Phredreeke

Not every day you get a reply to a 4.5 year old forum post Maybe what we need is a generation between the 2nd and 3rd? I think we're stuck at the current numbering though. Example Generation 2: Fairchild VES/Channel F, RCA Studio II, Atari 2600, Magnavox Odyssey 2, 1292 Advanced Programmable Video System and clones, Bally Astrocade, Intellivision Generation 2.5: Colecovision, Atari 5200, Vectrex, Arcadia 2001, the Intellivision III would end up here had it actually been finished and released Generation 3: NES, Master System, Atari 7800

the virtual machine is not doing the translation (if it did it would be an emulator, not just a virtual machine), the translation is done on Microsoft's end, which is why you need to make an initial download for each game before you can play them. even ignoring xbox games running in kernel mode (the virtualization layer could make up for that I would think) there's the issue of differing GPUs. (it's 2015 and there's still little progress on emulating the original Xbox on PC)

As said previously, your best shot for emulators are getting Linux versions (no problem for most systems. Saturn may be as the best emulator is closed source and Windows only. Similarly you'll be limited to Mupen64 for N64 emulation, which may prevent you from playing some games that only runs on Project64) Wine (a compatibility layer for Windows software) may be an option for some emulators and games that does not have Linux versions available.

It won't, the original Xbox was nowhere as successful as the Xbox 360, in addition to being an additional generation behind. (BC is beneficial as it lets people trade in their old systems to pay for the new one, while still being able to keep their existing games) In addition, the original Xbox used an nVidia GPU as opposed to the AMD GPU in the Xbone (and unlike a PC, where games access the GPU through an API, 1st gen Xbox games would access the GPU directly) as well as running games in kernel mode. (bad for security, although the Xbone virtualization model may be able to deal with it) The Xbox 360 emulator for Xbox One isn't really an emulator in the sense we think of it either, it's more akin to the iOS simulator used for iOS development. The Xbone does not run PPC code, it downloads an x86 version of each game instead.

That's arguable. Since the emulator Hyperkin stole used is known we can tell what games have problems at least for SNES. The libretro wiki lists 15 problem titles. Admittedly that's pretty good considering the SNES has something like 3000 games for it.

I'm looking at it from the opposite perspective, as it may discourage future emulator developers to making their source code public. Personally I'm not against paid emulation as long as the emulator itself have been legitimately acquired (although I would prefer an enhanced port, as with Sonic 2 on Android) SNES9X have been developed by so many people over the years that it is just not feasible. The other options are ZSNES but then you have to use x86 hardware (not to mention the emulation quality is worse) and higan but then hardware requirements shoots in the roof (this is by no means a criticism of byuu's work, accuracy naturally demands more of the host system)

Just because you're not charging for the emulators does not mean it is not considered commercial use. The GPL only applies when distributing software, so unless your users are also distributors they are off the hook.

They can't. ZSNES is written in x86 assembly, while Retron 5 has an ARM CPU.

Nah, it's more like someone asking for money behind her back, when she would have done it for free.

and you're assuming a chipset and an emulator are the same? AFAIK no one owns the "rights" to the NOAC chip, meaning any factory can produce one, and any company can use it in their product. An emulator is owned by its developer(s). Depending on the license, a manufacturer may or may not be allowed to use it in their product. For example, FCEU and VBA-M are licensed under GPL, meaning Hyperkin would have been perfectly fine to use them as long as they provide source code. (they would also have to include source code for their frontend, as it would have been considered part of the same work) SNES9X and Genesis Plus GX have non-commercial licenses. You can't bundle them with your product, even if it's included "for free".

Exactly. You don't write an emulator in a day, much less five. You can find emulators for most systems that are licensed under GPL (requires releasing modified source code and including the license, but allows for commercial use) SNES is problematic though, because the SNES9X license does not allow for commercial use, ZSNES is licensed under GPL but is coded in x86 assembly so it's not an option on the ARM-based CPU used in the Retron 5 (and its emulation is subpar compared to SNES9X and Higan) and Higan is licensed under GPLv3 but has too high system requirements for a cheap SoC as the one used in Retron 5. The best (legal) choice would be licensing SuperGNES I think. There's a similar problem with the SEGA systems, as Genesis Plus GX has a license that doesn't allow for commercial use, as with SNES9X.

http://www.assemblergames.com/forums/showthread.php?52092-looking-for-Retron-5-hack-to-play-Roms&p=772664&viewfull=1#post772664 It seems that Hyperkin have stolen at least one of the emulators used by the console.

