Evercade?!

[davpa]

On 7/15/2023 at 11:51 PM, Giles N said:

2) they could strike a deal with Blaze for an Evercade Atari-edition with lots of titles built-in, including exclusives (at least within a given timeframe) and get their brand, name and stuff more highly promoted, - even with titles in-it mostly to be found on the VCS, just to get people to know about it)

Could be interesting to hear @davpa’s thoughts on the last one, when time allows and at his own discretion if stuff and strategies are under discussion/developement.

Yes, Blaze pays a licensing fee for the Atari games they have put on their carts, just like every other company they have made collections for.  I personally don't have direct knowledge of details or how much they pay, but I can't imagine it is a ton of money as these games are older and have lived online for many decades.  Again, I don't work in the Licensing Dept so I have zero direct knowledge of the ins and outs of this stuff.

 

I don't know anything happening in the background of working with Blaze on an Atari-themed unit.  While the idea is cool, I think that is a direction we probably won't go down.  Maybe, who knows?  Currently, Atari is going down the path of original-style carts. The Atari XP line, the Polymega partnership, and other things to come are indications of that direction.  So in some ways, doing the Evercade mini-carts is a bit of a conflicting interest for us to get directly involved.

 

The current mindset of Atari today is a balance of two histories of Atari: 1. where Atari hoarded everything, and 2, where Atari slapped a Fuji logo on everything.  We want to work with others but not jump at everything under the sun.  Blaze puts out some nice hardware but it might not be something we jump into with direct involvement.  Like I said before, who knows what the future will bring? At the moment, we are happy to license games for their system and look forward to any opportunities to work with them on other things.

[famicommander]

I see Piko has announced a new Neo Geo AES game for preorder. I wonder if there's any chance we see it on an Evercade cart down the line? 

[Giles N]

5 hours ago, davpa said:

While the idea is cool, I think that is a direction we probably won't go down.  Maybe, who knows?  Currently, Atari is going down the path of original-style carts. The Atari XP line, the Polymega partnership, and other things to come are indications of that direction. 

First,

Thanks for responding and giving us gamers some updates and background-info!

 

Ok, - if Atari is going down the path of original carts and Polymega-partnership, that’s generally good news to me.

Hope that availability, functionality and prices will be in that sweetspot which makes it possible for Atari to maintain having it in stock (or via the partner), while being possible for gamers to obtain (price, shipping , enough stock etc), and to use with old carts from original collections, new carts, and also - I hope - for original homebrews … and things coming out of the homebrew-community over the years, etc, as this latter aspect has kept the Atari-interest strong among the core-fans.

 

Also hope that with time, more Atari-systems will get their modules for the Polymega (Lynx, 5200, Jaguar, 400/800/XL)

 

Thanks again for getting back to me and answering user-questions 👍🏻 openly here.

 

—

 

(Personally - besides questions of business and marketing, I’d think it’d be really cool with a Black Evercade EXP hardware model, with a blue metallic rim-line, and a huge Atari symbol on its back , with the Atari 50th inbuilt, or even an Atari 50th special edition. Kind of thing that  I’d pay 350-400$ for. Even though it may be more of wishful thinking-thing as of now, I don’t think it would hurt Atari’s name to be beside Capcom and Taito and Blaze here, as Atari 1) mostly is famous for making gaming-history, ie a big Retro-gaming name, and 2) Atari are already launching their new collections and new games on platforms not their own, but owned by Nintendo, Sony, Microsoft etc.

I guess one couid say the VCS too, but I do not see or hear much of that one around here in my country - Norway in Europe, [yet?]. But, I guess I also sort-of see the point of not being all-over the place and having to slap a ‘Fuji-logo’ on everything’.

On that note, I hope the Polymega-project will go well, expand, and be (reasonably) easy to get hold of in many regions in the world.)

Edited July 18, 2023 by Giles N

[+madman]

2 hours ago, famicommander said:

I see Piko has announced a new Neo Geo AES game for preorder. I wonder if there's any chance we see it on an Evercade cart down the line? 

I would imagine the big hurdle there is an emulator that uses a BIOS that has no SNK IP in it. Or Blaze being able to license the BIOS from SNK.

[Songbird]

Delphine and Sunsoft pre-orders are open at Songbird! Pretty cool to have a portable way to play Flashback and Another World.

