They all seem to suffer from serious compatibility issues or horribly shoddy build quality or typically both. The Retron 5 looks to have some of the best compatibility because it uses emulators, but it has the same crappy quality as the others.
I think there would be a market for better made clones that are a bit more expensive... especially Famicom clones.
Heres the old Retron 5 thread with impressions from a bunch of owners on this board. Take a look. The majority of owners I know love it, not saying the build quality is top notch mind you. Some cheap plastic on it bugs me but I love it, as do others, while a minority have (legit) issues with it. It's the current best clone on the market. BunnyBoy's NESHD will be out soon that will play NES, Famicom, and have a port for Famicom Disks using legit hardware if you want to wait for that.
I always stayed away from all these clone systems....
It's amazing how an NES that's like 25 years old will still work like new if taken care of properly.
But something bought last year can't hold up at all.....It's not even just electronics anymore.
i swear man, after like the 1970's companies realized they could make shit products that just break in a few years, and people are so dumb they will just keep buying stuff. Win Win for businesses
Disagree, Analogue NT or the Super 8 Bit are the best clones on the market right now if you're looking to play NES. Also because the retron 5 is basically running (stolen) emulation software, is it fair to consider it a clone?
Disagree, Analogue NT or the Super 8 Bit are the best clones on the market right now if you're looking to play NES. Also because the retron 5 is basically running (stolen) emulation software, is it fair to consider it a clone?
Sorry, I should have said best Emulation system, you're right. With the bang for the buck in the fact it plays so many console games(roms,) it's excellent picture, nice looking scanline option, and translation hacks I think it's the best value if you're looking to cover more than just the NES/Famicom. I'd snag an Analogue NT in a heartbeat if I could justify the coin. I love how that system looks. I will gladly be buying BunnyBoy's sweet system when it launchs though instead!
I bought a retron 3 a loooong time ago to test my games I sold to picture them working. It went downhill fast. Based on my experience with that system, I knew not to touch this one. Those clone system slots just arent made with high quality.
But something bought last year can't hold up at all.....It's not even just electronics anymore.
i swear man, after like the 1970's companies realized they could make shit products that just break in a few years, and people are so dumb they will just keep buying stuff. Win Win for businesses
My DELL LCD monitor is pushing 8 years old and still works without any problems. DELL makes a good computer monitor.
But something bought last year can't hold up at all.....It's not even just electronics anymore.
i swear man, after like the 1970's companies realized they could make shit products that just break in a few years, and people are so dumb they will just keep buying stuff. Win Win for businesses
My DELL LCD monitor is pushing 8 years old and still works without any problems. DELL makes a good computer monitor.
It's funny because i just had the worst customer service experience with DELL that i have ever had. Ordered something on black friday. It took 10 live chats, 2 phone calls, and a report to a manager that never even ended up calling me back to get the return started. And i ended up getting it done myself by finding a return option hidden on their website that NONE of the customer service reps even knew existed. Or at least they didn't recommend me that.
Even then i am still waiting on the shipping label email 3 days later.
All that because i wanted to cancel an order before it shipped because i ordered the wrong item. It ended up shipping out because they never got back to me.
Now i have to ship it back and i have had $250 tied up for a week now.
Can't judge their product but their customer service is garbage.
I had a retron 3 that worked for years and it played castlevania 3. It was one of the middle revisions that were able to do that later revisions messed it up again. But anyway it worked great for a long time it only broke because of my own stupidity I had the upper case off to test a repro I made and touched my hand to a couple of parts and fried it, and got a little jolt myself. I would buy one again if I wasn't already thinking about getting the 5
I always stayed away from all these clone systems....
It's amazing how an NES that's like 25 years old will still work like new if taken care of properly.
But something bought last year can't hold up at all.....It's not even just electronics anymore.
i swear man, after like the 1970's companies realized they could make shit products that just break in a few years, and people are so dumb they will just keep buying stuff. Win Win for businesses
Just look at how thick the main board is in the NES. This thing can never break! And all the chips were probably produced in Japan and in the 80s there was no doubt about the quality of Japanese manufacturers. Nowadays things break just by looking at them :-(
I always stayed away from all these clone systems....
It's amazing how an NES that's like 25 years old will still work like new if taken care of properly.
But something bought last year can't hold up at all.....It's not even just electronics anymore.
i swear man, after like the 1970's companies realized they could make shit products that just break in a few years, and people are so dumb they will just keep buying stuff. Win Win for businesses
Just look at how thick the main board is in the NES. This thing can never break! And all the chips were probably produced in Japan and in the 80s there was no doubt about the quality of Japanese manufacturers. Nowadays things break just by looking at them :-(
Totally! Buying hardware/appliances nowadays seems no different than paying for an annual subscription.
