onmode-ky
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Posts posted by onmode-ky
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Unfortunately, I can't post a link because I can't find any reference to it anywhere online. I described the contents of the system in this post in the Atari Flashback 64 thread (kind of strange that the only Sonic game is Spinball). It's available at Walmart stores, but I couldn't find a listing for it on their website. I can tell you that the box doesn't look markedly different from AtGames' box for the 80-in-1, just with the number "60" on it instead of "80," and wired controllers in the photo.
And in looking for a picture of last year's box, I've found two more AtGames Genesis systems that I think are new for 2013--sort of. This 90-in-1 (whose listing appears to have been around since early in the year) and this 92-in-1 have the word "Deluxe" on the box, but they appear to be just the 80-in-1 packaged along with a 10-in-1 or 12-in-1 cartridge, respectively. And the contents of the extra carts are not more Sega games (so you still only get the 40 that the 80-in-1 had), nor any other retro content, but rather just generic unlicensed stuff; the 12-in-1's titles are "dino games," yay! I'm not sure if I should add these two to my list. Sure, I tracked Jakks Pacific's "system + GameKey" bundles back in the day, but the extra carts here just contain random shovelware, rather than actual new content.
onmode-ky
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but the CHEAP part of me wants to make one out of the plug and play 7800 and 2600 I already have. Wouldn't need carts then (or have to buy another 7800) and could just keep some Genesis controllers in the thing.
But then it would be emulation so....I dunno.
Plug-n-play 7800 and 2600? Do you mean the Atari Flashback (the first model in the series, that looks like a mini 7800)? If so, that's not emulation, because [there's no translation going on, and] those aren't really 7800 or 2600 games; they're ports to that system's Novatek NT6578 NES-on-a-chip microcontroller. Basically, they're NES games. And that, I suppose, means you should play them on the lovely NES stand that you've already built.
For future clarity on the term, "emulation" in computing vocabulary specifically refers to the real-time translation of software of one instruction set so that it runs on hardware of a different instruction set. E.g., running NES ROMs on your x86 PC. It does not encompass either:
- games ported to (i.e., rewritten for) a different instruction set, running on hardware of that instruction set (Jakks Pacific's Atari joystick plug-n-play system (but not their paddle system) follows this model)
- games running natively on hardware that speaks the same instruction set, even if that hardware is wildly different in physical implementation from "the original" (the Atari Flashback 2 and 2+ are like this, as are many Sega SMS/GG and Genesis plug-n-play systems)
onmode-ky
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Very cool! I love collectors editions! My $20 pre-order appears to still be honored. They sent me an email about it a few days ago, basically saying it still hasn't been released yet.
Did the e-mail include the price? If not, you might want to log in and check your order details to verify. Also, I'm not sure if you got confused by my post, but just in case, what was getting listed as $20 was the standard edition. The limited edition I posted about above is an NIS America Online Store exclusive.
In NISA's most recent e-mail newsletters ("Prinny Bomb" mails, like this one), the little preorder ad for The Witch and the Hundred Knight has the following caption:
Hundred Knight, I feel bad for you, son.
You got 99 problems and that Witch is one!
I don't like that song, but I thought the caption was very funny and clever.
onmode-ky
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We've come (pretty much) to the end of 2013, and it was indeed the deadest year in plug-n-play in a long time. After Black Friday, Jakks Pacific's Duck Commander and Star Wars Clone Trooper light gun games were joined in the 2013 new product lineup by two AtGames releases, the Atari Flashback 64 and a 60-in-1 version of the Sega Genesis Classic Game Console (both being wired-controller, fewer-games versions of 2012 AtGames products, namely the Atari Flashback 4 and the 80-in-1 Genesis, respectively). So, at 4 new systems, 2013 matches 2003, when Jakks Pacific also released 2 products (the first Namco and SpongeBob SquarePants TV Games systems), as did Techno Source (Intellivision 10 and 25).
