What Would Make the Ultimate 'Throwback' Console?

Started by JoeMusashi, July 25, 2017, 08:17:43 AM

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JoeMusashi

We've seen a lot of re-issue/re-make/throwback consoles over the years; stuff like the OUYA, Retron 5, ZX Spectrum Vega, Atari Flashback, even Sega Forever would fall into this bracket. An eclectic mix of ideas but as far as i can tell most of them fall far short of the mark.

The Official Nintendo Classic series seems to have took the bull by the horns and delivered (and will deliver..!) what people expect.

But what do we actually want? Do we even know? What would make the ultimate retro machine?

A software app with a subscription to digital distribution?
Dedicated hardware based on original designs with FPGA based emulation. Built in games and/or subscription based service.
Single or multi format? Developer or distributor based?
Exact replica Bluetooth controllers?
Would we buy physical media?
Do we want new games on new systems based on old franchises and gameplay?

I just don't know...

Shadowrunner

Good question :)

I'm pretty happy with my modded Xbox that has MAME and other emulators on it and thousands of games to play, but it's not the perfect solution. There's no way to play physical games and you can't save anywhere like most of the new retro machines can.

Of what's out there right now, the Retro Freak sounds good. It supports physical games from many consoles but also allows you to install Roms right on the system. It's pretty expensive though and not really plug and play as far as ease of use.

I'm not a huge fan of the Atari, Nintendo, or Sega throwback consoles just because they seem so limited and I don't think the value is there.

If I could buy a Sega box for example that had a digital game library and I could download every first party game from the Master System to the Dreamcast along with some third party support, that would be perfect!


TrekMD

It certainly is an interesting question.  There are some multisystem consoles out there that will play ROM files for various systems but that won't accept physical media.  I think the ideal system should allow for physical media.

Going to the final frontier, gaming...