derFunkenstein Posted October 21, 2018 Share Posted October 21, 2018 He's presumably the guy that Playmaji hired to promote the Polymega. From his website (https://peterkitch.com/) : "Lets work together! I can work with you to develop the perfect marketing campaign package" Great, he has less than zero credibility, then. He's a shill. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newsdee Posted October 22, 2018 Share Posted October 22, 2018 Meanwhile, Analogue is posting pixel-perfect HDMI captures from their new Genesis clone.. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DurradonXylles Posted October 22, 2018 Share Posted October 22, 2018 Started once again digging at Polymega's twitter with seemingly reckless abandon: https://twitter.com/polymegaHQ/status/1053690357496479744 I'm not going to take or share screenshots from here on out unless they are of notable importance or entertainment, and luckily twitter allows for people who aren't signed in to look at specifically linked conversations. This one may be of some importance, this is someone who was trying to get correspondence with Playmaji and spoke with the Polymega twitter before I crashed the party. I am both frustrated and laughing my head off at the second half of this response. https://twitter.com/TechDeals_16/status/1054390032553963521 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thetick1 Posted October 24, 2018 Share Posted October 24, 2018 (edited) Haha .. four letter words are tough. Math is tough -- Barbie (famous playdoll) FPGA is tough -- Bryan Bernal (big mouthed but basically unknown CEO of Playmaji, Inc. inventor of vaporware Polymega and likely many other stupid projects with odd goofy "hey I'm cool" names) Sorry I've been drinkin' and the above seems funny. Edited October 24, 2018 by thetick1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
godslabrat Posted October 24, 2018 Share Posted October 24, 2018 "FPGA is necessary for accuracy.... unless it's tough, in which case, it's only for snobs." 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenixdownita Posted October 31, 2018 Share Posted October 31, 2018 This thing cooled off a lot. They barely have 68K past their 500K and the lonely "unlocked" reward (collection craplet) seems to really not interest anyone So when are they gonna go belly up? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flojomojo Posted October 31, 2018 Share Posted October 31, 2018 Too bad it wasn't an "all or nothing" campaign so they could quit without losing face. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
00010000 Posted November 1, 2018 Share Posted November 1, 2018 This thing cooled off a lot. They barely have 68K past their 500K and the lonely "unlocked" reward (collection craplet) seems to really not interest anyone So when are they gonna go belly up? Ironic phrasing given a certain console's 30th anniversary of recent 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elmer Posted November 1, 2018 Share Posted November 1, 2018 This thing cooled off a lot. They barely have 68K past their 500K and the lonely "unlocked" reward (collection craplet) seems to really not interest anyone Yep, $79,000 in pre-orders in the last 33-or-so days ... so they not going to have to implement the "COLLECTION INSIGHTS SCREEN" that, IIRC, was kinda what they were already showing way back when the RetroBlox was first introduced. But, of course, so much has changed since then. At least they're not going to have to come up with excuses as to why they couldn't implement that FPGA Famicom that is their $1,000,000 "reward" ... thank gawd! For a company that's trying to raise money, they've been amazingly quiet in the last month. Perhaps it's time for them to enlist Gamester81 to do a preview video for them, since he's known for his hard-hitting technical reporting and totally-unbiased enthusiasm (errr ... not). That would be a hilarious cap to the whole pre-order campaign. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derFunkenstein Posted November 1, 2018 Share Posted November 1, 2018 (edited) Forget Gamester 81, it's about time for StopDrop&Retro to do one of his famous preorder scam follow-up videos like he did for the Game Band and other preorder scams. Edited November 1, 2018 by derFunkenstein 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elmer Posted November 1, 2018 Share Posted November 1, 2018 Perhaps it's time for them to enlist Gamester81 to do a preview video for them, since he's known for his hard-hitting technical reporting and totally-unbiased enthusiasm (errr ... not). Hahaha ... OK, apparently I'm old and out-of-touch, and Gamester81 already did a fluff video last month, deleted it, and then reposted an updated video where he's very careful to not be seen to promote the PolyMega too much. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dj_convoy Posted November 1, 2018 Share Posted November 1, 2018 Hahaha ... OK, apparently I'm old and out-of-touch, and Gamester81 already did a fluff video last month, deleted it, and then reposted an updated video where he's very careful to not be seen to promote the PolyMega too much. Don't forget the one he did initially where he sung the praises of the yet to exist machine and then told us to not judge it yet. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
godslabrat Posted November 1, 2018 Share Posted November 1, 2018 Don't forget the one he did initially where he sung the praises of the yet to exist machine and then told us to not judge it yet. Don't forget that he was totally on board the Coleco Chameleon train too. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DurradonXylles Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 (edited) Hahaha ... OK, apparently I'm old and out-of-touch, and Gamester81 already did a fluff video last month, deleted it, and then reposted an updated video where he's very careful to not be seen to promote the PolyMega too much. Don't forget the one he did initially where he sung the praises of the yet to exist machine and then told us to not judge it yet. Don't forget that he was totally on board the Coleco Chameleon train too. Yeah, I was actually subscribed to Gamester81 several years ago, and at first I liked his videos. But then, as time has went on, I noticed that he tends to let his apparent optimism and the fact that he often gets an exclusive look at upcoming retro consoles cloud his judgement on them (or that he complies with whatever terms the project heads have for showing it off in his videos). I remember seeing the very beginning of the Retro VGS saga pretty much start with Mike Kennedy getting in contact with Gamester, and his initial video on it being one of the reasons it attracted so much public interest in the console to begin with. To top that off, I noticed he's sloppy with research on anything he talked about outside of his product preview videos, often getting general information on anything he talked about wrong. If it only happened a couple of times, or wasn't anything a quick Wikipedia search could've fixed, it wouldn't have bothered me. The problem was, the more videos I saw, the more information I noticed being outright wrong from my general knowledge or research of anything he talked about. Sure, if it was pointed out enough in the comments he'd quickly take down, re-edit if necessary, and reupload the video with a quick note about something he was wrong about, but it was still often enough to become annoying and make me unsubscribe from him. The guy doesn't seem a terrible person, and he appears to get a ton of unwarranted hate, but I can understand the reasons his detractors call him a shill or a phony. At the very least, I wouldn't consider him a reputable source, or trust his opinions or information on any upcoming products if his are the only one out there at any given time. Forget Gamester 81, it's about time for StopDrop&Retro to do one of his famous preorder scam follow-up videos like he did for the Game Band and other preorder scams. I actually talk to SDR on a regular basis, and asked him about it a month ago since he's one of the few major presences on Twitter or Facebook being vocally critical of the Polymega since most others are either overly optimistic or at a speculative neutral. I won't go into the specifics about our last conversation over it, but he has said that he's not releasing a video... Yet. I won't put words in his mouth about his plans, especially because he doesn't really give more than a day's notice about upcoming videos to those he talks to, but if and when he makes a video about Playmaji and the Polymega it'll likely be when we least expect it. What I like and respect about StopDrop&Retro is that he is very much the opposite of Gamester81: he is very particular about any information or products that come his way, always has complete transparency, and wants to make sure that his information is verified one way or another. Even if it's something as silly as any of the Hong Kong original hardware he's bought from AliExpress, he does as much legitimate research on the product as possible before talking about it. Edited November 2, 2018 by DurradonXylles 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derFunkenstein Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 That's why I like StopDrop&Retro's videos. I've never seen him get sucked into something, and he's always thorough when laying out his case. OTOH, Gamester81 may not be a shill or be paid for. He might be far worse - just really really gullible (for all the How I Met Your Mother fans out there, that would mean he's a Stamp Tramp like Marshall ). In that case, it's no wonder these companies exploit him. Either way the result is a tacit endorsement of everything he covers, and that makes him untrustworthy. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg2600 Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 I still like his videos, Gamester describes things pretty well. It's difficult for anyone to destroy or praise this "console" with any seriousness, given it's currently still a vapor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dj_convoy Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 Yeah, I was actually subscribed to Gamester81 several years ago, and at first I liked his videos. But then, as time has went on, I noticed that he tends to let his apparent optimism and the fact that he often gets an exclusive look at upcoming retro consoles cloud his judgement on them (or that he complies with whatever terms the project heads have for showing it off in his videos). I remember seeing the very beginning of the Retro VGS saga pretty much start with Mike Kennedy getting in contact with Gamester, and his initial video on it being one of the reasons it attracted so much public interest in the console to begin with. To top that off, I noticed he's sloppy with research on anything he talked about outside of his product preview videos, often getting general information on anything he talked about wrong. If it only happened a couple of times, or wasn't anything a quick Wikipedia search could've fixed, it wouldn't have bothered me. The problem was, the more videos I saw, the more information I noticed being outright wrong from my general knowledge or research of anything he talked about. Sure, if it was pointed out enough in the comments he'd quickly take down, re-edit if necessary, and reupload the video with a quick note about something he was wrong about, but it was still often enough to become annoying and make me unsubscribe from him. The guy doesn't seem a terrible person, and he appears to get a ton of unwarranted hate, but I can understand the reasons his detractors call him a shill or a phony. At the very least, I wouldn't consider him a reputable source, or trust his opinions or information on any upcoming products if his are the only one out there at any given time. I actually talk to SDR on a regular basis, and asked him about it a month ago since he's one of the few major presences on Twitter or Facebook being vocally critical of the Polymega since most others are either overly optimistic or at a speculative neutral. I won't go into the specifics about our last conversation over it, but he has said that he's not releasing a video... Yet. I won't put words in his mouth about his plans, especially because he doesn't really give more than a day's notice about upcoming videos to those he talks to, but if and when he makes a video about Playmaji and the Polymega it'll likely be when we least expect it. What I like and respect about StopDrop&Retro is that he is very much the opposite of Gamester81: he is very particular about any information or products that come his way, always has complete transparency, and wants to make sure that his information is verified one way or another. Even if it's something as silly as any of the Hong Kong original hardware he's bought from AliExpress, he does as much legitimate research on the product as possible before talking about it. Discovering S,D & R was easily the best development out of the Chameleon fiasco. I can't count the number of times we've rewatched his video about the Peachy Printer or "Stop buying robots on Indiegogo, Moron." 