Flojomojo Posted August 22, 2018 Share Posted August 22, 2018 Last year's release of the SEGA Genesis Flashback and Atari Gold 8 was the first and only time I can recall them doing that. The Atari unit was well received, the SEGA less so, mainly because of some bugs in the early version. If they want to hold back until they get it right, nothing wrong with that. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atarifan88 Posted August 22, 2018 Share Posted August 22, 2018 Last year's release of the SEGA Genesis Flashback and Atari Gold 8 was the first and only time I can recall them doing that. The Atari unit was well received, the SEGA less so, mainly because of some bugs in the early version. If they want to hold back until they get it right, nothing wrong with that. I agree. The last thing I want to see released is another half-a$$ hyper product! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+swlovinist Posted August 22, 2018 Share Posted August 22, 2018 Last year's release of the SEGA Genesis Flashback and Atari Gold 8 was the first and only time I can recall them doing that. The Atari unit was well received, the SEGA less so, mainly because of some bugs in the early version. If they want to hold back until they get it right, nothing wrong with that. I have been sent other consoles they have done in the past. The problem is that many would like to see if the product is worth picking up over last years model. I too would want them to get it right. Imagine if there were not any reviews of games before they come out. At the least, they should provide an in depth video themselves that can demonstrate the updates to previous models. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flojomojo Posted August 22, 2018 Share Posted August 22, 2018 Your review was a lot friendlier to them than many of the others. Did you get pre-release samples in the past, too? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keatah Posted August 22, 2018 Share Posted August 22, 2018 I don't mind waiting to learn about a product. If it hits the shelf with no reviews, its fine. It was like that in the old days. In fact I prefer it this way. It's more of a surprise. And the product feels more real. No use talking about something I can't buy. When we learned of a new game or console we had little to go on. Just basic specs or perhaps a fake screen shot. Maybe a plastic mock-up of the console itself was shown for press purposes. I have been sent other consoles they have done in the past. The problem is that many would like to see if the product is worth picking up over last years model. I too would want them to get it right. Imagine if there were not any reviews of games before they come out. At the least, they should provide an in depth video themselves that can demonstrate the updates to previous models. It really isn't a problem. We will see if the product is worth picking up over last year's model soon enough. When it becomes available. Having games come out before reviews were made was how we kids experienced gaming back in the day. All we had were rumors about what games for what consoles were coming out. Maybe a teaser screenshot. Maybe the equivalent of a two-sentence sidebar tweet in print. By no means did we have exhaustive product previews. When we did we it almost always turned out to be vaporware. Determining what was coming out when started becoming difficult and ultimately disappointing. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+swlovinist Posted August 22, 2018 Share Posted August 22, 2018 Your review was a lot friendlier to them than many of the others. Did you get pre-release samples in the past, too? I did. I had the lens of the general public in mind when I did the review, as well as bringing the console to a private gaming meetup before the review for input. I have reviewed the previous FB portables that last two years. I just want to educate the public about features and have them decide if a product is something they are interested in. I don't like wasting my money on something there is no information on. Some old timers are going to reminisce about the fun of being surprised with buying a game that did not have reviews. While I understand that myself, there also is on the other side the disappointment of blowing XX dollars on a product that did not live up to expectations or promise on the box. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atariboy Posted August 22, 2018 Share Posted August 22, 2018 (edited) Pre-release samples or not, potential buyers don't have to make a blind decision even if AtGames doesn't send a single review sample out. There will be guinea pigs buying these and posting their impressions, people will be posting YouTube videos, we'll have Bill Loguidice telling us a lot of the details and his own reviews around release, we'll have AtariAge members posting their thoughts here, etc. I suppose if someone wants to preorder, it perhaps is an issue. But if they're too concerned to take a chance yet can't manage to wait a couple of weeks for information to disseminate after release, I don't really feel sorry for them. And really, I don't see why someone would be hesitant here, at least for the Atari Flashback 9. We basically already know that it's a