There's no way to know how full or empty 2014 will be for the plug-n-play market right now, but at least the outlook seems bright for retro video games fans. AtGames will have the original 3-way video game battle on stage, with their Intellivision and ColecoVision plug-n-play systems joining their Atari Flashback series. With any luck, those will be executed well. Also of note, AtGames will be releasing phone apps for Intellivision and ColecoVision, thus covering both home and mobile arenas. As for other plug-n-play systems besides AtGames', well, I'd like to see something besides just light gun games.
Incidentally, coming shortly after my 8th AtariAge anniversary, this is my 500th post.
It took 4 years to reach my 100th post, so I seem to have pushed the Turbo button somewhere along the way.onmode-ky
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That's just the original Pac-Man, hacked so that the game initializes with Board 255 as the first board, instead of, you know, Board 1. You play Board 255 and then view the kill screen that is Board 256, where the right half is a jumble of graphical garbage. Well, I say "view," but you can play Board 256, minus the expectation of ever clearing it.
Technically speaking, I'd expect the ROM for the game to be exactly the same as normal Pac-Man, except for the value of a single byte. This collection isn't really 12 games, but rather 11 games + 1 shortcut to the end of one of the 11 games.
Incidentally, a couple of months ago, I got a chance to see the inside of one of these units. Sadly, there was no text anywhere that identified the processor at the heart of the machine. All I could identify was an 8-MB SDRAM module. There were two glob-tops, presumably the microcontroller and the ROM module containing the software. Considering the size of the games, even if they were all ports (so that they all ran on the same architecture), 8 MB of RAM is way more than you'd need . . . if the CPU were running them directly. I surmise, then, that the large RAM area indicates that there really is an emulation layer at work, translating each game to the system's native language, whatever it is, in real time. Can anyone tell me if my reasoning is sound?
onmode-ky
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mk so I looked up the 6578 and what little I found on it, it seems to be a generic 6502 core micro, with ram and rom, intergrated video (undescribed) and a generic gate array (aka small fpga)
Can you post your source on the generic gate array part?
NOAC that was used in the first model of Atari Flashback is the Novatek NT6578 chip
yea cause a 2600, 7800, NES and a Colby picture frame all have identical hardware originally, that should have been your fist tip off that it is not a from the ground up ASIC repoduction of the original hardware, its a half breed partically recreated in software and gate logic
I was not saying that the Atari Flashback ran VCS/2600 binaries on a NOAC, which seems to be what you thought I meant, given your reference to the 2600 above. The first model Flashback ran NES ports of Atari games, because the games needed to utilize the capabilities of the NOAC. It could not run 2600 code.
And speaking of NOAC capabilities, I have attached the datasheet for the SinoWealth SH6578 chip to this post. If you can point out where in the specifications there is a generic gate array (which surely would be mentioned in the manufacturer datasheet, no?), rather than unmodifiable hardware components, I will concede this argument. In the meantime, I will quote the portions of the datasheet that specifically mimic the NES' video and audio systems:
Page 1
- "Resolution: 256 x 240 pixels"
- "64 sprites in one frame"
- "64 color palettes out of 53 display colors"
- "Audio: SH6578 supports 3 melody channels, one noise generator, and one PCM voice channel."
Page 9
- "Each sprite is composed of 8 x 8 or 8 x 16 pixels"
Page 10
- the diagram on this page shows that the 64-color palette (only 53 are usable for TV display, same as the NES PPU) is defined via 2 bits for luminance and 4 bits for color (2 ^ (2+4) = 64)
Page 20
- "The waveform of channel 1, 2 are square wave. Channel- 3's is a triangle wave, and channel 4 is a noise generator."
If you look at the datasheet itself, you can see specific details of how the SH6578 video and audio systems work, what pins are for what, what registers are for what, etc. I'm not an NES programmer, but I'm confident that all those details are the same as for the NES (minus whatever differences render NOACs not fully compatible).
