Atari partners with Playmaji (Polymega)

[+jeremiahjt]

Atari has partnered with Playmaji, the company behind the Polymega.  I know nothing about the Polymega, so I really cannot comment on that.  The press release does mention the VCS will add support for the Polymega app and a Polymega Remix addon.  Hopefully a Polymega fan can come behind and flesh this story out.

 

Here is an article from Yahoo Finance: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/atari-announces-strategic-collaboration-playmaji-224800466.html

Edited July 6, 2023 by justclaws
added reference to polymega to title, for clarity

[chriSBA28]

Polymega is a console that allows you to play original retro nintendo, sega, nec, ps1 and neo geo cartridges and cds. So I did some research on the polymega app and this is what I found:

 

"Now, you may be wondering how you can use your original games in the Polymega app. The solution is in the Polymega Remix, an accessory that connects via USB to your computer and that has a disc and cartridge reader; This device will allow us to make private copies of our games to run them in the app and on the mobile. It will cost $149."

 

So we, as owners of an Atari VCS in theory, would have to buy the polymega remix and connect it to the PC to make a digital copy of our original physical game, this game will be added to our polymega app and we can play it in the vcs. We will be able to make a digital copy of all our original cartridges and cds and play them on the vcs.

 

What do you think? I suppose we could also make copies of atari 2600 7800 cartridges?

[+jeremiahjt]

I wonder if they could make it so you could connect the Polymega Remix add on straight to your VCS and copy directly to the VCS.

[Atari_JaguarVCS]

This is exciting news! I actually own a Polymega console, i have had it in my collection for over a year now but rarely use it, its a top piece of kit though and of decent build quality. I'll be following this closely.

[+Gemintronic]

2 hours ago, jeremiahjt said:

I wonder if they could make it so you could connect the Polymega Remix add on straight to your VCS and copy directly to the VCS.

 

I've tried to get clarification from a YouTuber who is getting clarification from Polymega over Twatter.

 

It sounds like this is part of their plan. I guess?
 

Quote

 

Polymega is updating me on Twitter about this, and thanks for your input! i'll throw together a part 2 to this news story for tomorrow morning! Apparently there will be an Atari module you can buy to hook up to Remix to digitize ANY atari 2600/7800 cart.

 

 

UPDATE:   Addendum video dropped https://youtu.be/6LaCseVi69g

 

Seems like a 2600 cart slot adapter that you attach to a Polymega device.  From there to can use their emulator to stream your game to the VCS.  If you pay monthly it unlocks features in the app.  Yay.

 

Question still remains how good their cart reading is and how robust their emulation is. 

 

[justclaws]

This is the official press-release.
https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2023/07/05/2699989/0/en/Atari-Announces-Strategic-Collaboration-with-Playmaji-Inc.html

See link above for the rest of the press-release.
 

[MrMaddog]

8 hours ago, jeremiahjt said:

I wonder if they could make it so you could connect the Polymega Remix add on straight to your VCS and copy directly to the VCS.

 

I believe that's the point, to use the Polymega Remix to copy the games onto the VCS to play on their app.  The XL sub is for putting them on their cloud server to play with mobile devices.

 

It makes sense for Atari to partner up with someone who already made this tech instead of trying to "reinvent" a cart reader themselves.

Edited July 6, 2023 by MrMaddog
Whether Polymega will "actually" come out with this Remix drive while we're still waiting for the PolyMega consoles to be released is still up in the air...

[Tinman]

This sounds to me like an ideal peripheral for the VCS!  I sure have a ton of carts I’ve love to play on it.  I wonder if it’ll do Starpath tapes and stuff, too.  (Probably not, sadly).  I think it’s a great add-on for the “classic console reimagined” or whatever the slogan is.

[+swlovinist]

Makes sense that they teamed up with Polymega to make this.   From my own experience, that company does not have a great communication record.    Seems a little confusing but will just have to hear more and eventually try it myself.    Since I have a robust library of both 2600 and 7800 games, I would try all sorts of things with this device.   Cool idea, lets see how its executed.  

[MrTrust]

So, I have to buy a different console, and an add-on for that console, then take games I already have a compatible machine for, make copies of the ROMs that aren't any less copyright-infringing that just downloading them off of the internet, and then stream them from an app to the VCS?  Do I have this correct?

