alortegac Posted March 10, 2017 Share Posted March 10, 2017 (edited) I was browsing on Ebay searching for something new to add to my collection.....or something for a new restoration project......I came across this link in the atari 7800 category: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Super-Nintendo-Atari-7800-Sega-Master-System-Sega-Megadrive-Nintendo-NES/152465950911?_trksid=p2045573.c100033.m2042&_trkparms=aid%3D111001%26algo%3DREC.SEED%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D41451%26meid%3D36384438004645bfb95ae537a73974d3%26pid%3D100033%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D8%26sd%3D152465950911 It is the first time I see huge potential for hardware/emulator replacing original gaming retro systems. Is this the beginning of the end of playing on real Atari hardware? Thoughts? Edited March 10, 2017 by alortegac Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inky Posted March 10, 2017 Share Posted March 10, 2017 Wow. Talk about an illegal auction... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supercoupe91 Posted March 10, 2017 Share Posted March 10, 2017 No. Emulation has been around for a long time. There will always be people that want the original hardware. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alortegac Posted March 10, 2017 Author Share Posted March 10, 2017 They are all over on EBAY.....I many found many more from $90 to $150....with thousands of ROM games in them....people selling their Retropie user "images" in SD cards or via GOOGLE link. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alortegac Posted March 10, 2017 Author Share Posted March 10, 2017 Agreed, but this small little computer is powerful stuff and very portable..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NuAngel Posted March 10, 2017 Share Posted March 10, 2017 Agreed, but this small little computer is powerful stuff and very portable..... You're not wrong, but, we also already went through an era over the last 2 decade's where every home had a PC, and even to a point where almost every PERSON in the home had their own laptop or desktop... now an era where everyone has a phone. All of these devices are capable of running emulators. And while you could make the argument that not every person is savvy enough to install and use an emulator, then the "Atari Flashback" consoles could've spelled doom, as well - but so far they haven't. Collectors will always exist. Even further down the line, when the chips fail and the contents of the cartridges becomes unreadable, there will be people who want the hardware just for the history. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flojomojo Posted March 10, 2017 Share Posted March 10, 2017 It's also not really new. It's a pretty blatant copyright infringement and I reported it, but I doubt eBay will do anything about it. Why call it an "arcade machine" when there are no arcade games on it? This is the ultimate Retro Arcade Machine with your favorite old school gaming systems pre loaded! All of your favorite games are already loaded on the system too! Includes: Super Nintendo - 786 games! Atari 7800 - 51 games! Sega Master System - 267 games! Sega Megadrive - 819 games! Nintendo NES - 791 games! The whole system is plug and play! Just connect the power cord and included hdmi cable to any newer TV and let the games begin! Each of these systems are hand asembled, preloaded, and tested before shipment. A beautiful interactive menu allows you to see videos of game play prior to loading the game. Don't fall for the others sellers promising 10,000 games! they are mostly old dos and commodore games you can't even play.. These are all playable games for the systems indicated above, so no crappy games here! This is an hand built actual gaming micro computer built with Raspberry Pi, Emulation Station, with built in wifi, bluetooth, ethernet. Etc. Using the computer latest technology! The whole gaming system is the size of a deck of UNO playing cards! Included items: 1- Retropie Gaming System 2- wired super nes controllers 1- 16gb genuine Sandisk ultra micro sd card (no generic SD like most sellers) 1- 3ft hdmi cable 1- high quality charging cable Best of all, 2,714 free preloaded games! Immediate credit card payment via paypal required! No checks, even thru paypal! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supercoupe91 Posted March 10, 2017 Share Posted March 10, 2017 Heck even once original hardware fails, I think people will be willing to look into repairs and reproductions of the original games. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flojomojo Posted March 10, 2017 Share Posted March 10, 2017 No. Emulation has been around for a long time. There will always be people that want the original hardware. Though I would think there are fewer and fewer of them every day ... You're not wrong, but, we also already went through an era over the last 2 decade's where every home had a PC, and even to a point where almost every PERSON in the home had their own laptop or desktop... now an era where everyone has a phone. All of these devices are capable of running emulators. And while you could make the argument that not every person is savvy enough to install and use an emulator, then the "Atari Flashback" consoles could've spelled doom, as well - but so far they haven't. Collectors will always exist. Even further down the line, when the chips fail and the contents of the cartridges becomes unreadable, there will be people who want the hardware just for the history. though as we get farther and farther from the launch of the original Atari systems, these things get rarer and rarer, and more expensive. Demand will shrink but so will supply. On an infinite time scale, there won't be any original Atari systems to play with, nor will there be anyone who cares. Written from the perspective of someone who was thrilled about this stuff as a kid, an avid collector as a teen and young adult, a game player in prime of life, and a grumpy curmudgeon who doesn't give much of a crap anymore as a middle aged dork 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cambouis de l'Atari Posted March 10, 2017 Share Posted March 10, 2017 (edited) Nope ! Is the atari flashback the end of real hardware ? It's 20 years I own a PC that can run emulators, but nothing compares to the real thing ! The feeling of the cx40, of inserting a cartridge, to watch rounded pixels on my old crt, for all these things real hardware is important. Even my harmony cart doesn't prevent me to buy real carts ! Nor my rasp pi inside an out of order junior would https://cambouisdelatari.wordpress.com/2016/04/28/la-2600jr-passe-a-3-14-voici-la-pi-junior/ Edited March 10, 2017 by Cambouis de l'Atari 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alortegac Posted March 10, 2017 Author Share Posted March 10, 2017 Agreed, nothing like the real thing......... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+SpiceWare Posted March 10, 2017 Share Posted March 10, 2017 Betteridge's law of headlines 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Gemintronic Posted March 10, 2017 Share Posted March 10, 2017 As long as these Retropie systems are just vehicles for pirated ROMz the answer is no ( ^^ see SpiceWares post ) I managed to get ahold of more than a few Raspberry Pi Zeros and fit one inside a video game cart as a side project. I can put my company's 2600 games on there and that's where the easy part stops. Games offered for free on the Internet still require explicit permission to distribute. Good luck getting in contact with random developers years after their games were posted. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+save2600 Posted March 10, 2017 Share Posted March 10, 2017 Only 51 Atari 7800 games? Pfft... I'm out. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilipTheWhovian Posted March 10, 2017 Share Posted March 10, 2017 There will always be one person who plays on physical hardware, if that one person is me for the next 50 years so be it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alortegac Posted March 10, 2017 Author Share Posted March 10, 2017 (edited) SpiceWare, Thanks for sharing this LAW; I was not aware of it, applicable in this case. PhilipTheWhovian, you are not alone. I only play on physical hardware....... I just was not familiar with this small machine's capabilities and how widely they are being used for profit. Edited March 10, 2017 by alortegac Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keatah Posted March 10, 2017 Share Posted March 10, 2017 Why call it an "arcade machine" when there are no arcade games on it? Because it sounds cool? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mojoatomic Posted March 10, 2017 Share Posted March 10, 2017 I'm not at all in favor of what this auction represents for intellectual property... but I will speak to the original question of "Is Retropie the end of real Atari gaming?" My answer is an emphatic "NO". I think there will always be a contingent that want to play on real hardware, just as there is a contingent that likes records and jukeboxes. We've had 8 track tapes, audio cassettes, CD's, MP3's and all manner of digital media since the record was invented - but there are still folks who simply prefer records and will continue to collect, buy & play them. I myself am a jukebox FREAK. I currently have jukeboxes, I've restored & repaired countless, and stocked most of them with records after I restored them. But I also own & subscribe to various forms digital media as well. It's hard to have a 45 spinning in your car :-) I think also that there are quite a few Millennials who have NEVER seen a 2600 in the flesh, much less gamed on one - in many ways, emulation brings people to the table, so to speak. They get a taste and want the real thing. We see this phenomenon everyday on this forum - younger folks wanting in on the real thing, but don't quite know where to start. But they experienced it first through emulation in many, many cases. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superwill64 Posted March 10, 2017 Share Posted March 10, 2017 My 2600 doesn't take 5 minutes to boot up so at least there's that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NE146 Posted March 10, 2017 Share Posted March 10, 2017 The Retropie is great.. great for the kids when I shoved one in a barcade. They play that stuff a lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keatah Posted March 10, 2017 Share Posted March 10, 2017 I was browsing on Ebay searching for something new to add to my collection.....or something for a new restoration project......I came across this link in the atari 7800 category: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Super-Nintendo-Atari-7800-Sega-Master-System-Sega-Megadrive-Nintendo-NES/152465950911?_trksid=p2045573.c100033.m2042&_trkparms=aid%3D111001%26algo%3DREC.SEED%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D41451%26meid%3D36384438004645bfb95ae537a73974d3%26pid%3D100033%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D8%26sd%3D152465950911 It is the first time I see huge potential for hardware/emulator replacing original gaming retro systems. Is this the beginning of the end of playing on real Atari hardware? Thoughts? The short answer is no. Keep in mind there's always going to be purists and die-hards and collectors keeping the original hardware in good operational shape. That's likely to continue for years to come. Emulation and replacement hardware and FPGA will be filling in to satisfy increased demand. People will hate on me for saying that emulation and replacement hardware is the wave of the future. And that's ok. Emulation and replacement hardware are becoming popular because of ease of access and cost effectiveness to both the peddler and user. There's also piecemeal replacement taking place. The video output circuitry of many consoles is being replaced by mod hardware to support something better than NTSC/RF. That's one. The act of swapping cartridges is being replaced by modern flash memory solutions. That's two. CRT's are being exchanged for LCD and other modern matrix display technologies. That's three. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+KaeruYojimbo Posted March 10, 2017 Share Posted March 10, 2017 Nope. I know I've made the comparison before, but just as there are still people who prefer to listen to music on vinyl, and people who prefer to take photographs with film, there will always be those who prefer to play old games on the original hardware. I think retropie or whatever all-in-one emulation someday becomes standard will make the games more accessible to casual players (just like having a camera built into your phone turned everyone into a photographer), but it will never completely replace original hardware. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keepdreamin Posted March 10, 2017 Share Posted March 10, 2017 Yes, it is the end. Landfills are overwhelmed with mountains of 2600 consoles as everyone moves to Pi 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+save2600 Posted March 10, 2017 Share Posted March 10, 2017 Just realized the irony that this was posted in the 2600 section, when this machine doesn't even include a VCS emulator. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keepdreamin Posted March 11, 2017 Share Posted March 11, 2017 Just realized the irony that this was posted in the 2600 section, when this machine doesn't even include a VCS emulator. Yes it does. Retropie is preloaded with the https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVrU0JNAgqI core. You drop roms in the folder it will show up in the menu. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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