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CollectorVision Phoenix Game Console


retroillucid

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For me if its not the original hardware, then just use a Raspberry Pi or your emulator of choice. I see pros and cons for original hardware versus emulators, but I don't see the point of an in between solution like Yobo NES clone consoles, the Retron 5, flashback consoles, etc.

 

A lot of the legacy hardware is very reliable as long as you have basic soldering skills to make basic repairs.

I would argue the legacy hardware is not that reliable, even with basic soldering skills. I have intermediate soldering skills and tools (including a Hakko desoldering fun) and I've still accidentally lifted traces on older stuff like this. Granted, it's usually fairly easily fixed with a wire connecting it to another point. But that can still be daunting to your average ColecoVision owner. So I fully welcome a new hardware solution.

 

Also, IMHO FPGA consoles that play actual carts are far superior to any kind of emulation device. Especially if they support original controllers. Yes, emulation of early consoles is probably "good enough". But if you can play on (effectively) real hardware, why wouldn't you?

 

And on another note, since I kicked up the hornets nest with the licensing agreement earlier and started a poll/thread about it, I would like to say I'm incredibly happy that it's no longer occurring. I was most likely going to buy this console regardless, but now I can do so knowing It benefits Cardillo in no way. Which makes me very happy.

 

And I hope that in the process I created no ill will towards CollectorVision. I fully support them, along with Opcode and other ColecoVision developers keeping things alive. I'm just a passionate ColecoVision fan who got a little too riled up (as noted in the other thread).

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The upcoming RetroTINK, from the people that developed the OSSC,may be what you're looking for. The RetroTINK will take composite, s-video and component 240p inputs, line double them to 480p, and outputs to HDMI. You can sign up to the waitlist here. BTW - I'm not endorsing this product, just thought it may fit the bill for you.

 

You just made my night! Thanks!

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Ben Heck made a better Atari 5200 controller. Ben Heck has made so many controllers over the years, it would be foolish to not reach out to him for design ideas.

 

You could even take that exact design of his 5200 controller and adapt it to the ColecoVision. Ben is a member here. Someone should ask him! :P

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Oh yeah, these are great! I have one, too. And yes according to Brian an unmodded one will actually work! I've already got two ready to go! (I actually had them anyway in my SNES collection!)

 

 

I have one of these made by Atariguy(four numbers I can't remember) modded for the Colecovision that is really great. Sounds like an unmodded one may work on the new CollectorVision

post-27883-0-89238300-1391566709.png

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We're going to work on a brand new comfortable & reliable controller as soon as the CollectorVision Phoenix Console is out :)

If you go with a gamepad style controller, can you look into designing it with a screw-in mini stick extender like are available for some other gamepads that I have seen. To me, CV games are meant to be played with a stick controller versus ganepad. I know many others prefer a gamepad, so options would be nice to have re. a possible new controller.
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If you go with a gamepad style controller, can you look into designing it with a screw-in mini stick extender like are available for some other gamepads that I have seen. To me, CV games are meant to be played with a stick controller versus ganepad. I know many others prefer a gamepad, so options would be nice to have re. a possible new controller.

 

 

Gravis Gamepad and Sega Master system had those, and while they little plastic stick broke easily, you could put a screw of the correct type in it.

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The SFC NTT Data controller seems like it is not very common and pricey now. Is it a good idea for this new system to drive up the prices and make them even harder to find? What's the point of having it work with a controller, if the controllers are difficult to find?

 

Can you also use a regular SNES controller and the keypad from a regular ColecoVision controller?

Edited by Hannacek
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The SFC NTT Data controller seems like it is not very common and pricey now.

 

They are not uncommon nor are they expensive. Yes, they originated in Japan but every time I walk into a gaming store in Japan I always see loads of them. I probably saw over 100 of them casually hanging up in gaming stores in Japan last month for $15. Trust me, I picked up a couple! I get that they are not that common here in the US because that accessory never came out in the US, but even on eBay it looks like they go from between $20 - $60 which isn't terrible IMO for a really solid controller that will work FANTASTIC with this system.