If all the above characteristics were merely gate array logic, why would they be in a manufacturer-published datasheet as hard-defined, unmodifiable attributes? This chip is an ASIC specification, meant for high volume mass production, to be used to run end-user programs, with inputs including joysticks, that output to a television. Those programs happen to NES compatible, and thus, this is a NES-on-a-chip.
If the manufacturing volumes I described in my previous post and even the chip's datasheet are not enough to convince you that the NOAC is an ASIC, then please tell me what further proof you require. I'd ask our resident chip designer Curt to step in and discuss this with you, but he seems to be away from AtariAge right now.
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NIS America now has the limited edition of this game up for preorder at their online store, and WOW, it's a whopping $75. Their price for the standard edition (also now up for preorder there) is $50, unlike the $40 that was at Amazon.com until recently (and definitely unlike the $20 mistake noted earlier in this thread). I guess the Nendoroid Petite figure accounts for most of the price spike on the limited edition.
onmode-ky
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I call it neither, its not just software emulating a system, nor is it really a clone, cause who in their right mind is going to design and produce chip level hardware to mimic a 20 something year old machine. I suspect most of it is FPGA technology which is a software description of the original hardware running on a generic gate array. It may be masked to do this, making it seem like some magical chip but its not
more expensive than designing an entire system on a chip, having it fabricated, tested, tweaked, having it fabricated, found a bug, change design, having it fabricated? I think you over estimate the capaicity of jim bob's knock off shop in china's willpower, financial status, and connections to accomplish a feat like that
As Atariboy has said already, NOACs are ASICs, not FPGAs. If you want specifics, the NOAC that was used in the first model of Atari Flashback is the Novatek NT6578 chip. Another known NOAC is the SinoWealth SH6578. Look them up if you want. I don't know why you think Chinese semiconductor factories are limited to "jim bob's knock off shop" rather than actual IC manufacturers.
As for "who in their right mind is going to design and produce chip level hardware to mimic a 20 something year old machine," I suppose Curt Vendel must really not have been in his right mind when he designed and produced the Michele ASIC in 2005, when the Atari VCS/2600 was nearly 30 years old, for the Atari Flashback 2. Atari produced 860,000 of them. Doesn't seem like a good fit for FPGA.
They've probably made over a million of these things over the years
Was that a typo? You seem to be shooting a bit low.
As I noted over in the AtGames Intellivision plug-n-play topic, Techno Source produced about 4 million NOAC-based Intellivision plug-n-play systems between 2003 and 2005. The first Atari Flashback must have sold somewhat comparable numbers to the Flashback 2, considering it greenlit its successor project. Let's somewhat conservatively call the running total 4.5 million. And at this point, we haven't included Techno Source's other NOAC-based plug-n-play systems (card games, Coleco LED remakes), Radica's non-Sega plug-n-play systems (Tetris and Taito--I think these were NOACs), Majesco's NOAC-based 2004 plug-n-play lineup (Konami, Frogger standalone, casino), Dreamgear's and Senario's plug-n-play lines (Jungletac et al.), and, oh yes, the flood of pirate Famiclones over the past decade-plus. I think 5 million as an estimate of the global total would absolutely have to be on the low side. Definitely not numbers suited for FPGA.Going back to the original question (sorry I'm late, Atariboy), I think recommending that your acquaintance do a Google search for "noac" and "6578" should be a sufficient start. If he still doesn't believe you, then . . . shake your head and sigh heavily.
onmode-ky
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I'm late seeing this topic, but I have thoughts I'd like to add to the discussion.
The HYPERSCAN was an innovative system that Mattel stupidly(debatable) used as a test to get back in the market but not putting too much effort in advertising and retail carrying. Oh and third party support.