 

Delphine: https://songbird-productions.com/product/evercade-delphine-collection-1/

Sunsoft: https://songbird-productions.com/product/evercade-sunsoft-collection-1/

 

[+jgkspsx]

Ordered! Man what an expensive month.

[jerseystyle]

1 hour ago, Songbird said:

Delphine and Sunsoft pre-orders are open at Songbird! Pretty cool to have a portable way to play Flashback and Another World.

 

Delphine: https://songbird-productions.com/product/evercade-delphine-collection-1/

Sunsoft: https://songbird-productions.com/product/evercade-sunsoft-collection-1/

 

Man that Delphine collection looks sweet… I never played Time Traveler.

[Video]

Yeah this month has been amazing. Pretty awesome for a little handheld I expected to have no more than 20 or so total carts when I picked it up three years ago, still going strong and now at double the selection I was expecting.

 

Outside a few exceptions like atari collections, many are amazing games I've never played before too.

[Giles N]

On 7/15/2023 at 11:13 AM, famicommander said:

If they're 1/2 of the total, obviously, then there are 40,000 Evercades sold. 

1/4 = 80,000 Evercades

1/10 = 200,000 Evercades

1/20 = 400,000 Evercades

1/50 = 1,000,000 Evercades

 

Obviously whatever the total number sold is, the actual install base of users will be smaller because several people bought more than one console. 

 

Comment to the above^ 

 

+

 

(thats is PLUS-content right here, free)
 

Free thoughts and ideas concerning the potential for the Evercade Family to utilize its most unique aspects to assert itself the most strongly in context of the contemporary retro-game-market with the given competition-factors therein,

in order to bring me the games I want as soon as possible for reasonable price.

 

 

Abstract: 

The Evercade is a cool retro-device.

I want more games!

Now!

But everything I like to play seems bogged down in licence-issues, and I cannot sell absolutely all my limbs and organs at illegal markets just to get money for the retro-games I want.

Even if I want them right now!

*** 

(see notes)

 

 

Methods used:

- free rambling

- whining

- praise 

- manipulations

- lying down and screaming while writing (credits to Cartman for mentoring me in this method of advanced communication)

- outlandish and/or unrealistic suggestions

- normal, boring, reasonable suggestions

- aside-thoughts which I probably should have kept to myself ***

- invitation to think for oneself and think out loud

- … I mean really loud, as long as it contains thinking

 

Experimental setup and conclusions:

 

- see bottom reaction-buttons clicked over the next 30 minutes-30 days

 

Maintext:

 

Despite the many side-issues, interesting thoughts and a nice steady stream of actual Evercade-release-updates, but also off-topic chit-chat and some wierd posts (including an totally abominable-looking Star Wars AtariCade, a Meme that really should not be), the original name of the thread is actually ‘Evercade?!’.

 

Yes … Evercade … question-mark plus exclamation mark…

 

Let that sink in for a moment. Ok, that’s long enough.

The thread is starting on the note whether the Evercade was a doomed and dated project unlikely to succeed in todays download-market from

its outset.

 

So what advantages are there to the Evercade (over other systems), and how can it cater to the users it want to hold onto, and perhaps get new people and/or younger generations interested ?

 

Well, what does ‘physical cart in box with manual’ tell most people today?

 

Usually that they pay a little more for nice looks and extra background material. Like in collectors-edition-sets of games which usually sells by download.

 

On Evercade it’s the standard, and you often get (much) more than one game per cart: from 2-20 titles.

 

Moreover it has a retro-feel to it; it wants to be inviting to the retro-crowd.

 

It can be then be switched and swapped between handheld or console (without buying again).

However - some would say the same could be done with accounts on devices from same company.

However, - on some systems running over a decade, enough updates to the OS will make ‘old’ things stop working.

The Evercade is a unit that offer many retro-game companies and some new indie-stuff to be playable on one system.

 
I think this is strong, competitive potential, as not every single retro-gamer gets an actual original hardware-unit for every system of the past, just to get the newest and best homebrews or indie-games.

 

I think this one should come in stronger, and it’s not really (I believe) necessary to own Intellectual Property to use it, if the owner agrees to license it to a publisher for an agreed-upon number of carts.

