Retrode SNES/Genesis USB player?

[nathanallan]

Not sure if anyone knows abotu this or not, had to pass it on.

 

http://www.retrode.org/store/store.php

 

Looks really neat and would work great on any emulator, but I have other ideas for it (if I am ever able to buy one); has anyone else heard of this one??

[jeremysart]

You have to click on a region to get to the page you posted, might confuse some folk. http://www.retrode.org/wordpress/products/retrode-golden-edition/

Anyway, that's pretty interesting.

So you use it to play SNES games through the computer? Im not so sure I get it

[nathanallan]

oops, thanks for fixing that link for me. I think it's for playing via an emulator, or more likely dumping carts. Here is what the email I got said:

 

Dear Retrode Enthusiasts,

 

Again, there has been a lot of things going on, but for now I will stick

to the most important piece of news and leave the rest for the March

issue:

 

(1) Retrode available for sale - online store (beta) opens

 

That's right: anyone can now order a Retrode and a few other useful and/or

fancy items. Don't miss the T-shirts I tried to keep it really simple:

no shopping cart and stuff, just a very basic 4-step ordering form with

PayPal checkout or payment via bank transfer for the EU folks.

 

That said, everything is still in "beta" stage, and some more finetuning

may or may not be needed to provide a smooth service. Therefore I don't

want to announce this on the homepage yet. Feel free to browse around,

order a Retrode or two (I've got plenty in stock), but please don't tell

Engadget or Slashdot If you run into something fishy, please drop me a

line so I can fix it.

SNES, Super Famicom, Genesis and Mega Drive. If it gets done right, and I don't see much of any other way, it can be used to rip carts (???). Again, not sure. Seems it's meant for emulation.

[tz101]

From what I read it seems that this device allows the user to play his/her legal SNES/Genesis game carts through their emulation program on PC. The only thing I am left wondering is how the interface works. Most emulators have a default folder for ROM image storage. How is emulator "XYZ" going to know to look for the Retrode device as its ROM source? Might be a good question to ask the people selling this gadget prior to purchase.

[nathanallan]

I browsed a bit more on the site, and found a FAQ, answered exactly that question.

 

http://www.retrode.org/wordpress/documentation/faq/

 

Seems the computer sees it as a read-only USB drive and lets you rip carts. Not too shabby!

 

/edit This is my favorite question from the FAQ:

 

Q: Who are you?

 

A: During daytime, I am an ordinary student who lives an unsuspicious life in southwestern Germany. As the night falls, however, I turn into a Geek God who builds atom bombs.

Edited March 1, 2010 by nathanallan

[Video]

Wow, I mustget one. I wouldn't mind ripping a few of my carts (especially the harder to find good dumps of games) Must get one.....but uh...anyone have any experience with it? It would be nice to know if it really worked, or what didn't work on it (like if FX games refused to run on it, etc)

 

Also, is this a real site, or some seedy fly by night shit?

Edited March 1, 2010 by Video

[jeremysart]

Its too bad you cant also play the games with this device. Imagine how much of a show off you could be when you integrate an SNES/ Genesis cartridge port into your flashy monster PC tower. "Hey guys, guess what else my computer does".. clunk!

[tz101]

Also, is this a real site, or some seedy fly by night shit?

 

How do we find out? Somebody on this thread takes a risk and orders one?

[Wickeycolumbus]

Cool! A bit pricey though.

[fiddlepaddle]

Its too bad you cant also play the games with this device. Imagine how much of a show off you could be when you integrate an SNES/ Genesis cartridge port into your flashy monster PC tower. "Hey guys, guess what else my computer does".. clunk!

I don't know why you couldn't, as long as it works as advertised. The description sounds perfectly reasonable: it just turns a cartridge into a read-only USB hard disk. I don't know how much it would cost in dollars, though. Is the Euro dropping faster than the dollar? If it's a student, it may not be available very long, although the guy sounds serious about more development. Still, I would think of it as a gamble at this point (and sending money out of the country is always a little risky).

[Matthias_H]

Its too bad you cant also play the games with this device. Imagine how much of a show off you could be when you integrate an SNES/ Genesis cartridge port into your flashy monster PC tower. "Hey guys, guess what else my computer does".. clunk!

I don't know why you couldn't, as long as it works as advertised.

"Play the games with this device" in the sense of loading them into an emulator - sure, that's exactly what the Retrode is for. With about 60 units in circulation, I have yet to get my first complaint. A user report about another 125 games just came in, resulting in a total of 314 confirmed SNES and Genesis titles. Besides, I know that some folks plan to integrate their Retrodes into some superduperkiller gaming machines.

 

I don't know how much it would cost in dollars, though.

http://www.google.com/#q=60+eur+in+usd :-)

 

If you have any questions, feel free to ask me.

Matthias

Edited March 3, 2010 by Matthias_H

[Video]

Well, knowing would be the difference between buying 1, or half a dozen (I know a few friends who know a few friends etc )

 

Damn...81 dollars, probably not though, maybe two though. What payments though? I don't deal in Money overseas, but I might set up apaypal or something...

 

Oh, HEY DUDE! so, what do you know about it?

