Flojomojo Posted July 24, 2018 Share Posted July 24, 2018 Does that have a real (if small) keyboard, or just a USB jack for plugging one in? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pink Posted July 24, 2018 Share Posted July 24, 2018 (edited) Just a USB port to plug one in. The mini keyboard is just a case for the console and isn't functional. You can put games on a USB stick and play it off that, but as of now you can only have 1 game at a time. They've been working on a firmware update for awhile now to fix it, people are getting frustrated on their Facebook page that it's taking so long but hopefully with it coming to North America (finally) hopefully they're able to release it soon. As it is, the library of games it comes with is pretty underwhelming. Nintendo has the luxury that they own a lot of their classic, flagship tentpole titles like Mario, Zelda, Metroid, etc. for their consoles and have great relationships with the big 3rd party developers that they can easily get the rights for their mini consoles. If the firmware gets released and the price is reasonable, then i'll get one. It has enough novelty value for me that it'd be worth paying a little more for it (Not Nutari VCS prices, lol) then just buying and building a cheap Raspberry Pi console for Commodore 64 games (in my opinion) Edited July 24, 2018 by Pink Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Osgeld Posted July 24, 2018 Share Posted July 24, 2018 (edited) the current one is just a hunk of plastic I thought, when I first saw it, it would be cool to mod it to make the keyboard work ... then I saw the price for basically a low end arm with vice installed on it and thought its not THAT cool Does that have a real (if small) keyboard, or just a USB jack for plugging one in? Edited July 24, 2018 by Osgeld 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RugglesTx Posted July 24, 2018 Share Posted July 24, 2018 In other news, the C64 mini (Commodore 64 Mini) is finally coming to North America on October 9! https://www.gameinformer.com/2018/07/23/commodore-64-mini-coming-to-north-america-on-october-9 If they ever actually release the firmware update to fix the issue of only being able to have 1 game at a time on a USB stick, and the price is reasonable, i'll probably get one. Thats very cool. Never had a C64 but had a Amiga 2000, very nice. Had a buddy while in the Marines that swore by the 64 :0 Glad they are brining this to the public here :0 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt_B Posted July 24, 2018 Share Posted July 24, 2018 It's half the size of a real C64, so way too small to be worth the effort of putting a working keyboard in. You'd need to have Blackberry-sized keys and it'd add a lot onto the price for something that none of the included games really need. They're planning to make a full sized version at some point that will have a functional keyboard. However, with the market wanting mini consoles at throwaway prices rather than fully functional retro computers at a $200+ price point, that's been on the back burner for a couple of years now. On the whole, they're just about OK. The controller and the games selection are rather disappointing if you compare them to Nintendo's offerings, but I'd think that they measure up fairly well against the Flashback 8. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atari PAC-MAN Fan Posted July 24, 2018 Share Posted July 24, 2018 Dr Manhattan, your post makes too much logical sense. Sounds like you need more tacos in your diet. We already know Atari SA, like the the RVGS/Chameleon fiasco, put the cart before the horse by designing (or repurposing) the shell first, then later on determining whaf to stuff it with. Literally putting the cart before the horse. Or a taco shell with no meat. I would like to see Chris Cardilio try to run a taco food truck. Waiter! I ordered tacos, and you give me a folded over tortilia on a plate. Please send it back and explain to the chef that a taco shell needs meat filled in it before it can become a taco. You know what? Keep yourempty taco shells. I want a refund... And like the RVGS/Chameleon fiasco, the meat turns out to not be anything special. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pink Posted July 24, 2018 Share Posted July 24, 2018 (edited) It's half the size of a real C64, so way too small to be worth the effort of putting a working keyboard in. You'd need to have Blackberry-sized keys and it'd add a lot onto the price for something that none of the included games really need. They're planning to make a full sized version at some point that will have a functional keyboard. However, with the market wanting mini consoles at throwaway prices rather than fully functional retro computers at a $200+ price point, that's been on the back burner for a couple of years now. On the whole, they're just about OK. The controller and the games selection are rather disappointing if you compare them to Nintendo's offerings, but I'd think that they measure up fairly well against the Flashback 8. Pretty much the only selling point is the ability to put roms on a flash drive and play them, assuming the price is reasonable enough. That's why the firmware update fixing the issue of only game on a flash drive that they're supposedly working on and whether it ever comes out will be the deciding factor to me. I suppose you could just buy a zillion flash drives, put one game on each, and label them and essentially have homemade C64 cartridges hahahahaha Me being 25, turning 26 in a few days, I have no clue how popular the Commodore 64 brand as a whole is amongst other retro brands like Atari and the like, as none of my friends are fans of any of this stuff at all plus I don't really know anyone in my age group in real life that's a fan, even a minor casual fan, like I am. About the only place I talk about this stuff is at Atariage and other various online forums and groups. The Commodore sold ridiculously well though and outsold the Apple IIe so maybe theres enough interest in the brand in 2018 to make the new mini console sell decent enough. 64 euros on Amazon Germany, comes out to roughly $75 in US dollars. I'd be happy with a $70-80 price, the same or slightly cheaper then the SNES mini. https://www.amazon.de/Koch-Media-TheC64-Mini/dp/B07614KZB3 It's quite a bit more in Australia. $150 Australian dollars, about $110 US dollars. That's a little bit too much for me. https://www.jbhifi.com.au/retro-console/thec64-mini/553844/ https://ebgames.com.au/loot-218537-THEC64-Mini-Loot Edited July 24, 2018 by Pink Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pacman000 Posted July 24, 2018 Share Posted July 24, 2018 When I was in high school there were still a few kids who knew & cared about Atari-era computers & games. Did it change that much in 2-3 years? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RainbowCemetery Posted July 24, 2018 Share Posted July 24, 2018 most of my nostalgic feelings for the olde microcomputer in a keyboards's are clumsily poking around in basic. i'd prefer just a functional replica kb in an empty case that i can mess with over some lil thing with pretend keys. i doubt there are enough people like me for someone to bother with that. or maybe someone did and i missed it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
youxia Posted July 24, 2018 Share Posted July 24, 2018 (edited) The VCS is quite awesome when you use this point of view. Lol In cognitive science, choice-supportive bias or post-purchase rationalization is the tendency to retroactively ascribe positive attributes to an option one has selected Of course, since nobody has received anything yet, here it's more of post-pre-purchase rationalization - or some such - VCS & crowdfunding in general creating an entirely new psychological phenomenon Edited July 24, 2018 by youxia 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FOX2600 Posted July 24, 2018 Share Posted July 24, 2018 Who needs an Ataribox when we can game on a Jollibee game box, Amm I riteeee? (Yes. a Jollibee plug & play. Please Google it) Or those sweet Sonic LCD handheld happy meal toys. What am i doing in here? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RugglesTx Posted July 24, 2018 Share Posted July 24, 2018 Of course, since nobody has received anything yet, here it's more of post-pre-purchase rationalization - or some such - VCS & crowdfunding in general creating an entirely new psychological phenomenon Back in high school in the mid 80s I pre purchased Judas Priest concert tickets for myself and a girl I liked. I had expectations from that night as well, guess what? The night ended for me when the concert did so Ive been experienced at pre purchase let down for decades :0 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pacman000 Posted July 24, 2018 Share Posted July 24, 2018 https://gbatemp.net/entry/jollibee-game-box-plug-n-play-system.9637/ It is a cute little plug n play... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inky Posted July 24, 2018 Share Posted July 24, 2018 Waiter! I ordered tacos, and you give me a folded over tortilia on a plate. Please send it back and explain to the chef that a taco shell needs meat filled in it before it can become a taco. You know what? Keep yourempty taco shells. I want a refund... Waiter there are snails on her plate. Now get them out of here before she sees them! Look away, just look away, keep your eyes that way! You would think that in a fancy restaurant at these prices you could keep the snails off the food! There are so many snails there you can’t even see the food! Now take those away and bring us those melted cheese sandwich appetizers you talked me out of! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt_B Posted July 24, 2018 Share Posted July 24, 2018 Back in high school in the mid 80s I pre purchased Judas Priest concert tickets for myself and a girl I liked. I had expectations from that night as well, guess what? The night ended for me when the concert did so Ive been experienced at pre purchase let down for decades :0 Look on the bright side, at least you got to see Priest in their prime. I'm not terribly optimistic that the VCS is going to have an up side that good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Historian Posted July 24, 2018 Share Posted July 24, 2018 Because in the past year I've won $520 on freaking scratch off tickets and I'm feeling HOT! But how much have you spent on scratch offs? Seriously, they are a "tax" on the stupid and uninformed. At one time I had the displeasure of pulling third shift at a higher end convenience store with a gas station. The number of times I had people pull out their SNAP cards to buy Cheetos and 2 liters then ask for $25 to $100 in scratch offs was staggering. Cab drivers would sometimes spend hours in the store buying cards, scratching, cashing in their meager (if any) winnings, and buying more. I'd try to help you know, "That one doesn't have any more winners out there; you can look it up online"… but some would still buy them anyway. If it's a once in a while for fun kind of thing, we are cool. But I've seen far to many who don't know how to control themselves. you guys are making it _really_ hard to keep to my keto and diabetic diet. -Thom Dude, I'm a Type 1 but I'm on a Paleo diet. uh... I guess I should say Atari Or tacos to stay on topic. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pink Posted July 24, 2018 Share Posted July 24, 2018 (edited) I agree. I work third shift overnights at a retail/grocery store. Just about every night, a group of coworkers on their lunch go out to the gas station across the street and buy scratchoffs. Sometimes just one or two, other times they'll spend $20+ on them. Every now and then i'll ride along with them to pick some snacks up or something. One of them ended up winning like $250 once, which is all fine and dandy, except that they spent significantly more then $250 on scratch offs over the past several months and/or years long before they won that $250. It's like a casino. Lets say you walk in with $200. You're at a slot machine and have $80 left then you end up winning $50. That's cool and all, but you're now at $130, which is $70 less then when you walked in. So no you haven't really won anything as you spent $120 to win that $50, and you've got way less money then what you started with. The only way you can consider that you've actually won anything is if you end up leaving the casino with more then you walked in with. If you walk out with less money then you walked in with, you didn't win anything, you lost money. I went to a Casino once with $80. I ended up walking out with $84 from playing slots. I considered that a win as I walked out with more then I had when I walked in, and all my friends walked out with less then what they walked in with. But, if you couple that with all the other times I've been to the casino and lost money, i'm still at a massive net loss overall. Whenever the Powerball jackpot is ridiculously high, i'll sometimes buy one, or maybe two tickets with a group of friends. It's a fun novelty and it's fun to imagine for a few hours what I would do if I end up winning. But that's about the only time I ever buy Powerball tickets or any kind of lottery or scratch off tickets of any kind. I once bought a ticket with the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and the clerk laughed and said I will never win with those numbers. I ended up saying while you are absolutely correct that I most likely am not going to win (It's a 1 in 292 million chance after all) I have the same exact chance of winning with that set of numbers as I do with any other set of numbers. Edited July 24, 2018 by Pink 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+frankodragon Posted July 24, 2018 Share Posted July 24, 2018 Now I'm thinking Atari SA goes to the restaurant Dans le Noir . It's a restaurant that people dine in total darkness. Hmmm...you may wonder if the Atari SA guys also do whatever they do in total darkness in their HQ as well. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flojomojo Posted July 24, 2018 Share Posted July 24, 2018 It is a cute little plug n play... Not that cute. Do not want. Whenever the Powerball jackpot is ridiculously high, i'll sometimes buy one, or maybe two tickets with a group of friends. It's a fun novelty and it's fun to imagine for a few hours what I would do if I end up winning. But that's about the only time I ever buy Powerball tickets or any kind of lottery or scratch off tickets of any kind. I once bought a ticket with the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and the clerk laughed and said I will never win with those numbers. I ended up saying while you are absolutely correct that I most likely am not going to win (It's a 1 in 292 million chance after all) I have the same exact chance of winning with that set of numbers as I do with any other set of numbers. When the Powerball gets really high, I feel my odds of winning are about the same whether I play or not. If someone gets pleasure out of gambling, more power to them if they can afford to lose money, but the "games" themselves aren't that interesting to me. I often wonder if there's a genetic or environmental susceptibility to gambling disorders, like with substance abuse or addictive behaviors. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pink Posted July 24, 2018 Share Posted July 24, 2018 (edited) It's like a rush or something that they get, same thing with drugs, same thing with shoplifting. It's all some sort of rush or feeling of satisfaction that they get. Odds of winning are essentially zero. 1 in 292 million. So that comes out to just about zero, basically the exact same odds of winning whether you play or not, you are absolutely correct Flojomojo! It's very hard to put that in perspective or try to fathom it, but I'll try. The new Vikings NFL stadium (USBank Stadium) holds 66,665 people, so roughly 4381 Vikings Stadium would have around 292 million seats altogether. Imagine 4381 Vikings stadiums, each of them filled to capacity with a person in each and every seat. 1 person out of all 4381 stadiums will win. And yet people think those are extremely good odds, so good that every time the Jackpot gets ridiculously high it seems like I get stuck behind some moron at the gas station blowing hundreds of dollars on Powerball tickets then trying to coerce the clerk into letting him buy even more Powerball tickets with their EBT/Food Stamps card. (That actually did happen with me, I was stuck behind someone that bought like 80 something tickets then explains to the clerk thats all the money he has and that he has plenty of gas in his car to make it back and forth from work until payday, as if the clerk actually cared. And then he kept asking afterwards and holding the line up at the same time as to if he could use his EBT card to buy powerball tickets then demanded to speak with a manager complaining that you can't use your food stamps to buy Powerball tickets) Edited July 24, 2018 by Pink 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Nathan Strum Posted July 24, 2018 Share Posted July 24, 2018 Not that cute. Do not want. You had me scared for a moment that Atari was going to start selling Fred Cheatnais Bobbleheads. Probably shouldn't give them any ideas... 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+frankodragon Posted July 24, 2018 Share Posted July 24, 2018 You had me scared for a moment that Atari was going to start selling Fred Cheatnais Bobbleheads. Probably shouldn't give them any ideas... Good thing you spoke up. I was going to release a hideous pic of the Cool Eye Fred Pop-Station. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tschak909 Posted July 24, 2018 Share Posted July 24, 2018 Maybe Fred will resurrect a Beany Baby line, complete with Yars Revenge and Centipede... -Thom 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RugglesTx Posted July 24, 2018 Share Posted July 24, 2018 Look on the bright side, at least you got to see Priest in their prime. I'm not terribly optimistic that the VCS is going to have an up side that good. Good point. They had that Harley Davidson on stage, can still hear that beast roar over the Sound system. I think there is a chance the AB can be a cool device, who knows but l hope it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flojomojo Posted July 24, 2018 Share Posted July 24, 2018 It's very hard to put that in perspective or try to fathom it, but I'll try. The new Vikings NFL stadium (USBank Stadium) holds 66,665 people, so roughly 4381 Vikings Stadium would have around 292 million seats altogether. Imagine 4381 Vikings stadiums, each of them filled to capacity with a person in each and every seat. 1 person out of all 4381 stadiums will win. There are about 325 million people in the United States, so just a little better odds than one in the country. A bad play. Then again, "if you don't play, you can't win!" Odds of Ataribox "being awesome" are better than 1:292M, but still not great. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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