It was advertised on television during children's programming with at least 2 different commercials (one normal commercial and one "hey look, kids just like you trying out the Hyperscan love it!" commercial), and it was sold at retailers including Walmart, Target, and Toys 'R Us. It doesn't get much bigger than that. Stock was available at Walmart, Target, and Toys 'R Us for quite a long time, because they were just plain not selling. I recall seeing one of the stores putting the system on clearance (MSRP $70) for below $25, and they still couldn't clear out that stock very quickly.
As for third-party support, of course there was none, because Mattel didn't intend for there to be any. And, considering that the system bombed, what third-party developers or publishers would even try to get on board with the system?
The rumored amount of sales was 500,000 with most sales being from launch and a few select months after(before the price cut).
Where are you getting that sales figure? Searching "hyperscan" and "500,000" on Google brings up only this discussion topic as a valid result.
Has anyone here seen or played the system? What did you think?
While I saw the system languishing on store shelves quite often during 2006, I never saw it in operation. An acquaintance of mine in another forum owned one himself, and his experience was apparently similar to that depicted in Classic Game Room's reviews of the system and its games (example here). Namely, the success rate of scanning the cards is pretty poor, and the load times are excruciatingly long. The games are unremarkable.
I've spoken to at least 3 people who were involved in games development for the Hyperscan. One described the hardware as "too flaky" and also cited the cripplingly slow CD-ROM drive, which he said was double-speed at best, as a serious flaw. Another noted that the RFID scanner technology was unreliable (both these issues are thoroughly demonstrated in the YouTube clip I linked above), and the games were terrible due to development that was rushed while programmers were still in the midst of learning to program for the new SPG290 processor. They didn't even have adequate dev hardware when they started; before the processor was ready, development had to be done on FPGA boards that ran at a fraction of the final chip's actual speed. "Painful" was how he characterized those efforts.
Mattel screwed up, yes, but it wasn't marketing that really did the system in. The hardware was just not ready for prime time, and it didn't have any compelling software support. Why is Skylanders a money machine for Activision, in contrast? The hardware works reliably, and the game is actually decent.
Since they sold so little, it would be cool to have one even if it does end up being rubbish, but I'm easily entertained so I'll probably find something good on it.
Some time ago, there was a topic about what game system is the cheapest when it comes to completing a full collection for it. I nominated the Hyperscan, because you can get a system, every game (even the comparatively rare final release), and maybe even a second controller for a total of about $100.
Really? I haven't been paying much attention to this segment of the market, but... really? I honestly don't see these systems having much staying power... there are even some designed for toddlers, and I imagine they'd be eager to cast them aside for something more advanced once they were out of diapers.
As I understand it, Leapfrog has fleshed out their product line at this point such that when your child outgrows one system, they move on to Leapfrog's system for their new age group. In terms of being disposable, you could say the same for pretty much any early childhood toy. Incidentally, Leapfrog is still very much in business; there's definitely a market for their products.
onmode-ky
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Intellivision Lives sold a million plug-n-play units, how many people read this forum?
I got curious about the sales numbers, so I looked into it. According to the press release announcing the Intellivision 10 2nd Edition plug-n-play units, the combined sales of the previous 3 products in Techno Source's line did not surpass the units sold number of the original Intellivision (and they were using 3.2 million for that number), but that figure was expected to be surpassed with the release of 2nd Edition. So, it wasn't too far away at that time. Next, the Intellivision Lives history page notes that by Christmas 2005 (the year of 2nd Edition's release), the combined sales of the line had in fact crossed the original Intellivision sales total and approached 4 million. I couldn't find any data for sales beyond that Christmas, but I'd guess they were not too significant, so 4 million sounds like a good rough figure for the final tally. I think 5 million or above would be pretty unlikely, considering that 2006 was a year of decline for plug-n-play in general. If we go with 4 million, then, the average for each member of the product line is 1 million.