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elmer Posted November 10, 2018 Share Posted November 10, 2018 Yep, $79,000 in pre-orders in the last 33-or-so days ... so they not going to have to implement the "COLLECTION INSIGHTS SCREEN" that, IIRC, was kinda what they were already showing way back when the RetroBlox was first introduced. ... For a company that's trying to raise money, they've been amazingly quiet in the last month. Well, that's all folks, the pre-orders are over! It looks like they pulled in $17,500 in the last day, despite giving out no new information all month, and with no sign at all of the see-the-hardware-working video that was promised weeks ago. In fact, the only posts that I can find from Playmaji themselves in this last month were on Twitter last night ... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevtris Posted November 10, 2018 Share Posted November 10, 2018 Well, that's all folks, the pre-orders are over! polymega5.png It looks like they pulled in $17,500 in the last day, despite giving out no new information all month, and with no sign at all of the see-the-hardware-working video that was promised weeks ago. In fact, the only posts that I can find from Playmaji themselves in this last month were on Twitter last night ... polymega2.png amusingly the countdown was based on your browser's local time, so when it hit 0 for me, others still had 1 or 2 hours left! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derFunkenstein Posted November 10, 2018 Share Posted November 10, 2018 Total silence for a month and then oh sure Ill give them hundreds of bucks at the last minute 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newsdee Posted November 10, 2018 Share Posted November 10, 2018 More than half a million US is serious coin.. let's see what comes out of it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
godslabrat Posted November 10, 2018 Share Posted November 10, 2018 More than half a million US is serious coin.. let's see what comes out of it! It really isn't when you're talking about designing a game console, particularly one with custom modules. Half a mil would have been a paltry sum if PolyMega had at least committed to the FPGA system that they spent two years promoting. Now they've scrapped that and are starting over with something no one has seen. Don't forget, they had angel investors who apparently have them a lot of money for the FPGA model. It was rumored to be a million. What does it say when the timeline indicates they blew through that and accomplished nothing? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flojomojo Posted November 10, 2018 Share Posted November 10, 2018 Remember when Mike Kennedy broke out his costs for "RetroVGS," including estimates for tooling, manufacturing, shipping, plus a generous "stipend for the team so we can afford to do this full time?" I would be curious as to how much is going into the project vs paying office rent and cost of living for the geniuses at work. I think there are estimates further up in this thread about the costs of their work space in suburban Dallas. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DurradonXylles Posted November 10, 2018 Share Posted November 10, 2018 More than half a million US is serious coin.. let's see what comes out of it! It really isn't when you're talking about designing a game console, particularly one with custom modules. Half a mil would have been a paltry sum if PolyMega had at least committed to the FPGA system that they spent two years promoting. Now they've scrapped that and are starting over with something no one has seen. Don't forget, they had angel investors who apparently have them a lot of money for the FPGA model. It was rumored to be a million. What does it say when the timeline indicates they blew through that and accomplished nothing? Yeah. If we assumed that the $610k raised was all base units, which let's be honest it's not with the modules and $600 deluxe edition, that's only about 2,440 units. For a console that has about $1 million in angel investors, that is disappointing for initial interest in a console that's been worked on for two years and had two public appearances. Despite the positive spin Playmaji tried to put on this fact, you almost never extend a crowdfunding campaign a month because it's successful (unless it's impossibly, WILDLY successful, but barely reaching the first goal of twenty does not indicate such success). They extended the campaign a month out of desperation since the $500k initial goal wasn't where they were hoping to stop with the public funding. Remember when Mike Kennedy broke out his costs for "RetroVGS," including estimates for tooling, manufacturing, shipping, plus a generous "stipend for the team so we can afford to do this full time?" I would be curious as to how much is going into the project vs paying office rent and cost of living for the geniuses at work. I think there are estimates further up in this thread about the costs of their work space in suburban Dallas. I'm not going to go back to try to find it, as this thread is long and I jumped into this conversation more recently, but I would like to see how much it would cost them to operate in Dallas. Methinks that the $500k is just enough to keep the lights on for Polymega's offices and team for the next six months, thus their desperate plea for more money over the last month. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
godslabrat Posted November 10, 2018 Share Posted November 10, 2018 Iirc, the Dallas office was basically a rent-a-desk setup. Not terribly expensive, but likely not the wisest use of funds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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