Assuming I do, uh, why?  What is the point of this?  Is this going to be any less money than simply buying a 2600 or 7800?  Is it going to be any less of a hassle to set up?  Isn't this a big legal grey area?

What is the pain point that this product is solving for me?

[Giles N]

19 hours ago, Atari_JaguarVCS said:

This is exciting news! I actually own a Polymega console, i have had it in my collection for over a year now but rarely use it, its a top piece of kit though and of decent build quality. I'll be following this closely.

Is it easy to use? Do you think it’ll be a possible good starting point for new 2600 and/or 7800 collectors to run games not held/obtained by Atari as of today…?

Do you know about the differences between this as a stand-alone retro-console and what it may be like to use with a VCS or PC, and what the App is doing…?

 

I mean - it would be awesome to get a possibility to run hardware-atari-carts on a modern console, but the easier it is for the user, the greater the chance for people to get it.

 

—

Note: I don’t have a VCS, but if it becomes a console, or if a PolyMega-Atari Universal Module would come along, I’d sure be interested.

 

[+jeremiahjt]

6 hours ago, MrTrust said:

So, I have to buy a different console, and an add-on for that console, then take games I already have a compatible machine for, make copies of the ROMs that aren't any less copyright-infringing that just downloading them off of the internet, and then stream them from an app to the VCS?  Do I have this correct?

Assuming I do, uh, why?  What is the point of this?  Is this going to be any less money than simply buying a 2600 or 7800?  Is it going to be any less of a hassle to set up?  Isn't this a big legal grey area?

What is the pain point that this product is solving for me?

You do not have to do anything, this is for people that want a way to play 2600 and 7800 games on their VCS.  I prefer to play those games on the consoles they were intended for, but apparently there is fair amount of people that think Atari owes them a way to play the new Atari XP cartridges on a new system. It makes no sense to me, but I guess I am not the target for this.

[MrTrust]

6 hours ago, jeremiahjt said:

You do not have to do anything...

 

Phew!  What a relief!  When I said "have to," I meant that armed goons were going to show up at my door and confiscate my VCS if I don't, not that "in order to use this" would be implicit in "have to." Glad to have that cleared up for me.

 

Just for kicks, though in order to take advantage of this offering, I would have to buy another console, and an add-on for that console, and make unauthorized ROM copies of games I own, upload those to a server somewhere, and then I can play a streamed Galaga ROM on the VCS?  Am I understanding correctly?

 

6 hours ago, jeremiahjt said:

It makes no sense to me, but I guess I am not the target for this.

 

That's why I'm asking the question: it doesn't make any sense.  You can't play 2600 games on VCS, but you can play ROMs of 2600 games if you have a whole separate console, and an add-on, and an app?

 

If I have the Polymega and the add-on, why wouldn't I just play the ROMs on that?  Or why wouldn't I just play the cartridges on a 7800?  Or if - lawyers, correct me if I'm wrong - the ROMs still violate copyright anyway, why wouldn't ai just download them and play them in PC mode?

 

No, I don't get it.  What is the scenario where one would actually use this thing?

[roots.genoa]

30 minutes ago, MrTrust said:

Just for kicks, though in order to take advantage of this offering, I would have to buy another console, and an add-on for that console, and make unauthorized ROM copies of games I own, upload those to a server somewhere, and then I can play a streamed Galaga ROM on the VCS?  Am I understanding correctly?

I think the whole point of the Polymega's add-ons is to use real carts so no, you wouldn't have to make unauthorized copies of your games.

 

30 minutes ago, MrTrust said:

If I have the Polymega and the add-on, why wouldn't I just play the ROMs on that?

If you have the full Polymega, you don't need the VCS indeed. But Playmaji will release soon the Polymega Remix, which is a simplified version that you connect to a PC. Basically, it's just a CD-ROM drive and connectors for add-ons (cart readers) and controllers. So the idea is to use the VCS as the PC that does the emulation.

Edited July 7, 2023 by roots.genoa

[Atari_JaguarVCS]

11 hours ago, Giles N said:

Is it easy to use? Do you think it’ll be a possible good starting point for new 2600 and/or 7800 collectors to run games not held/obtained by Atari as of today…?

Do you know about the differences between this as a stand-alone retro-console and what it may be like to use with a VCS or PC, and what the App is doing…?

 

I mean - it would be awesome to get a possibility to run hardware-atari-carts on a modern console, but the easier it is for the user, the greater the chance for people to get it.

