solve that particular issue, but it's unfortunate it needs to be an issue, and particularly in the case of a product without an SD card slot. Better to have some money than no money, you know? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atariboy Posted October 11, 2013 Share Posted October 11, 2013 I'm pretty sure that Activision is open to licensing their classic gaming library. Especially these days with their attitude towards smaller releases that has kept them from following up on their own compilations from the early 2000's. And even back then, that Telegames PC compilation included several of their Colecovision releases and wasn't published by Activision. I imagine the issue is if it's cost prohibitive on top of all their other costs. I suspect that even now that they're doing nothing themselves with their 80's gaming library that they're still going to be some of the most expensive licenses that are available for the Intellivision. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pimpmaul69 Posted October 11, 2013 Share Posted October 11, 2013 It will be a very nice selection, but yeah, third party games (and licensed games) have obvious limitations in many cases. Either the cost is prohibitive or there's no easy way to strip out the branding. If you recall, some products had multiple branding "issues," meaning even if you got permission from one holder, you'd still need it from the other. It's a mess. In regards to Activision and what they hold, I don't think they're giving access to anyone to their back catalog, which I think now includes the Imagic stuff. Hopefully that eventually changes because they obviously made some of the best games for pre-Crash systems. Again, if a future product were to have SD card support, that would solve that particular issue, but it's unfortunate it needs to be an issue, and particularly in the case of a product without an SD card slot. Better to have some money than no money, you know? can you divulge on whether there will be console mini clones like the flasbacks and the mini genny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Like us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
AtariAge on Instagram
Watch us on YouTube
Chat on Discord
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.