I e-mailed both Techno Source and Intellivision Lives for more solid numbers, but I never got a response. Actually, it seems I only sent the latter an inquiry about the status of Night Stalker Gen2 (supposed to have been released in PlayStation Home by now, joining the existing Astrosmash Gen2 and Shark! Shark! Gen2 from about a year ago), but in any case, I never got a response. No answer at their toll-free number, either.
onmode-ky
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93,470. Fun, light game (which really makes it the odd one out among the rest of Midway Arcade Treasures), but I have some nitpicks:
- that the grease blobs suddenly decrease your viscosity and make you go sliding around at high speed when you're trying to be precise.
- that the broom is so finicky to aim.
- that the maid seems to not give up the broom sometimes--how are you supposed to guarantee getting it? Hit her from a specific angle?
onmode-ky
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I saw this system at a Walmart store yesterday and noticed something interesting printed on the side:
The versions of SPACE INVADERS, JUNGLE HUNT, FRONT LINE, and POLARIS included in the Atari Flashback® 64 are based on those created for the ATARI 2600® and therefore may differ in appearance and performance from the original arcade and console editions developed by TAITO Corporation.
Was this printed on the FB4 box, too? If it's something new with the FB64, then it seems like a specific statement that the Space Invaders in the system is the original 2600 game this time, rather than the arcade-styled rendition that was on the FB4. Can someone check it out? I'm also curious about how the system's menu looks; Bill Loguidice's videos showed that the FB4's menu was very different from the FB3's, so I'm wondering if things got changed again. The FB4 used a layout that limited the character length for game titles, resulting in things like Human Cannonball being just "Cannonball" and coming before Canyon Bomber in the alphabetical listing.
Alongside the system at the Walmart was a new 60-game edition of AtGames' Sega Genesis line, made up of 20 games by Sega and 40 generics (made by Tectoy or AtGames, I assume). The 20 Sega games (listed in the not-entirely-alphabetical order in which they're shown on the back of the box) are:
Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle
Altered Beast
Alien Storm
Arrow Flash
Bonanza Brothers
Columns
Crack Down
DecapAttack
ESWAT: City under Siege
Fatal Labyrinth
Flicky
Gain Ground
Golden Axe
Golden Axe III
Jewel Master
Shadow Dancer: The Secret of Shinobi
Sonic the Hedgehog Spinball
Streets of Rage
Streets of Rage 2
Virtua Fighter 2
If the 40 generics are the same ones as what were on the 80-game system from last year, then this system seems to be essentially the same but missing half of its predecessor's Sega library. If AtGames releases no other product before the end of the month, their entire 2013 new product lineup will have consisted of just a pair of cut-down versions of things they released in 2012. . . .
onmode-ky
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I dare say your fiancee stumbled across something that is totally new to the retro community. Even Bill Loguidice, who previewed AtGames' Flashbacks 3 and 4, doesn't seem to have known about it; he's been in contact with the company with regards to their in-progress Intellivision and ColecoVision projects, but this FB64 is out for sale already without a preview from him.
It seems odd that they subtitled it "Special Edition," considering it actually claims to have fewer games than the FB4 (whose formerly Bed Bath & Beyond-exclusive 76-game model (adds Millipede) seems to be out in other retailers this year). And what's with making a "64" Atari Flashback that isn't based on the Jaguar?
Anyway, tell us everything about it that you can, please. So far, the only thing I found is that a website out there is selling it for twice the normal price of the FB4. . . . Must be pretty Special.
onmode-ky
P.S. When you say "the other day," how long ago was that? I'd like to nail down as precise a "first sighting date" as possible in my records.
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Used a mouse: 82,860. Using the keyboard was just horrendous. The mouse wasn't great, but it was at least significantly better than the keyboard.
onmode-ky
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As noted by others, this was a product released last year. It's definitely not only available from Sam's Club. The "Sam's Club Exclusive" element, judging from that sticker on the box, seems to be just the fact that it includes the AC adapter and A/V-out cable. The system itself is unchanged, still the same set of games running on the RK2 Genesis-on-a-chip.