I had a retron 3 that worked for years and it played castlevania 3. It was one of the middle revisions that were able to do that later revisions messed it up again. But anyway it worked great for a long time it only broke because of my own stupidity I had the upper case off to test a repro I made and touched my hand to a couple of parts and fried it, and got a little jolt myself. I would buy one again if I wasn't already thinking about getting the 5
I had a retron 3 that worked for years and it played castlevania 3. It was one of the middle revisions that were able to do that later revisions messed it up again. But anyway it worked great for a long time it only broke because of my own stupidity I had the upper case off to test a repro I made and touched my hand to a couple of parts and fried it, and got a little jolt myself. I would buy one again if I wasn't already thinking about getting the 5
Don't get the 5, stay away from the 5!!!
I asked for it for christmas so we'll see what happens
I had a retron 3 that worked for years and it played castlevania 3. It was one of the middle revisions that were able to do that later revisions messed it up again. But anyway it worked great for a long time it only broke because of my own stupidity I had the upper case off to test a repro I made and touched my hand to a couple of parts and fried it, and got a little jolt myself. I would buy one again if I wasn't already thinking about getting the 5
Don't get the 5, stay away from the 5!!!
I asked for it for christmas so we'll see what happens
it's good for somethings, but the sound quality for certain games is bad. just don't use it alot, itll wear easily.
Seriously, this thing is falling apart like a 90 year old man.
First the controller just stopped working. Took it apart, cleaned the cheapo micro switches, it worked for about a day and gave out again. Legacy controllers are starting to seriously lag, not matter what ones I use (they used to work beautifully). The Sega slot stopped reading games, the NES slot keeps showing games as "Unknown". I was playing a game the other day and it just reset on me. I mean WTF? Without even regular use it just deteriorates.
I have the same problem with mine, it would be awesome if it didn't break. Mine doesn't read nes or sega as well. It was great while it lasted, live and learn! Keep your eye out on reviews of this retro freak! Could be the answer!
Ditto. I've got my eye set on the Retro Freak. It is the Japanese version of the Retron 5 that doesn't suck that supports Famicom (and NES via adapter), Genesis/MD, SNES/SFC, TurboGrafx/PCe [!], and the menu can be chanfed to English. It remains to be seen whether this system supports SMS/MK III by adapter. The Retro Freak also dumps the game carts as ROMs so you don't need the cart every time (and also doubles as Retrode/dumper capability for which the Retron5 is useless), and you can load additional ROMs via the microSD card. Plus, the brains of the Retro Freak is a dockable unit that can be disconnected from the base station so you can transport your game/ROM collection on the go while leaving the cart dumper at home. There's also a separate adapter dongle for plugging in retro controllers.
So if you're on the fence regarding the Retron5, save your money and buy a Retro Freak.
I had a retron 3 that worked for years and it played castlevania 3. It was one of the middle revisions that were able to do that later revisions messed it up again. But anyway it worked great for a long time it only broke because of my own stupidity I had the upper case off to test a repro I made and touched my hand to a couple of parts and fried it, and got a little jolt myself. I would buy one again if I wasn't already thinking about getting the 5
I had a R3 for years, and only sold it because I got an R5. What a shame. I think I will just get a 3 again. Does the R3 work with the Game Genies?
Seriously, this thing is falling apart like a 90 year old man.
First the controller just stopped working. Took it apart, cleaned the cheapo micro switches, it worked for about a day and gave out again. Legacy controllers are starting to seriously lag, not matter what ones I use (they used to work beautifully). The Sega slot stopped reading games, the NES slot keeps showing games as "Unknown". I was playing a game the other day and it just reset on me. I mean WTF? Without even regular use it just deteriorates.
I have the same problem with mine, it would be awesome if it didn't break. Mine doesn't read nes or sega as well. It was great while it lasted, live and learn! Keep your eye out on reviews of this retro freak! Could be the answer!
Ditto. I've got my eye set on the Retro Freak. It is the Japanese version of the Retron 5 that doesn't suck that supports Famicom (and NES via adapter), Genesis/MD, SNES/SFC, TurboGrafx/PCe [!], and the menu can be chanfed to English. It remains to be seen whether this system supports SMS/MK III by adapter. The Retro Freak also dumps the game carts as ROMs so you don't need the cart every time (and also doubles as Retrode/dumper capability for which the Retron5 is useless), and you can load additional ROMs via the microSD card. Plus, the brains of the Retro Freak is a dockable unit that can be disconnected from the base station so you can transport your game/ROM collection on the go while leaving the cart dumper at home. There's also a separate adapter dongle for plugging in retro controllers.
So if you're on the fence regarding the Retron5, save your money and buy a Retro Freak.
Me too. Although I never really had problems with my Retron 5, hopefully the duribility on the Retro Freak's a little better than the Retron 5. Not sure if it's a China Vs. Japan as far as the build quaility (was the R5 made in China?), but for the overall things of what it can do, Retro Freak seems to be the better solution imo. Just for the TG16 and PCE alone-- freakin' awesome if you ask me.