 

—

Note: I don’t have a VCS, but if it becomes a console, or if a PolyMega-Atari Universal Module would come along, I’d sure be interested.

 

It's very easy to use but its very expensive to get into and you could pick up a used 2600 and 7800 console and still have change left over for games by the time you buy all the modules for the Polymega. The good thing about the Polymega is it would allow you to retire your old hardware and that's why i purchased it, i wanted to retire my Sega Saturn to the box and copied all my library over to the Polymega for it, but have found myself back on real Sega Saturn hardware again, so it would depend on the user if its worth picking up the Polymega as a starting point for collecting 2600,7800 games. My console is boxed up again and just part of my collection now. I just prefer playing on real hardware. I will buy the 2600,7800 module for my Atari VCS 800 though 🙂

[MrTrust]

6 hours ago, roots.genoa said:

Basically, it's just a CD-ROM drive and connectors for add-ons (cart readers) and controllers. So the idea is to use the VCS as the PC that does the emulation.

 

Okay, I guess this makes some sense if it's basically pushbutton.  If I have to jump through a bunch of hoops setting it up, I don't why I wouldn't just buy an external CD drive for significantly less money and just play old CD games through Windows on the VCS.  I don't see any reason why that wouldn't work just as well, other than it's somewhat of a hassle to get set up.

 

Cart readers are, I suppose, somewhat of a different story, but then, if you're just emulating a dumped ROM, why not just download the ROM and just play it through emulation?  Again, lawyers correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't dumping the ROM of a cartridge you own, even if it's for personal use, still infringing on the owner's copyright in most cases?  If you're not getting around that issue, I don't see what the point of going through all this is just to play ROMs.

[Tejas Cowboy]

After seeing peoples opinions on here, FB and doing research on Ploymegadotcom Ive come to the conclusion that its a good idea. I plan to support when it comes out. Most of the games on the VCS store are not for me. So adding my Atari/Activision/Indies2600 game cartridges would be great.

Edited July 7, 2023 by Tejas Cowboy

[roots.genoa]

2 hours ago, MrTrust said:

Again, lawyers correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't dumping the ROM of a cartridge you own, even if it's for personal use, still infringing on the owner's copyright in most cases?  If you're not getting around that issue, I don't see what the point of going through all this is just to play ROMs.

You're correct. You should only dump your ROMs (or have them dumped by someone else, it is allowed) for archive purpose, not to use on a system that you don't have the license for. That being said, I don't know how it works for systems like the Polymega (or the RetroFreak for instance) that dump ROMs on the fly, as if they were reading carts in real time like a real system or an Analogue console.

[PowerDubs]

 

[tripled79]

On 7/6/2023 at 1:05 AM, Atari_JaguarVCS said:

This is exciting news! I actually own a Polymega console, i have had it in my collection for over a year now but rarely use it, its a top piece of kit though and of decent build quality. I'll be following this closely.

Can you play JaguarCD games on it?

[Atari_JaguarVCS]

6 minutes ago, tripled79 said:

Can you play JaguarCD games on it?

Nope, i wish you could though! 

[+swlovinist]

Any update on the Polymega remix?   Still coming out?

[Atari_JaguarVCS]

30 minutes ago, swlovinist said:

Any update on the Polymega remix?   Still coming out?

Someone asked David this question on one of his Twitch streams last week if i recall correctly and he said its still actively being worked on at the moment but he hadn't checked back in to see how it was progressing for a few months. Hopefully it shows up next year, its something that will add more value to the Atari VCS 800 experience.

[+swlovinist]

13 hours ago, Atari_JaguarVCS said:

Someone asked David this question on one of his Twitch streams last week if i recall correctly and he said its still actively being worked on at the moment but he hadn't checked back in to see how it was progressing for a few months. Hopefully it shows up next year, its something that will add more value to the Atari VCS 800 experience.

Thanks for responding to my post.   This would absolutely be a great addition to the VCS.    

[PowerDubs]

On 12/20/2023 at 8:24 PM, swlovinist said:

Any update on the Polymega remix?   Still coming out?

 

Polymega are arriving to a lot of customers in Japan....and then this also popped up-

 

https://x.com/timeextension64/status/1737458323635548489?s=20

 

Hopefully we will hear more about the VCS integration 1st quarter '24