Incidentally, is it possible for you to edit the title of this topic? "Sam's Club Exclusive" as a title really doesn't give a lot of useful info on what this topic is actually about. I mean, hey, it could be a barbecue grill . . . that runs a port of BurgerTime.
onmode-ky
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Dollar General will have these for $28 on Thanksgiving. This year, it will have 76 games, including Millipede.
It isn't so much a "this year" model as much as it is last year's Bed Bath & Beyond exclusive (i.e., including Millipede) now available beyond Bed Bath & . . . uh, Beyond. Whatever AtGames is planning for further development in Atari Flashbacks, it isn't reaching retail in time for Black Friday 2013.
onmode-ky
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They had a Xbox Live store a few years back. Didn't last very long.
Amazon.com used to sell PSN voucher codes as well a few years ago. I have PSN codes in my Amazon.com account ranging from October 2009 through February 2011. I think Amazon discontinued it around the time of the PSN hack, for reasons undisclosed.
I would definitely use it for gifting and of course whatever discounts you can get with Amazon. I wonder if Sony will police the sales at all...it would be nice to see price drops on Amazon that are not on the PSN store.
Gifting is the main benefit of this, definitely. I don't think we can expect sales pricing separate from the PS Store itself. The best deal I got buying a game through Amazon was a pricing error, where they listed a full game for the same cost as each of the 4 component parts of the game (Hot Shots Shorties, PSP), when it was supposed to be 3x that.
A big problem, though, is the tiny selection. I wonder why they didn't at least reactivate the large number of product entries they used to have for PSN content from the first time they had it available. Those old entries are still there, like this one, just disabled from purchase availability and left out of search results.
onmode-ky
Edit: I retract what I said about discounts being unlikely. Already, I see a bit of discounting on the prices of some PS3 games, particularly the ones which are also sold on disc. And, the Fatal Frame and Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly PS2 Classics are only $4 each. As far as I can recall, none of this stuff is on sale in the PS Store itself right now (though those were the Fatal Frame games' prices during a sale a few weeks ago).
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65,400(see Edit). I first played this a couple of years ago, when it released as a Mini for the PSP/PS3. Before that, I first heard of it only in 2004 or 2005, around when a press release by Jakks Pacific announced that they had licensed the game, and a few others from SNK's early days, for an SNK TV Games plug-n-play system (one that was never released and, to my knowledge, never even got as far as actually being worked on by a developer). While I personally had no experience with the game at that time, a coworker of mine reminisced about how it was one of his favorites back in the day.Fun game, but I wish it didn't jump to the next environment so abruptly.
onmode-ky
Edit: I played a bit more: 66,910. Still not enough to catch Deteacher, darn it!
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Rantmedia's Kickstarter might have failed, but it wasn't the only effort to bring ColecoVision to mobile. AtGames announced their "mobile, online and retail" agreement for ColecoVision products about a month ago. The retail part of that refers to the plug-n-play sector of which AtGames has been a part for the past few years, first with Sega SMS/GG and Genesis systems, and then more recently with licensing the Flashback name from Atari for the emulation-based FB3 and FB4 (their Sega systems have mostly been built on system-on-a-chip implementations of the SMS/GG and Genesis, not emulation). This ColecoVision project is alongside the Intellivision project they announced a couple of weeks prior, so AtGames has now snagged licenses with all 3 of the major pre-Crash market players. Er, I wouldn't hold my breath for them going after Channel F, Studio II, Odyssey2, etc. . . . but yes, they're working on ColecoVision for mobile, among other things. No crowd-funding asked, either.
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I apologize for butting in out of the blue, but Anthony, I don't think you should start a new topic for every update about this game. Wouldn't it make more sense to have just one Neo XYX topic where all discussion took place, rather than having all your news and conversations about the game scattered across a bunch of threads? There would be less clutter in the forum index, too; I mean, you've started 3 topics about this game just in the past 2 weeks. Why not let one of them grow instead of abandoning it and making another, as if you're Sega releasing Genesis add-on modules?
onmode-ky
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This game was first announced quite a while ago, but then it got hit with a huge delay. In fact, I'd thought it was still in development even now, but it seems it was, in fact, released this summer in Japan. The delay was still very long, though, as it was originally planned to be out at the beginning of last year.
