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2017 Flashback FAQ and Speculation Thread


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Even the Genesis (Megadrive) wasn't that big in Japan.

Yes but it was popular enough worldwide that the clone makers all jumped on board giving it the third slot. AtGames claimed the TG-16 has zero nostalgia in the US (despite having some utterly fantastic games made for it) so there would never be a TG-16 Flashback, yet RetroFreak added a PCe slot to their console which serves Japanese audiences firstly and English speaking peoples second.

 

The Chinese makers only produce compatible stuff if it exists in Japan and/or the Far East. Nobody outside of the Americas, Europe, and other English speaking PAL territories gives a flying crap about Atari. This includes the manufacturing regions dotted throughout China.

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After looking more carefully at the HD box, (& a foray into MS Paint); I think I answered my own question. If the HD Genny is of similar scale, I'm guessing it's about 63% the size of the original.

 

-Another [anxious] question, since the box shows the MegaDrive, Will the USA branded version have the "High Definition Graphics" silkscreen?

 

post-41463-0-97675600-1494923918.jpg

 

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(forgive me if I missed this somewhere), Will the HD Genesis & 2600 consoles be "mini" consoles? If the HD Genesis has a cart slot, I would assume that it has to be roughly the same dimensions of the original?

 

It's definitely smaller ... the other AtGames Genesis machines were quite small, like a double-height Discman perhaps. The HD looks bigger. I doubt there's room for "high definition graphics" on top, but I guess we'll find out soon.

 

There's no Atari coming with a cartridge slot as far as I know. The existing Flashbacks are smaller. Your guesstimate of 63% smells right to me.

 

I found this on the web to compare a Vader Atari and a relatively recent Flashback.

 

post-2410-0-32100900-1494942115.jpg

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I don't have the exact dimensions yet, but yes, the Genesis Flashback will indeed be the usual miniature version, just styled like the original Genesis. It's NOT an exact replica, though, as there is no headphone jack or volume slider, nor does it replicate the silkscreening. It should still look pretty nifty, though.

 

As of right now, I believe the Atari Flashback 8 HD is going to have the usual styling.

 

By the way, don't necessarily go by the look on those early box mock-ups. That was before everything was finalized (or, in some cases, it's still heading to be finalized).

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I don't quite follow you. My post was pro Nintendo. Go back and read it again.

I know. You made a comparison to the NES Mini versus the Sega and Atari Flashbacks. Bear in mind Nintendo has a reputation to uphold as a console maker. Atari and Sega basically whore their name out to the highest bidder, in this case AtGames. So price first, quality second with the AtGames products, where it is the other way with Nintendo. The NES Mini certainly put the 2016 SD Flashbacks to shame in terms of quality.

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I know. You made a comparison to the NES Mini versus the Sega and Atari Flashbacks. Bear in mind Nintendo has a reputation to uphold as a console maker. Atari and Sega basically whore their name out to the highest bidder, in this case AtGames. So price first, quality second with the AtGames products, where it is the other way with Nintendo. The NES Mini certainly put the 2016 SD Flashbacks to shame in terms of quality.

 

As we've discussed previously, it was never quite that straightforward. AtGames works within the price constraints demanded by the retailers. Nintendo does not have those same restrictions. Since the price barrier has been broken by Nintendo, AtGames has more wiggle room, which is why there are going to be the HD products this year with more premium features.

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If an Atari Flashback retailed for $60. Would an HD Atari Flashback retail around $80 (just a guess)? Then I would gladly for out $100 for an HD Atari Flashback with an SD card slot!

 

Maybe in 2018 for an SD card slot. The price shouldn't increase for that particular feature. I believe the SRP for the two HD products is $70, or $10 more than the NES Mini. There are tons more games plus two wireless controllers. Actual selling price should trend less, of course.

 

Another issue to consider is that making the new HD platform work with games other than the 100+ that are built-in is a pretty big task given the timing of things. It's tough enough to make sure all the built-in stuff works correctly, particularly with the new feature-set. I don't want to give away what that feature-set is, but you'll see the full potential on the 2017 Sega HD product.

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Maybe in 2018 for an SD card slot. The price shouldn't increase for that particular feature. I believe the SRP for the two HD products is $70, or $10 more than the NES Mini. There are tons more games plus two wireless controllers. Actual selling price should trend less, of course.

 

Another issue to consider is that making the new HD platform work with games other than the 100+ that are built-in is a pretty big task given the timing of things. It's tough enough to make sure all the built-in stuff works correctly, particularly with the new feature-set. I don't want to give away what that feature-set is, but you'll see the full potential on the 2017 Sega HD product.

 

That sounds great for the Atari! Will there still be joystick ports so we can ditch the wireless controllers? I take it the technology for the wireless controllers will remain the same (line of sight)?

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That sounds great for the Atari! Will there still be joystick ports so we can ditch the wireless controllers? I take it the technology for the wireless controllers will remain the same (line of sight)?

 

I think we need a persistent FAQ because a lot of this stuff repeats itself, although I don't know myself what's posted in what thread.

 

On the HD systems, there will be two Bluetooth-like wireless controllers. The legacy wired controller ports remain (good for paddles on the Atari HD side). On the budget SD systems, there will be two wired controllers. The IR-based wireless controllers are officially retired. Other features on the HD systems include save states, rewind functionality, etc.

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I'll be holding out until I see there's a handheld Genesis that fixes the problems and retains the SD card slot, then atgames gets my money. :) I tried dipping into the Atari stuff again, couldn't even get motivated to bother. I can't seem to engage in anything pre-Coleco/Famicom outside of the arcade anymore.

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I'm getting a bunch of units in for evaluation by early next week. I'll know then how the sound is on the SD hardware, which includes the handhelds (since they use the SD base).

 

Why would they sound different? I thought that you had already confirmed that the SD versions would essentially stay as-is, besides the game lineup.

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Why would they sound different? I thought that you had already confirmed that the SD versions would essentially stay as-is, besides the game lineup.

 

It's substantially the same, although there have been some tweaks. For instance, the Genesis console is now stereo. I have to see if any of the tweaks have made the sound any better. That is all.

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