 

Personally, I’d like to see much more Atari 2600, 5200, 7800, Lynx and (if possible) Jaguar originals on Evercade carts.

Guess I’m not at all estranged to the same for other retro-consoles or PC-games as long as its quality and fun to play.

 

It also can be a platform for home-computer-titles, which in original form had plenty of loading-time issues.

Now we see both C64, Amiga and soon PC-games come along the home-consoles.

And I think there’re plenty of such titles that could be very nice to have slap-bang on Evercade-carts.

And I do think that’s the sort of generation or type of gamers that the Evercade wants to be inviting/interesting to.

 

I feel there must be plenty of C64 games financially possible to obtain for Evercade-runs, that would make nice additions. (But finances and copyright-issues aren’t my strong side, so I’m not sure). But even if carts must be a bit ‘something for everyone’ + not only super-top-titles, I’d like to think that many C64 titles could be obtained reasonably.

I’d love to see, say Beyond the Ice Palace, IO, Armalyte, [even Super Trux with cheat-mode] and many such games for C64, and for the Amiga - Lotus 2 (and 3) [of course rearranged with proto-type cars called Protus, looking more like an indistinguishable mixture between a ferrari and lamborghini-look-alike], … and guess what…; Beyond the Ice Palace for Amiga, Overlander with cheat-modes, Shadow of the Beast, Obliterator … NOT(!), Castle Master… If had a list of C64 games not given to franchise-license-issues, and browsed it, I think coming up with 20 fun and/or quality C64 and Amiga games … or for that matter, Amstrad, Atari ST-versions, titles, wouldn’t take long.

 

Having unique compilations for the Evercade, or unique in the sense it restarts having the titles playable on modern systems, I think will be core to have it expand.

 

And as a (almost-) universally interested retro-gamer, that’s a thing I’d like.

 

Moreover, if certain stuff could get expensive, I’m unsure whether it wouldn’t be wiser to cooperate on the intial investments and split the share.

 
After all, no 3 ir 4-player game I know of, have come out for the Evercade-console, - and this would be perfect for Gauntlet 1 and 2 Arcade.

Perhaps way too expensive for one company to license a run. 
But what about teaming up?

An Evercade Arcade Cart with Gauntlet 1 + 2, and finally 4 players can play it on one and same screen.

Not many other systems I know of could easily do that. Rampage, was it 3Player on-screen…?

 

What other games…?

 

What game-titles do you (reader) want to see…?

 

I’d like everyone thoughts here on what:

- they like best about the Evercade

- what they want to see on the Evercade

- what of my thoughts here they think possible, impossible or like maybe a chance…

- why they did buy/didn’t buy an Evercade

- your additional thoughts (doesn’t need to be your own - you can just cut and paste a quote, meme… anything really… )

 

Conclusions and summary:

See above.

 +
We don’t need no 2500$ last-eBay original-retro-game-item, when we can have it on Evercade.

— — —

Notes:

 

Conflicts of interest among the author:

 *** …well, admittedly I have my complexities… but so have

I too …

— — —

References: 

Just read wikipedia, will ya…?
… and if you don’t find it there, read the rest of Internet, you should find it then.
Hrrrmmf… goodness … 

 

Edited July 22, 2023 by Giles N

[+madman]

The hell was that?

[+jgkspsx]

6 minutes ago, madman said:

The hell was that?

Like it or not, it’s just the cut of his jib.

[Giles N]

1 hour ago, madman said:

The hell was that?

See Experimental set up and conclusions

👍🏻

 

— — —

Summary:

 

An open pondering of pros and cons with the Evercade as it is now, and difficulties and possibilities of it in the future, written in the parodical style of a research-paper which just doesn’t live up to the highest standards of objectivity.

 

 

Now… that explanation^ should really do to make it funny…

 

- - -

The actual content starts at

’What advantages has the Evercade over other systems… (…)

 

and ends with: ‘I’d like everyone thoughts here on … (..)

 

- - -

The intro is over-dry humor and the conclusions and summary worded on a note of crazy humor.

 

Now, that that is explained, I’d still like to hear your thoughts on the issues mentioned…

Edited July 22, 2023 by Giles N

[Giles N]

3 hours ago, Giles N said:

Evercade Arcade Cart with Gauntlet 1 + 2, and finally 4 players can play it on one and same screen.