Actually, the Wii's component video is supposedely inferior to that of the GameCube.

As with previous handheld generation, Sony decided to compete on specs, while Nintendo decided to sell their handheld on a gimmick. Here's the thing, the evolution of mobile chipsets have gone crazy fast (Apple's A7 SoC is close to twice as powerful as the previous generation) so PS Vita is no longer the powerhouse it once was.

Here's the thing, PS4 and Xbox One aren't sold on what they offer right now, but on their future potential.

It's an emulator, it's just that the compatibility is extremely limited. I won't call it backwards compatibility unless it runs the games from original media. The Powerbase Converter for Megadrive just rewires the cartridge slot. 64-bit Windows didn't just kill DOS, it killed all 16-bit apps. Why? Because 16-bit compatibility on 32-bit Windows relied on Virtual 8086 mode, a mode not available when running in Long mode. Since you mention OSX, lets not forget that Apple killed Classic environment in the transition to x86. PS1 was trivial for Sony to emulate, PS2 was not. Not every DVD player play VCDs, it's just that it's trivial to implement so almost all DVD players does. Blu Ray players aren't required to play DVDs and CDs either, just that it's trivial to implement. In the case of all but the PS3, the previous generation games can run on a subset of the host console's hardware. Backwards compatibility for Xbox One and PS4 would have required Sony and MS to stay with the stagnated PowerPC architecture, or add a second set of hardware to the system. I for one don't care for the PS4 or Xbox One (not because of the lack of backwards compatibility though) but I would love for Nintendo to re-release some Wii games (Super Mario Galaxy comes to mind) in HD quality on the Wii U (despite me not having one either, I will get one eventually) despite it having backwards compatibility (sorry, I don't care for upscaled Wii games) As for reselling old games, didn't you just praise the Wii for doing just that (Virtual Console)

A desktop i5 has no problem emulating the Wii CPU. You can't directly compare the X360 cores with the one in the Wii though, the X360 cores are in-order, while the CPU in GC/Wii/Wii U have out-of-order execution. Well, then you got lucky I guess. The backwards compatibility in the 360 is very hit and miss. When it works it looks good though, as it renders with 4x MSAA before being upscaled to whatever resolution the TV uses. On the PS3, first of all there is no additional anti-aliasing, only an optional smoothing filter. Second, by default the PS3 runs PS1/PS2 games in 480p (for NTSC games) or 576p (for PAL games), you have to manually activate upscaling for those games.

Wait, are we talking about a cheap computer alternative for the third world, or are we talking about a hobby kit? You can sell a hobby kit that relies on the owner already having a modern functional computer for programming. Making a computer for the third world brings up a whole different set of requirements (as demonstrated by the OLPC project)

Yes, but then you're looking at something along the lines of the ZX81 or the Serbian Galaksija, not a ready built computer.

I never heard of Playpower before, but I'm skeptical. For one thing, you can't program new software on the system itself, so users are dependent on the manufacturer for new software. Also, I think you're setting the bar too low. It's like diminishing returns in reverse, the Raspberry Pi is something like a thousand times more powerful than the 8-bit systems you talk about.

You're acting as if the 7800 was Atari's flagship, it was not (that would be the computer line). If anything it was GCC's flagship. The perceived value of an AV connector wouldn't have outweighed the cost. Keep in mind the original Famicom didn't have any AV output either. GCC had to make the system at a pricepoint that would sell.

Does anyone have a certain answer on how much RAM the system has? I've heard 43 bytes but that makes no sense. Also Astrocade never had a PAL version, and I don't think APF MP-1000 had one either. (though I would say Astrocade is technically superior to both the Odyssey2/Videopac and the Signetics 2636-based systems)

What you should be cautious about are memory cards with more than the standard 15 blocks. They have a nasty tendency to lose saves, also they are incompatible with the PS2s because Sony changed the way the controller interface works.

Because only a subset of Atari 5200 owners would also own Trakball controllers, and Atari 5200 owners were in turn only a small minority among Atari console owners.

Any system up to the GameCube will have analog video output solely. The first revision GameCube had a non-standard digital video connector. It can not be used directly with any TV or monitor to my knowledge, and needs to be combined with the proprietary component cable, which contains its own chip for conversion to analog video.