Anyway, a few days ago, NIS America put up this poll for people to vote on what images will be on the inside face of the cover inlay. I was confused by their wording at first, but I think this is what's up: the front and back covers visible in an unopened copy of the game are already chosen, by NIS America themselves, and what you're voting on here are the front and back covers of the reverse side of the inlay--the top pick image will be the reverse's front cover, and the runner-up will be the reverse's back cover.
Personally, I'd like to see choice #3 as the reverse's front cover, with choice #4 (those little things look a little like Patapons!) as the reverse's back cover.
An interesting detail to glean from this poll: the official English title is The Witch and the Hundred Knight, not The Witch and the Hundred Knights. I wonder why that is.
onmode-ky
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214,500. Probably won't have time to try again later in the week.
onmode-ky
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My UMD copy of this arrived a week ago. For the most part, it looks like a typical UMD case, but the back cover has no description text whatsoever; it's just the wraparound of the front cover's background image, with the required legal and logo stuff at the bottom. On the plastic wrap (which is just a vacuum seal, not a Y-fold), there is a holographic Gaijinworks sticker in the upper left corner of the back cover, a sticker which is also on a Certificate of Perspicacity that came packaged with the UMD. The sticker is individually numbered (identical between the UMD case one and the one on the certificate, of course) for each of the ~3000 copies of the game.
The certificate reads:
This certificate hereby verifies your impeccable taste in Japanese Role-Playing Games, hinting at a pattern of boundless philanthropy and possibly a bit of mania in support of the genre. It proves that your taste in jRPGs is without peer or reproach. Your enthusiastic support of Class of Heroes 2 will allow more virtual academic institutions for young adventurers to spring up, ensuring the advent of more engrossing quests for gamers who savor the flavor of digital danger.
Also, there are sprinklings of Latin at the borders. The lower left corner has "Anno Domini MMXIII" ("In the Year of the Lord 2013," of course). The left side has "Fac fortia et patere" (I had to look this up: "Do brave deeds and endure"). The right side says, "Vincit omnia veritas" ("Truth conquers all"). The bottom is where the fun stuff is. Across the bottom, there's "Quidquid latine dictum sit altum videtur"; my amateur translation for this is "That which is said in Latin is viewed highly." The phrase is split a bit oddly, between "dictum" and "sit" (the latter being the verb for everything prior to it), and what is it that splits them? "MMMDCXCIX." That's the price of the UMD, 3699 cents.
The bottom right seems to have a picture of a ninjutsu hand position. Someone was having fun.Incidentally, while this is the lowest North American UMD print run (not including that Hilton training UMD), the lowest UMD print run in the world seems to be the 300 copies of Elminage Original published by Ghostlight recently over in Europe.
onmode-ky
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Regarding the RedKid series of chips that AtGames has been using in its Sega Genesis compilation plug-n-play systems, I found a claim in a Sega-16.com thread last year that it's actually derived from the single-chip Genesis implementation that Radica created for their Arcade Legends (later renamed "Play TV Legends") Genesis systems in cooperation with Sega Toys (who sold them in Japan). There was no concrete proof given on that point, but the user did give a link to the summary of a lawsuit that he/she claimed led to that development. Starting from there, I found a partial trail that does seem to support the claim.
The lawsuit cited is the only easily locatable part of a series of lawsuits, probably because it's the only one in a US District Court, rather than a California state court. The legal action story seems to start with Radica filing suit against AtGames. There is no date given for that action in this August 2005 SEC filing, but it says:
Previously, Radica Macao had filed suit in the California Superior Court, Los Angeles County, West District, against the attorneys representing AtGames. The Radica Macao complaint alleged misappropriation of trade secrets, conversion and unfair business practices. This suit has recently been settled on terms satisfactory to Radica Macao which are designed to protect its proprietary information.