further enhancement of the already solid Atari Flashback 8 Gold Edition, will feature improved emulation by virtue of being powered by a popular open source 2600 emulator (Stella?), that it has original joystick support and bluetooth style joysticks (Yet isn't compatible with the AF8's wireless sticks), has a SD card which Bill has already said will load roms (Making the particulars of the built-in game list all but moot for AtariAgers), and that AtGames is designing a new-generation paddle controller for it. Still things to learn and it will have its own set of quirks I'm sure. There was much criticism over last year's menu designs for example, which is something I imagine a few potential customers will be looking for impressions about with 2019's HD product range from AtGames. And I'm sure many of us at AtariAge will want to know just how fully featured the rom loading side is such as Supercharger support and some of the more technically advanced homebrews of recent years. But really for anyone jonesing to buy this day 1, they basically already have a decent idea of what to expect going in. It's an improved Atari Flashback 8 Gold Edition. Edited August 22, 2018 by Atariboy 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanooki Posted August 22, 2018 Share Posted August 22, 2018 Yeah no one really has to expect to get a pre-release copy for review anymore than someone should expect to know everything about a product as they buy it. Most stuff on the shelf or off, you buy it new, you're taking a risk and it has always been that way. The internet and handouts have spoiled people, but there's that negative spoiling, but there's the positive Atariboy said -- guinea pig buyers who can't wait. They'll buy, they'll brag, or they'll snitch depending how it works out and you'll find out fast in print, picture and video. And yeah you have the working gimme here Bill who can spill more as he can around his agreements working for/with them. If anything about emulation is a concern, figure out what era build Stella is being used, then to see what level of compatibility and bugs it has, assume much the same as a base model if they did or didn't bother to fix up stuff around that because of the now finally borrowed from handhelds SD card slot. They know they have to get it right or there will be whining. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keatah Posted August 22, 2018 Share Posted August 22, 2018 (edited) Even back in the day we had reviews once something came out. Just not the hype-building previews months in advance. Big difference. I don't care for previews. Too much happening, too much to keep track of, and it requires you to sort through that hype. And we had other options for learning about new products, games that were good had staying power and that fueled word-of-mouth discussions. If a product was good it sold itself. We had several try-before-you-buy options. The first being the "school's sneakernet network". There was an "elite" club of kids that always traded software, and the cost of entrance was simply owning the same micro they had. Then there was the guy at the computer store. Most all shops (chain or mom'n'pop) were willing to open up a game and let you play for it 15-minutes. The school network option was great because you got unlimited play time on a game, you could even take it home, but you rarely had documentation or a list of keyboard commands or the background story. In the computer store you had all that material, but were rather time-limited. Couldn't sit there for hours playing games. Edited August 22, 2018 by Keatah Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atariboy Posted August 22, 2018 Share Posted August 22, 2018 (edited) All that said, I should add that I think it's a shame if AtGames fails to take advantage of the publicity from reviewers like John. They're only hurting themselves if the Atari Flashback 9 and such meets expectations, since the biggest problem AtGames will hopefully be facing with the Atari Flashback 9 and such is their own reputation. Deserved or not, AtGames doesn't bring to mind positive thoughts for many people online (Although I bet 90% of their casual buyers probably wouldn't even recognize the name AtGames). Getting as many review copies out as they can is a great way to slowly start changing people's opinions, since for each hater, they've converted a dozen more that never touched an AtGames product yet now have it ingrained in their mind that all AtGames products are trash, that all AtGames Sega products have horrible audio, etc. Going to be a long road to squash all that, and keeping the lid tight on 2019's product range in the weeks leading to release isn't helping fight that reputation any. I tried in a few NintendoLife articles a few months back to defend their HD products from 2018 in the comments section when the Sega deal in Japan was announced a while back, yet their reputation is such that I instead just came as argumentative and a troll (Or ignorant, deaf, and blind), since it simply isn't possible that AtGames would release something with some redeeming qualities that could leave someone optimistic for improved versions in 2019. That's the mindset they're going up against. Edited August 22, 2018 by