IMG_7214a.jpg

IMG_7214b.jpg

Screen Shot 2018-08-16 at 12.40.20 PM.png

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Collectorvision - Please, please, please tell me that the new controllers you are working on for The Phoenix will have joysticks and not gamepads. I've never felt comfortable using a gamepad on any game system I've ever owned and I never will. :( Also, I would hope that the new controllers can be used where it can be operated with my right hand on the joystick and my left hand to control the fire/keypad buttons (I really like the operational feel of the old Super Action Controllers which could be used with either hand and had easy access to four buttons for Super Action games plus a keypad). Besides, from what I see, you already will provide a SNES controller port on your console for those that want to use a gamepad...

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Collectorvision - Please, please, please tell me that the new controllers you are working on for The Phoenix will have joysticks and not gamepads.

 

Collectorvision - Please, please, please tell me that the new controllers you are working on for The Phoenix will have gamepads and not joysticks. :D

 

See, you're never going to please everyone. I actually think it's almost better to just let people use their own controllers and not try to come up with a new one. Controllers are so, SO MUCH harder to make great than a system. The system is just a box that sits there and computes, the controller is actually something that needs an astronomical amount of tweaking and finesse. If it was easy to come up with a good, new controller, all those Chinese knock-off controllers wouldn't be pure crap. Personally, I don't recommend going down the controller route. And this comes from someone who has spent some time working for companies who made controllers!

 

Instead of making new controllers I'd suggest making sure some existing controllers work with the system (SNES controller, Sega Genesis 6-button controller, etc) and allow people to re-map buttons. And/or on top of that, start modding existing cheaper controllers like the original NES controller with a Y-adapter to plug in an original ColecoVision controller along with it. Or another options is to find a company who is currently making decent controllers and (8bitdo for example?) and make sure those controllers are compatible with your system.

 

FYI - This is my current ColecoVision setup. A modded NES controller that has the ability to plug in a CV controller into it. I probably use that NES controller for 75% of my ColecoVision game playing and it works wonderfully! So please, no joysticks! ;)

IMG_3399.JPG

 

I fully support a "BYOC" system!

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They are not uncommon nor are they expensive. Yes, they originated in Japan but every time I walk into a gaming store in Japan I always see loads of them. I probably saw over 100 of them casually hanging up in gaming stores in Japan last month for $15. Trust me, I picked up a couple! I get that they are not that common here in the US because that accessory never came out in the US, but even on eBay it looks like they go from between $20 - $60 which isn't terrible IMO for a really solid controller that will work FANTASTIC with this system.

 

 

The ones currently for sale on ebay are all $60 to $100. Auctions are the only ones selling for less than $60, and right now there are no auctions. If you want to wait around for an auction to get a deal, that is an option.

 

If at any given time there are 5 to 10 of them for sale on ebay, the price will go way up if a hundred or more people now want them for their CollectorVision Phoenix system.

 

It will cost you more than $60 airfare to go to Japan to get a deal. I would love to go to Japan, but it's not really in my budget right now. And if you want to get a deal at a convention, you need to pay for admission, parking, hotels, etc to get there. If you have a local game store that sells them, that is your only option besides ebay.

 

Edited by Hannacek
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Thanks for dumping on my request, Robb. I addressed this to CollectorVision and not you. You'll get your SNES controller port so you can use any gamepad you want so why are you dumping on my suggestion? I have five arcade cabinets in my game room (Lady Bug, Turbo, Cosmic Avenger, Donkey Kong and Donkey Kong Jr.) and the last time I looked none of them had a gamepad. The original ColecoVision games were meant to be controlled using a joystick.

 

Bmack36...can I be hopeful for the future or will I have to continue with my 36 year old Super Action Controllers on The Phoenix?

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The ones currently for sale on ebay are all $60 to $100. Auctions are the only ones selling for less than $60, and right now there are no auctions. If you want to wait around for an auction to get a deal, that is an option.

 

If at any given time there are 5 to 10 of them for sale on ebay, the price will go way up if a hundred people now want them for their CollectorVision Phoenix system.

 

It will cost you more than $60 travel and airfare to go to Japan to get a deal. I would love to go to Japan, but it's not really in my budget right now. And if you want to get a deal at a convention, you need to pay for admission, parking, hotels, etc to get there. If you have a local game store that sells them, is your only option besides ebay.