Yay - look what Atari did back in ‘dem good old dark-ages of classic Arcades:

 

«Shortly after the release of the original Gauntlet, until March 31, 1986, Atari Games held a contest where players submitted level designs, game ideas, and other suggestions for a potential Gauntlet sequel.^[4][5] The winners of the contest were announced in the April 1986 issue of Atari Games' newsletter,^[6] and the developers implemented some of those submissions in Gauntlet II.»

—

Methinks this may be a good way to go about game-developement…

(… not the only good idea, but one cool way of gathering wanted concepts for games, gameplay and game-elements…)

Edited July 22, 2023 by Giles N

[roots.genoa]

5 hours ago, madman said:

The hell was that?

I think Giles forgot his meds again. 😰

[Giles N]

6 hours ago, roots.genoa said:

I think Giles forgot his meds again

Nah - just bad(ly written) humor.

(… in addition perhaps I just way too much time to kill last night…)

Sorry, then, for my unfunny attempt at writing funny…

 

Guess the reactions to my experiment  says it all.

 

There are however some thoughts and points in there I think may be worth considering.

 

Guess, a straigthforward description of concepts and questions worth discussing is better here.

 

I mean, after all this is a forum about … gaming right, need to take it seriously.

Edited July 22, 2023 by Giles N

[Giles N]

So, without any research to really know the numbers of Evercades in active use, active circulation, one could get an impression from counting views of Evercade-related videos and responses on social media.

Still one would be left guessing. And since Evercade official on Reddit only wrote an insider-nerdy-joke to answer the question of sales, one would be left to use various means of speculation or conjecture to get a overall feeling how popular it really is, and what then is likely to be do-able as to releases.

 

It seems everyone takes for granted top-titles or titles given to particular brands or licences would be more difficult to get released.

 

That’s sort of a pity since the Evercade has precisely the sort of gear and hardware one would need to get some old arcade or video-games played old-school.

 

It’s also charming for retro-fans with compilation-carts but it may seem akward to younger users which would be aquainted with downloading on accounts, not shipping/getting in mail - software.

 

But then again the core-buyer would most likely be retro-fanatics, or at least retro-enthusiasts.

 

But if one wants to get the means to get more expensive game-titles, it got to grow. Basics really.

 

Yet, I think there must exist quite a high number of home-computer titles (8 or 16 bits), which I think would make really nice additions while not being bogged down with over-heavy licence-issues.

 

Naturally, I expect more to come in time, but discussing which game-titles that could make it, realistically, and also would be of so high quality that it causes the effects of gamers really ripping stuff from the shelves or getting an Evercade, even though they mostly didn’t really think it was ‘for them’, could be interesting.

 

And some or much of this will be extremely subjective - tastes vary, so do beliefs in which strategies will work.

And given that one cannot know with 100% certainty whether something will be a hit or not, having user-input concerning what users wants or rewarding users for good ideas, could go some way to speed up processes to obtain enough capital to get heavy-weight titles - the sort that fit a multi-category retro-system - on carts and in the shelves.

 

But discussing it as a user is of course quite given to guesstimating and wishful thinking, - wanting everything cheap within the next week.

 

Reviews of the carts already published are abundant either on social medias or (for those who can access it) sales numbers.

 

Team17 was a winner in UK.

 

Well, - thats good - and actually something that’s somewhat verifiable.

 

Still, if a picture of most-wanted, realistically obtainable retro-titles would crystalize on forums and in social medias, perhaps it could be something to guide after.

Edited July 22, 2023 by Giles N

[Bill Loguidice]

19 minutes ago, Giles N said:

Still, if a picture of most-wanted, realistically obtainable retro-titles would crystalize on forums and in social medias, perhaps it could be something to guide after.

Easy. Look at the 1400+ titles on Antstream for a start: https://www.antstream.com/games

 

The challenge, of course, is that placement on a physical cartridge has more value to the IP holders than placement on a streaming service, so it's going to be far more expensive to acquire the IP in many cases. Some may not allow it at all due to other agreements in place (which is why the Namco and Capcom stuff are restricted how they are on Evercade).