Atariboy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keatah Posted August 22, 2018 Share Posted August 22, 2018 I never thought of AtGames' products as trash. Limited in scope, yes, for they are not that expandable and compatible. But then again they weren't designed as such. I think most of the hate comes from not being able to bring these up to the capabilities of original hardware. The hate based on that is unfounded. These are flashback units. These are casual nostalgia fulfillers. Nothing more. If you want 100% compatibility then get original hardware or settle for the next best thing, emulation on a PC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanooki Posted August 23, 2018 Share Posted August 23, 2018 (edited) I had that at this place in town when I was a teen. When I went in after 2 years of 386 ownership I wanted a 486DX and I got the hook up on a picked out build and in turn the guy put all sorts of 'free' ahem software on there. It's how I learned just how damn cool Dune II was for DOS among others. School worked out too in the high school level, it's how I learned of my love of digital pinball with Pinball Fantasies for DOS and how amazing MOD music over a pc-beep speaker could really be as it was like a muffled mono soundblaster going out of the case. It is true though in the day word of mouth did it, even just smart packaging did it too with the box/vidpro cards and display kiosks that mostly didn't play the games, they played them for you in clips. Games that could go through that, be talked up, get shared, that's how you knew if something was a pile of crap or not. Same could be said of the old BBS days, the old software had download counters and you'd know the better stuff from the worst when something had like 100+ and another was breaking into the 0-10 range and it was as old or older. It was a silent version of the school yard snubbing of garbage. Now it's all about months of previews, senseless very lame interviews, unprofessional fanboyism lies, paid up for reviews and previews, and other junk that it's both overkill and grossly deceitful. Between the few people being fired for exposing that or getting caught doing it, down to when IGN took advantage and would re-review games a year later (like GTA4 taking it from like a 10 to a 7) was very obvious that less than great stuff was being sucked up to with smoke and mirrors. All the tech in the world, and it still comes down to the single paying customer review that still has the most weight whether it's a friend, friend of a friend, associate, or some angry or happy buyer posting some bit on gamefaqs or elsewhere. Emulation also worked around 1995 forward, even the early stuff let you try out stuff on the 8bit level, and soon then 16bit functionally well enough to see if it was worth a toss. It even crossed into theft levels with later Gameboy, zero day GameBoy Color emulator hitting as the hardware did, or the UltraHLE fiasco with N64. You could basically be a thieving douche or rent one out and try it for an hour or three and see if it was worth playing without bugs on real hardware. I'll admit I did it, saved money on some garbage the press lied about, but broken even buying stuff i had no faith in that was actually solid. I even for a time in college created a site called GB World (Gameboy World) and I actually did daily reviews of single GB and GBC games, screen caps off an an emulator and an honest write up for better or worse and it was fun as it was like the old share your thoughts day on the school yard long before everyone had to get attention and have their own website or social media bitching post. Edited August 23, 2018 by Tanooki Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CommanderGrimm Posted August 23, 2018 Share Posted August 23, 2018 I think I've found Atgames new $20 dollar category? The new Atgames BLAST! seems to be a series of controllers and HDMI dongles that allow you to play with what looks like a Genesis-style controller. Found it on the FCC website here: Looks like there will be an Activision, Atari * 3, Legends, and Namco-Bandai BLAST! systems. I'm not sure how many games will be on each one. but I assume the slection will be limited due to the various versions that can be purchased. What do you guys think? I'm not too sure about the button placements, but I suppose it's the best they could do. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CommanderGrimm Posted August 23, 2018 Share Posted August 23, 2018 Scratch that, there will be 20 games on the Activision one, 20 on each of the Atari ones, 12 on the Legends one, and 8 on the Namco-Bandai one. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+swlovinist Posted August 23, 2018 Share Posted August 23, 2018 I think I've found Atgames new $20 dollar category? The new Atgames BLAST! seems to be a series of controllers and HDMI dongles that allow you to play with what looks like a Genesis-style controller. Found it on the FCC website here: Looks like there will be an Activision, Atari * 3, Legends, and Namco-Bandai BLAST! systems. I'm not sure how many games will be on each one. but I assume the slection will be limited due to the various versions that can be purchased. What do you guys think? I'm not too sure about the button placements, but I suppose it's the best they could do. For the price, not bad for cheap gifts this holiday season. I would place these in the same category as the Jacks Plug N Plays. I would love to get my hands on one to check it out. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtariLeaf Posted August 23, 2018 Share Posted August 23, 2018 Interesting that there's a paddle version with 20 games? Depending on quality and the titles involved I would be down for that one for sure. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yakumo1975 Posted August 23, 2018 Share Posted August 23, 2018 The At@games series of Mega Drive consoles are complete crap so what on earth is a Chinese knock off going to be like? Probably awful but how awful? And does it have any hidden features? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanooki Posted August 23, 2018 Share Posted August 23, 2018 Amazing this even is a thing but I wonder what's inside there? You do know those things were chinese rebranded stuff anyway and by multiple companies depending on the region. ATGames, Blaze, etc. Nice Firecore err cord emulation knockoff. I saw a Konami logo just that slow in the early emulation days of the mid 90s on PC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hwlngmad Posted August 23, 2018 Share Posted August 23, 2018 Those look pretty cool, especially at the $20 category. Definitely seeing the final production versions of all of these products will be nice to see, as well as reviews of them when they are released. I am sure that there will be plenty of viewing, that's for sure. I think I've found Atgames new $20 dollar category? The new Atgames BLAST! seems to be a series of controllers and HDMI dongles that allow you to play with what looks like a Genesis-style controller. Found it on the FCC website here: Looks like there will be an Activision, Atari * 3, Legends, and Namco-Bandai BLAST! systems. I'm not sure how many games will be on each one. but I assume the slection will be limited due to the various versions that can be purchased. What do you guys think? I'm not too sure about the button placements, but I suppose it's the best they could do. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrBeefy Posted August 23, 2018 Share Posted August 23, 2018 So is there any other popular emulator that isn't Stella? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swami Posted August 23, 2018 Share Posted August 23, 2018 So is there any other popular emulator that isn't Stella? Theres a more awkward a2600 that runs in mess/MAME. IIRC it does something with mouse control that Stella cannot, like analog mouse control in non-analog games like centipede, or something similar. ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atariboy Posted August 23, 2018 Share Posted August 23, 2018 (edited) So is there any other popular emulator that isn't Stella? Here's some quotes from Bill Loguidice. I believe the last one essentially unofficially confirms that it's Stella based. Without going into too many details (unfortunately, can't trump the August announcements), yes, this year's HD Flashback will license a popular emulator that will be able to run most things, including Pitfall II, and there will be no restrictions on adding your own software. There's going to be a different, proven emulator as the foundation, and the bonus games will no longer be on-board. The Flashbacks from 3 forward have used their own in-house emulator. However, if hypothetically said Flashbacks were to switch to Stella (or an equivalent on the Sega side) in 2018, it would be 100% by following the GPL and contributing back to the efforts. Edited August 23, 2018 by Atariboy 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrBeefy Posted August 24, 2018 Share Posted August 24, 2018 Here's some quotes from Bill Loguidice. I believe the last one essentially unofficially confirms that it's Stella based. Oh I think its Stella too. I just want official confirmation. I have been rooting for this over the Retron77. I really hope unlike hyperkin it has a later version installed on it. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanooki Posted August 24, 2018 Share Posted August 24, 2018 (edited) I like that last line there too, both the 2600 and Sega part, if they're switching to GPL safely covered top of the line public emulation projects as that would finally put the nail in the atgames sega emulation crap to bed for anyone who keeps up, and then the rest when corrected. I'm over with Sega basically, but that said, I would make room once more again for the handheld if it ran that good. I don't think I'd want to wedge another mini console in there, roms would be fine, never bother with a library but little things I enjoyed like licensed never going to happen stuff or old PC conversions I'd be on that. I still adore keeping around the 30 games closed SMS/GG handheld I have as it did do it right. Edited August 24, 2018 by Tanooki Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CommanderGrimm Posted August 24, 2018 Share Posted August 24, 2018 I found this when looking up info for Atgames Blast! https://www.atgames.net/blast Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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