 

One question I would have, if it works with Genesis....could I also perhaps Rip a Sega Master System game with the thing? (if not direct, through a Super Gear converter) Hmm...similar question for Gameboy games, since I can play them on the SNES with the SGB device.

Edited March 3, 2010 by Video

[nathanallan]

Hiya Matthias! (he sounds like the developer of the USB-Cart player). Glad you found atariage, and hope these things do really good. I have to say, the price is a bit too much for me to get right now, as cool as it really does sound. I still want one, but will end up having to wait.

 

Will there be multiple runs of them? I want to get one eventually. I have... ideas for them.

 

Nathan

[StoneAgeGamer]

If you are looking for a North American distributor PM me.

[nathanallan]

If you are looking for a North American distributor PM me.

:thumbsup:

[Matthias_H]

One question I would have, if it works with Genesis....could I also perhaps Rip a Sega Master System game with the thing? (if not direct, through a Super Gear converter) Hmm...similar question for Gameboy games, since I can play them on the SNES with the SGB device.

Short answer: Here and now, no.

Long answer: It really depends on how "transparent" these devices are with respect to the cartridge contents. For the SGB, for instance, the SNES only sees the 256kByte ROM that constitutes the Game Boy border. The Sega Power Base might be a different story since Master System carts plugged into it are actually processed by the Mega Drive/Genesis, so the cart ROM must be available through the Genesis slot somehow. Still, in order to add support for it in the firmware, I would need to get my hands on such a device. On the other hand, I am trying to come up with dedicated plug-in adapters for the Retrode that would allow for the insertion of other games. Atari 2600 is already working okay for some games (schematic is online, so get your prototyping breadboard and a handful of wires and you can easily build one), and N64 and the Game Boys should be next once I find an elegant solution for managing the different voltages. Once the Retrode has a certain user base, and if some programmers out there are interested, I might consider releasing the source for its firmware so anyone can add new features.

 

Hiya Matthias! (he sounds like the developer of the USB-Cart player). Glad you found atariage, and hope these things do really good. I have to say, the price is a bit too much for me to get right now, as cool as it really does sound. I still want one, but will end up having to wait. Will there be multiple runs of them? I want to get one eventually. I have... ideas for them.

Sorry, but there's not much I can do about your worthless currency As for the price, developing the Retrode and bringing the hardware to its current state wasn't actually cheap, and of course the production itself ain't free either. I already had a lot more made than I should have, in order to get the right connectors and at least some volume benefit. Anyway, as long as I am sitting on the first batch, I cannot guarantee that there will be a second one.

 

Then again, I think with the Retrode you really get a lot for your money. Just add the cost of two flash cart programmers (Tototek / Mash-Mods), and you're already way above the Retrode's price. And these things are much more of a pain to use, unless you're into command line tools, printer port data transfers, proprietary drivers for exactly one operating system, autorouted circuits with sawn-off connectors, and the likes. But, you know, that's just, like, my opinion, man...

 

Cheers,

Matthias

[nathanallan]

Matthias,

 

It's totally worth every penny you ask for, and hopefully I'll have a lucky break soon and be able to get one. See, these types of things are definitely affordable, but The Boss (The Wife) gets a say-so over my toy-spending, so I have to wait on it till I get a lucky break and fix a doozy of something.

 

Definitely worth every penny/farthing/Euro whatever the currency.

[jeremysart]

Wow, definitely a cool product. Matthias, with the proper promotion of this product, I sincerely think it could take you a long way. I seems like something that could easily get big in the retro gaming community, and or picked up by a distributor.

If there is a second run or one available a few months down the road, I would love to pick one up, especially if there are going to be add ons or more products with other game cartridge slots for other systems.

 

Keep up the good work

[StoneAgeGamer]

Matthias and I have come to an agreement and Stone Age Gamer will soon be carrying Retrode. We did not order many to start with, but if these sell well we will make sure to get a bigger shipment in the second time around. I am not sure how well they will sell so I didn't want to carry too many to start with. I don't have any specific pricing information yet.

 

The unit price will be more than you can buy them from Matthias, however shipping will be significantly cheaper. In the end it should be cheaper for you to buy them from Stone Age Gamer if you live in the U.S. (and possibly Canada) if you count the shipping costs + unit price. I will let everyone know when we get them in.

[StoneAgeGamer]

We now have Retrode for sale on our site here: http://stoneagegamer.com/retrode.aspx

 

Please note that the price seems expensive compared to Retro.org. However it is actually is a little bit cheaper than buying from Retrode.org (for U.S. customers). The $96.99 includes a 6 ft. USB cable (not included from Retro.org) and free Priority shipping (to U.S.). There are also some coupon codes included as well for used Genesis and SNES games.

Edited March 25, 2010 by StoneAgeGamer

[Video]

Forgot about this topic, maybe it would work for SMS games with the Master Gear2, it's just a pin swap to make it work as a genesis game, I don't know about the PBC, as it has some extra circuits inside...

\

sweet Stoneage, now I'm going to have to pick one up (just don't like dealing with out of the country transitions)

Edited March 27, 2010 by Video