 

 

"Currently on sale" and "sold" are two different things on eBay. I posted the picture of recently sold items and they were between $15 - $60. Even on the higher end $60 is, IMO a very acceptable amount of a decent controller. And even by looking at the last few posts not everyone is going to want that particular controller so I'm not sure I see there all of a sudden being "hundreds" of them being purchased.

 

I picked up two during my last trip to Japan out of a bucket that probably had 40 of the controllers in it. I paid $12 each for them.

 

I'll be back in Japan in a few months. I'll pick up a few more and I'll be happy to sell you one for $60! :P

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Thanks for dumping on my request, Robb. I addressed this to CollectorVision and not you. You'll get your SNES controller port so you can use any gamepad you want so why are you dumping on my suggestion? I have five arcade cabinets in my game room (Lady Bug, Turbo, Cosmic Avenger, Donkey Kong and Donkey Kong Jr.) and the last time I looked none of them had a gamepad. The original ColecoVision games were meant to be controlled using a joystick.

 

1. I was not dumping on you. It was a joke in case you couldn't detect the :-D

 

2. That comment was not about you and your controller choice but making a point in general "you can't please everyone."

 

3. And overall, the actual point of that post was to just give yet another example of why I feel a "BYOC" is a better choice than trying to make something that not everyone is going to like and chances are probably pretty good that even if it was a controller "type" that 50% wanted, it probably still wouldn't be as good as something that is tried and true, simply because creating a controller is a complete bitch to do in the first place.

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If you are interested in a joystick controller you should check out Edladdin's super cv controllers. I hear they are really nice. https://edladdin.com/Super-CV-ec-1-005.htm

 

Although nothing has been finalized, the idea was to do a gamepad style controller that will work on the original system as well.

 

The controller would not be part of the system. It would just be a new product that is made available after the system is taken care of.

Edited by Bmack36
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The ones currently for sale on ebay are all $60 to $100. Auctions are the only ones selling for less than $60, and right now there are no auctions. If you want to wait around for an auction to get a deal, that is an option.

 

 

Here's a little ProTip for you! Since you have quite a while until the Phoenix comes out, you can search for "Super Famicom NTT Controller" and then click the "Save this search" option in eBay:

ebay.jpg

And then when a controller shows up that is less than $35, which eventually it will since two of them sold for $32 or less in the past month, you can pick it up fairly quickly and easily! Hope this helps!

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If you are interested in a joystick controller you should check out Edladdin's super cv controllers. I hear they are really nice. https://edladdin.com/Super-CV-ec-1-005.htm

 

 

I second this! When I'm not using the NES controller on the ColecoVision, the Edladdin is my next controller of choice, and quite simply the best joystick I've used outside of any of my arcade cabinets! I actually use this controller for most of my MAME playing on the Raspberry Pi as well. It is absoultely wonderful!

IMG_3400.JPG

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I picked up two during my last trip to Japan out of a bucket that probably had 40 of the controllers in it. I paid $12 each for them.

 

I'll be back in Japan in a few months. I'll pick up a few more and I'll be happy to sell you one for $60! icon_razz.gif

 

Why don't you post here before you go to Japan and take orders for them? You can buy them for $12 and charge $24. I would buy 2 of them, assuming I am buying a Collectorvision Phoenix. It looks like they are doing a kickstarter, so I will want to see the details of the kickstarter before I commit to buying one.

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Why don't you post here before you go to Japan and take orders for them? You can buy them for $12 and charge $24. I would buy 2 of them, assuming I am buying a Collectorvision Phoenix. It looks like they are doing a kickstarter, so I will want to see the details of the kickstarter before I commit to buying one.

 

Again, I was mostly joking about the $60 thing. I go to Japan for my other business (theme park stuff) but only go to retro gaming stores on the side when I have time. I usually hit up 3-4 stores when I'm there. I may very well pick up a half a dozen or so on my next visit and then offer them here for pretty much what I pay for them (I'm not actually a price gouger! lol) but I wouldn't want to take orders simply because I'm not sure what I'll have time for when I go.

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