Atariboy Posted July 26, 2016 Share Posted July 26, 2016 (edited) I assume that it would've increased their cost, but too bad that some of the original games weren't sacrificed in order to accommodate the genuine Sega efforts that were left off. I think it's quite clear that half of this lineup has always been fluff to pad the game count, although I suppose someone somewhere really enjoys a game or two out of that group. So ideally, any sacrifices should've came from those games. Either way, nice to see save support introduced. Now just fix the audio with next year's hardware and things will be looking pretty good, with HDMI about the last hurdle that needs to be taken care of. Edited July 26, 2016 by Atariboy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andromeda Stardust Posted July 26, 2016 Share Posted July 26, 2016 We'll still have the Atari Flashback Portable. That's something! I plan on getting the Atari portable. I assume that it would've increased their cost, but too bad that some of the original games weren't sacrificed in order to accommodate the original Sega efforts that were left off. I think it's quite clear that half of this lineup has always been fluff to pad the game count, although I suppose someone somewhere really enjoys a game or two out of that group. So ideally, any sacrifices should've came from those games. Either way, nice to see save support introduced. Now just fix the audio with next year's hardware and things will be looking pretty good, with HDMI about the last hurdle that needs to be taken care of. I imagine if it 60-100 Genesis games were cheap and readily available to license as is the case with the Atari Flashbacks, they would have included them. The "fluff" you describe is padding to make the Genesis Atgames consoles look more impressive compared to the Atari lineup, but honestly it just makes Atgames look desperate. 40 Genesis games is IMO better than 40 genesis games + 40 toilet cloggers. Nintendo NES Classic Mini only has 30 games, at least for it's first incarnation (I am sure Nintendo is leaving titles on the table for future reissues), but those games are above and beyond what the Sega and Atari flashbacks are offering. Yeah there's the Sonic games, but just how much of that Sega library are AAA titles? Do gamers really need all three Mortal Kombats? One of them would be sufficient. Also if parents are getting these for their children, they might object to their kids playing MK, not that there's far worse out there. I think the flashback plug-n-plays are exempt from ESRB ratings? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toiletunes Posted July 26, 2016 Author Share Posted July 26, 2016 Honestly, I don't know why the 'extra' games get so much flak- who doesn't love Mr. Balls and Yawning Triceratops? You can add whatever Genesis games you want- just use the cartridge port (or SD on the portable). Anything extra is games you won't get elsewhere. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atariboy Posted July 26, 2016 Share Posted July 26, 2016 (edited) Kosmic, I know. I think the flashback plug-n-plays are exempt from ESRB ratings? It would appear to be optional. For instance, the Atari Flashback 2 carried a ESRB rating. But AtGames doesn't seem to ever go down that route. So it wouldn't appear to be something that retailers mandate for such products, with it left up to the publisher to decide if the benefits are worth the investment. Edited July 26, 2016 by Atariboy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Loguidice Posted July 26, 2016 Share Posted July 26, 2016 Again, everything across the line hardware-wise is going to be addressed in 2017, so no worries there (although AtGames was well aware of the criticisms about the Sega hardware and planning to address them finally anyway, the vitriolic articles today repeating the same talking points and going semi-viral are particularly cutting since it's so difficult to get press otherwise). And yes, there have been discussions about dropping the 40 "bonus" games. They really aren't necessary in my opinion either, although I will admit to liking a few of them. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atariboy Posted July 26, 2016 Share Posted July 26, 2016 (edited) I have to admit that I never tried more than 3 or 4 of the bonus games, so I'm just doing the old repeating the same thing that everyone else says routine. Bad habit to get into... So needless to say, that wasn't exactly fair to condemn the entire lineup as wasted space. Edited July 26, 2016 by Atariboy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Loguidice Posted July 26, 2016 Share Posted July 26, 2016 I have to admit that I never tried more than 3 or 4 of the bonus games, so I'm just doing the old repeating the same thing that everyone else says routine. Bad habit to get into... So needless to say, that wasn't exactly fair to condemn the entire lineup as wasted space. For the heck of it, you should try a few more. For me, the biggest issue with the games is not that most of them clone or copy gameplay from other games, but that they lack that final bit of polish that even good homebrews have. Of course, there are some real turkeys in there, polish or not. One that I enjoy that I really have no right to is "Panic Lift." It's about as simple and silly a concept as there is and is reminiscent of an average Flash game, but I nevertheless have fun with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flojomojo Posted July 26, 2016 Share Posted July 26, 2016 Maybe I'll finally get a new version of one of these (I have the orange 2008 one) and give the extra game a try. I would prefer to wait until the sound is fixed, though. Can you shed any light into the decision making process for including these? Seems they'd be a better fit for the Atari portable if they're old-fashioned type games. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Loguidice Posted July 26, 2016 Share Posted July 26, 2016 Maybe I'll finally get a new version of one of these (I have the orange 2008 one) and give the extra game a try. I would prefer to wait until the sound is fixed, though. Can you shed any light into the decision making process for including these? Seems they'd be a better fit for the Atari portable if they're old-fashioned type games. Just a way to add more value in terms of volume of games. It's difficult to grow the libraries, although things look better for next year. If you get a good deal, there would be no particular reason not to get one this year, although waiting just a bit longer (relatively speaking) and it should be improved in multiple areas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flojomojo Posted July 26, 2016 Share Posted July 26, 2016 Yeah, I think I'll wait .... I just re-upped Build Store on my new iPhone and put Provenance on there. That will be my portable Genesis for another year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toiletunes Posted July 27, 2016 Author Share Posted July 27, 2016 Did I miss the press release? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Loguidice Posted July 27, 2016 Share Posted July 27, 2016 Did I miss the press release? Nope. Delayed again until tomorrow (Wednesday)! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flojomojo Posted July 27, 2016 Share Posted July 27, 2016 Yeah, as did I, but the list of games on the British version (likely similar or identical to the American one) is everywhere in stories like this. http://thenextweb.com/gadgets/2016/07/25/987741/#gref Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Loguidice Posted July 27, 2016 Share Posted July 27, 2016 Yeah, as did I, but the list of games on the British version (likely similar or identical to the American one) is everywhere in stories like this. http://thenextweb.com/gadgets/2016/07/25/987741/#gref That list of games is accurate. However, the press release doesn't go into the games. It only talks about the four systems and key features. The game reveals will be for future press releases. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boozle061083 Posted July 27, 2016 Share Posted July 27, 2016 Again, everything across the line hardware-wise is going to be addressed in 2017, so no worries there (although AtGames was well aware of the criticisms about the Sega hardware and planning to address them finally anyway, the vitriolic articles today repeating the same talking points and going semi-viral are particularly cutting since it's so difficult to get press otherwise). And yes, there have been discussions about dropping the 40 "bonus" games. They really aren't necessary in my opinion either, although I will admit to liking a few of them. From what I understand, aren't the filler games made by Tec Toy and where available on multi-carts in South America because of the licensing with SEGA? If that's truely the case, I would love to see Tec Toy's Genesis port of Duke Nukem make a appearance. If you haven't seen it yet, it's very impressive what they where able to accomplish on stock Genesis hardware and could really be a selling point to casuals as well as collectors due to the rarity of that game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boozle061083 Posted July 27, 2016 Share Posted July 27, 2016 NES mini includes pacman, why not Sega/Atari? I'm just about 100% positive it has to due with Nintendo licensing Pac-Man from Namco for the Amiibo figure as well as his being in Super Smash Bros. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Loguidice Posted July 27, 2016 Share Posted July 27, 2016 From what I understand, aren't the filler games made by Tec Toy and where available on multi-carts in South America because of the licensing with SEGA? If that's truely the case, I would love to see Tec Toy's Genesis port of Duke Nukem make a appearance. If you haven't seen it yet, it's very impressive what they where able to accomplish on stock Genesis hardware and could really be a selling point to casuals as well as collectors due to the rarity of that game. Actually, these games are specific to the AtGames hardware and don't work on a real Genesis. They're Genesis-like in general audio-visual fidelity, but not compatible. We've discussed licensing Duke Nukem and a few other games from that rights holder in the past, but nothing was ever agreed upon between the various parties. It doesn't mean it won't ever happen, but it's not something imminent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Loguidice Posted July 27, 2016 Share Posted July 27, 2016 For what it's worth, the press release went out today: http://armchairarcade.com/perspectives/2016/07/27/press-release-atgames-release-latest-generation-atari-flashback-genesis-classic-game-console-products/ I'm not going to spam the rest of the threads with it. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Everett1954 Posted July 27, 2016 Share Posted July 27, 2016 Bill, So does the Atari Flashback Portable have an SD cart slot? There was no mention in the press release. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Loguidice Posted July 27, 2016 Share Posted July 27, 2016 Bill, So does the Atari Flashback Portable have an SD cart slot? There was no mention in the press release. It was in the copy I provided to them. I don't know why they omitted it. Yes, that feature is there. Seems crazy not to mention it. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flojomojo Posted July 27, 2016 Share Posted July 27, 2016 Bill, So does the Atari Flashback Portable have an SD cart slot? There was no mention in the press release. It was in the copy I provided to them. I don't know why they omitted it. Yes, that feature is there. Seems crazy not to mention it. They don't mention the SD card slot in the Sega Genesis portable, either. That's been included since the very first one. I would assume that leaving out that little detail was deliberate. Maybe it's confusing to have it only on the portables, not on the TV consoles. Maybe they don't want to deal with questions about ROMs before the thing even goes on sale. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flojomojo Posted July 27, 2016 Share Posted July 27, 2016 Huh, I never saw this AtGames variant before. Arcade-style joystick with a (prominently featured) SD card slot. No cartridge port. This appeals to me, and it's currently cheaper than the other Genesis clones on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/At-Games-Arcade-Master-Electronic/dp/B0042PXJT8 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Loguidice Posted July 27, 2016 Share Posted July 27, 2016 They don't mention the SD card slot in the Sega Genesis portable, either. That's been included since the very first one. I would assume that leaving out that little detail was deliberate. Maybe it's confusing to have it only on the portables, not on the TV consoles. Maybe they don't want to deal with questions about ROMs before the thing even goes on sale. OK, I received word back. The omission was intentional due to the nature of SD cards (as you speculate). Those features are still present, of course. If it were up to me I would have mentioned it, but no reason to anger any partners I suppose. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenixdownita Posted July 27, 2016 Share Posted July 27, 2016 OK, I received word back. The omission was intentional due to the nature of SD cards (as you speculate). Those features are still present, of course. If it were up to me I would have mentioned it, but no reason to anger any partners I suppose. Is this a case of "it's easier to beg for forgiveness than to ask for permission"? In the end mentioned or not the feature is there. If it is the feature that angers the partners, not mentioning it would anger them even more .... or do I NOT understand how these things work? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flojomojo Posted July 27, 2016 Share Posted July 27, 2016 Is this a case of "it's easier to beg for forgiveness than to ask for permission"? In the end mentioned or not the feature is there. If it is the feature that angers the partners, not mentioning it would anger them even more .... or do I NOT understand how this things work? I think it's more like "don't bite the hand that feeds you." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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