The "previously" in that is in relation to the filing's primary topic, other legal conflict between Radica and AtGames during 2005 (which I'm about to get to). What we do get dates for, combining the US District Court case's summary and the SEC filing, are the following (note that the undated "previously" suit likely took place after some of these dated events, particularly the first one):
- January 4, 2005: AtGames obtains an exclusive OEM license from Sega for their old platforms' software library.
- March 2005: AtGames sublicenses some Sega titles to Jakks Pacific (almost undoubtedly for plug-n-play purposes). Recall that Digital Eclipse converted a few EA Sports Genesis titles to the Sunplus SPG110 for Jakks Pacific. I don't know precisely when that was done (though Jakks' EA license acquisition itself was announced in July 2004), but a January 2005 Amazon.com user review proves it was released earlier than this action. As the conversion was primarily done via an automated, custom tool (created by noted Atari 8-bit programmer John Harris), further Genesis projects likely could have been done with minimal resource investment. The Genesis library was thus probably that much more attractive to Jakks--or, well, maybe Jakks would have just used AtGames' Titan hardware, but I think it would not have been to their satisfaction.
- March 2005: AtGames sends a letter to Radica, challenging their exclusive plug-n-play Sega license. Radica meets with Sega and threatens them with legal action if Sega allows AtGames' Jakks agreement to proceed. Sega decides to side with Radica.
- April 2005: AtGames commences arbitration against Sega, scheduled to begin in November 2005.
- June 13, 2005: AtGames launches a civil suit against Radica in California Superior Court, "alleging intentional interference with contract and unfair competition."
- July 12, 2005: Radica files to get the action moved to federal court, based on a legal convention about foreign arbitral awards.
- October 7, 2005: US District Court grants AtGames' motion to remand back to state court, based on the fact that no arbitration agreement exists between Radica and AtGames.
That's all I have, unfortunately. Nothing about what actually happened during the AtGames-Sega arbitration. What the Sega-16.com forum user asserts is that the settlement resulted in a sharing agreement between Radica and AtGames, including Radica's Genesis hardware forming a new base on which AtGames built their subsequent Genesis products.
There is one AtGames-side element that vaguely supports this assertion. My LinkedIn quote in post #40 of this thread, from the AtGames engineer, says about the RK/RK2 (RedKid) chips, "Conducted technology transfer." When read with no context, this phrase could have many possible meanings. With Radica added into the picture, though, it suddenly could refer to the transfer of Radica's Genesis technology to AtGames, then getting modified to become RedKid.
Therefore, it does seem quite possible that AtGames' 2012 Sega Genesis plug-n-play systems are direct descendents of Radica's 2004 Arcade Legends Genesis line. An interesting find! Radica itself, meanwhile, was bought by Mattel in 2006 and is no longer in the plug-n-play market (they do other tech toys for Mattel now).
onmode-ky
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Dollar General Sega Genesis handheld
in Dedicated Systems
Posted
I assume you're talking about AtGames' portable from last year that has 40 generic games, 37 Sega games, and a trio of Street Fighter and Mega Man games. Well, whatever combination of games are on it, it's one of AtGames' systems that runs on their RedKid (RK) or newer RK2 Genesis-on-a-chip implementations. The general consensus seems to be that these do have some compatibility issues, of varying degrees. Mind you, I have no direct experience with them myself, and all I can tell you is that their poor sound fidelity would keep me away if I were in the market for one. It seems like a lot of people don't particularly mind the sound channels being out of tune, but it's really jarring to my ears.
If you do decide to get one, I think Rite Aid stores were advertising them for $30 next week. They were definitely advertising some AtGames something for $30.
onmode-ky