[Giles N]

54 minutes ago, Bill Loguidice said:

Easy.
(…)

The challenge, of course, is that placement on a physical cartridge has more value to the IP holders than placement on a streaming service, so it's going to be far more expensive to acquire the IP in many cases. Some may not allow it at all due to other agreements in place (which is why the Namco and Capcom stuff are restricted how they are on Evercade).

So, not so easy when it comes to obtainable…

 

Guess, not impossible either if one had endless bucket-loads of investment-monies.

 

Perhaps some of these titles (available on Antstream) would hold enough quality-interest to justify buying licenses for a number of carts?

 

- - -

But, even though (of course), I don’t remember the list entirely, - given that its 1400 titles are from many platforms, and the C64 alone has c. 10000 titles (guess most of it dated by far today or sheer crap), and the number of Amiga, Amstrad, Atari ST -titles, I just wonder whether it would be so difficult to find a good line up of not-too-expensive games.

 

Anyway, lots of the Antream-titles, Amiga-mini titles, and 64-mini (?) has actually made it to the Evercade.

 

Just miss some of the better ones, like IO, Armalyte, Beyond the Ice Palace and others.

It may also be just much a matter of time given the number of cart-releases a year (6? 8?).

 

And of course I’d like to see Atari-console homebrews there also.

 

In this last thing, I guess there would br strong opinions, and probably a ton of elements my wishful thinking never considered.

 

—-

 

Anyway, if you’re an EverCader; which titles or collection would you like to see coming…?

 

 

Edited July 22, 2023 by Giles N

[Bill Loguidice]

Just now, Giles N said:

But, even though (of course), I don’t remember the list entirely, - given that its 1400 titles are from many platforms, and the C64 alone has c. 10000 titles (guess most of it dated by far today or sheer crap), and the number of Amiga, Amstrad, Atari ST -titles, I just wonder whether it would be so difficult to find a good line up of not-too-expensive games.

 

Having worked to license game content, I can say it's often very difficult to find license holders for old games (and putting aside if you do, they often want far more than the actual value). There's a reason why you typically see the same titles licensed over and over again. Lots of IP is in limbo or ownership is in question.

[Giles N]

49 minutes ago, Bill Loguidice said:

Having worked to license game content, I can say it's often very difficult to find license holders for old games (and putting aside if you do, they often want far more than the actual value). There's a reason why you typically see the same titles licensed over and over again. Lots of IP is in limbo or ownership is in question.

That’s interesting…

I’d say from the titles I see here on C64, and Atari 8-bit, 2600, 7800, it wouldn’t be difficult to put together a very solid C64 collection and another Atari-collection.

 

However, how sought-after these Atari-games are now are now is one thing.

Perhaps the same could be said about the C64, but it was super-massive back then, I just suspect it has a solid fan base.

 

I guess the million-£ question then is: 

to put a solid collection together on one cart, one have to go for titles not publisher.

 

Would it be do-able to buy licenses for real quality C64 games from many different publishers, and for an Atari-line-up from many different publishers on 3+ systems, and still make it worth it?

 

Or would it all come down to ability to sell, willingness from buyers to buy upon time of release and other less predictable factors…?

 

Are very good titles, like way-too expensive to ever make it worthwhile unless a cart is stuffed with fillers?

Edited July 22, 2023 by Giles N

[+GoldLeader]

@Giles N,

 

I Love it!

 

Stay off your meds for now,...and also write the occasional Wall O' Text.  Others can choose to ignore it or make diligent use of their confused icons.  Even though I was only drinking my morning cup of coffee,...I enjoyed that long post but wished for Beer or stronger, less legal implements, but hey I've got work in a few hours.  Every once in a while a weird voice would enter my head and say "How very droll",  but that's OK too and apropos of nothing I can fathom.

 

To answer what (IIRC) was your question;

 

I can think of 3 things that, to my tired and stress-addled mind, would be cool on Evercade:  (Only one seems semi possible)

 

1)  (Seems doable perhaps)  A cart of Cinematronics vector games!

 

Just make sure to have all the good stuff.  If you don't have Star Castle, Rip Off, and Armor Attack;  There will be blood and limbs cast about from Hell to Breakfast.

 

2)  (Not likely, ... at all)  A "Best of" Vector Games.   Imagine a cart where Asteroids Deluxe, Star Castle, Red Baron, Tac Scan, and Omega Race (to name but a few),  lived in Peace and Harmony (cart (heh)) side by side...In the times before The Empire, Sauron, He who shall not be named, Venger, and IDK,  Cylons... (Embodiments of Evil...Well You get it...I probably shouldn't explain...

 

3)  (Never gonna happen)  Well if I were to dream,  Off the cuff...Put my 3 Favorite NES games on 1 cart:  Deadly Towers, Dr. Mario, and Faxanadu!  (Everybody would have their own list here and most would not be doable)...Forget I mentioned it...

[+GoldLeader]

4 hours ago, Bill Loguidice said:

Having worked to license game content, I can say it's often very difficult to find license holders for old games (and putting aside if you do, they often want far more than the actual value). There's a reason why you typically see the same titles licensed over and over again. Lots of IP is in limbo or ownership is in question.

 

Ahhh  Bill Logicalness!   You and your ...Loguidice!  So firmly planted in the real world...Away from our flights of fancy.   It's all good...the Dude abides...

 

[Giles N]

Ok, sorry folks for writing possibly the wierderst post on AtariAge ever, so unintentionally plainly and simply unfunny in it’s mixture of parody of concepts and my own opinions - that its’ final form came out as something that reads as list of mental illness symptoms.

 

And sorry if it disrupted the flow of discourse here and/or offended or came across as off-putting to anyone here.

 

It was simply that I sort of found it funny in my own dry sense, that we were to discuss the Evercade, it’s future, chances of competition and possible future as longstanding retro-console… given that we had zero data, and would have to begin - if followed through to its full logical end - a scientific investigation deducing sales-numbers from special edition-sets and dividing sales of one physical cart by 40, since it came on a top 40-physical release list, out 3 400 000 total etc etc.

Suddenly it seemed to me a bit funny we wouid have to go about it at such level of detailed analysis.

 

And the idea popped into my head what it would have looked like to have a research paper on the topic, set up and written by me, when I’d be in the mood where I go  ‘just give me that %#$#! game will you, please; its 20-30 years old for goodness sake’.

 

And putting in some self-irony here and there, concerning my own ability vs disability to make up my mind as to stuff like this once and for all, probably didn’t help the outlet either.

 

And eventually I ended up writing what could be awarded as the wierdest and most unfunny AA-post ever.

 

Sorry about that.

 

We need some logics and logical thinking now and again.

(wouldn’t be much production or coding without it)

 

And I’m definitly for a flight of fancy or a thousand.

(Wouldn’t be much fun game-content without it)

 

And sorry if I just disrupted things too much.

 

- - -

 

Let’s just move on, (please), and discuss the Evercade.

 

[Giles N]

@GoldLeader

 

2) could happen if Atari got to the point where they could afford or found partners with the monies to afford, bringing the original 77-83-heroes back again.

It would probably start somewhere else as exclusive limited runs.

If Atari, Arcade1up and Blaze and possibly other investors would do such a thing it would probably be a costly Evercade with the golden-age-line-up built in and costing 400$ each. I don’t even know if Arcade1up would be into such.

One of the things I’ve not taken much into account is how these companies both specializes and to some degree compete or have ‘policy-lines’ about what they would or wouldn’t do.

If a Blaze/Atari/Arcade1Up+ Evercade came out with BattleZone, Red Baron, Asteroids, Asteroids Deluxe, Major Havoc, I, Robot and other titles, but primarily Star Wars, Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi - it would be - guess like a attention-stunt - not massive profit, but massive attention.

A run of 4000 would be sold in less than 24hours, is my unqualified guesstimate. And probably, there are hundreds of other factors involved as to market strategies.

If Atari got some solid revenue over time, then perhaps things could change.

If they want to sell games, they need to listen to, observe - or just ask - what gamers like to play.

[Giles N]

@GoldLeader

You’re probably right that nothing remotely-Mario will ever be put on a cart with Deadly Towers…, nor Faxandu either.

 

But if you can live with these 2 and.  other NES games from these developers, that I think is fairly possible.

 

Nintendo would only come along if the Evercade got so big, they needed to show the tip a little pinky finger just to remind Evercaders that Nintendo is biggest after all.

That would mean the Evercade to make it to be as big being like a new DS/ 3DS … in the game-market - the handheld every gamer used as truly portable gaming device with real pads ‘ buttons.