However, as someone's stated before, I do know that things aren't built like they used to, and all these clone consoles are obviously 3rd-party... So I do think quality does go into play. So I won't go into it with expectations that are too high-- but you've got to admit, the Retro Freak is again... freakin' awesome.
Well, today I tried out an NES game and it actually ripped a bin right out. So I decided to pull out the old super glue and see what what it will do. Super glued the pin in, waited about 20 minutes and POW works like a champ again. lol I ran about 10 games through it and all worked just fine.
Well, today I tried out an NES game and it actually ripped a bin right out. So I decided to pull out the old super glue and see what what it will do. Super glued the pin in, waited about 20 minutes and POW works like a champ again. lol I ran about 10 games through it and all worked just fine.
Geezuz! It really is fallin' apart on ya! lol Man, I'm glad you got it fixed.
Well, today I tried out an NES game and it actually ripped a bin right out. So I decided to pull out the old super glue and see what what it will do. Super glued the pin in, waited about 20 minutes and POW works like a champ again. lol I ran about 10 games through it and all worked just fine.
Geezuz! It really is fallin' apart on ya! lol Man, I'm glad you got it fixed.
Its funny because I have had it for going on two years now and it only started this within the last few months. Its worked like a champ up until now.
mine runs like a sewing machine. i never have any issues. it reads my games more consistently than my toaster or toploader.
I threw the pack in controller away when i got my retron. you would be better off using the power glove...
i havent updated the firmware and i bought it the week it launched.
I hear you guys talking about loosening the pins. mine still has a death grip, but ive used retrons for quite a few years now and there is a certain way to take the games out where it isnt that hard. its like those chinese fingercuffs you would get a chuck e cheese or discovery zone as a kid.
mine runs like a sewing machine. i never have any issues. it reads my games more consistently than my toaster or toploader.
I threw the pack in controller away when i got my retron. you would be better off using the power glove...
i havent updated the firmware and i bought it the week it launched.
I hear you guys talking about loosening the pins. mine still has a death grip, but ive used retrons for quite a few years now and there is a certain way to take the games out where it isnt that hard. its like those chinese fingercuffs you would get a chuck e cheese or discovery zone as a kid.
I take the games out using the recomended way that Retron posted on youtube. Always have. The NES slot is the loosest of them all, but still the pins broke. I may end up just going back to the Retron 3 as I dont know how much life the R5 has left in it.
Those Retrons and clone system are too cheaply made for me to invest despite of the features. I rather spend hours repairing a NES knowing it would last for 20 more years than having a clone system that is lucky to last more than a year.
I tried the Retron 5 at a con once, and I wasn't too impressed. Plus doesn't it have stolen software or something?
The front end had some early commented code that was from another frontend but it was never in use - they just forgot to remove the commented code out and corrected that in the first revision. Other than that, some of the emulators they are using are supposed to be downloaded and not pre-packaged. No big deal at all but dissenters LOVE to make a huge deal out of it.
Those Retrons and clone system are too cheaply made for me to invest despite of the features. I rather spend hours repairing a NES knowing it would last for 20 more years than having a clone system that is lucky to last more than a year.
I have all of the original systems, just dont have the room to have them all hooked up at once. The R5 is convenient and the features are really nice when it works.
I tried the Retron 5 at a con once, and I wasn't too impressed. Plus doesn't it have stolen software or something?
The front end had some early commented code that was from another frontend but it was never in use - they just forgot to remove the commented code out and corrected that in the first revision. Other than that, some of the emulators they are using are supposed to be downloaded and not pre-packaged. No big deal at all but dissenters LOVE to make a huge deal out of it.
If you care about legalities, it is a big deal that a company of that size is stealing from the community to make a big profit. It is far more than some commented code they accidently left in. The SNES and Genesis emulators they copied are not licensed for commercial use at all. The NES emulator, GBA emulator, and framework are not compatible with the open source license they picked either. They have failed to provide their source as required by the license, and their encryption system violates it too. These aren't small parts they can easily swap out, it is the core of their system. Nobody with rights complained in a legal way, so they will continue to rip off others. But its chinese design so what do you expect
I tried the Retron 5 at a con once, and I wasn't too impressed. Plus doesn't it have stolen software or something?
The front end had some early commented code that was from another frontend but it was never in use - they just forgot to remove the commented code out and corrected that in the first revision. Other than that, some of the emulators they are using are supposed to be downloaded and not pre-packaged. No big deal at all but dissenters LOVE to make a huge deal out of it.
If you care about legalities, it is a big deal that a company of that size is stealing from the community to make a big profit. It is far more than some commented code they accidently left in. The SNES and Genesis emulators they copied are not licensed for commercial use at all. The NES emulator, GBA emulator, and framework are not compatible with the open source license they picked either. They have failed to provide their source as required by the license, and their encryption system violates it too. These aren't small parts they can easily swap out, it is the core of their system. Nobody with rights complained in a legal way, so they will continue to rip off others. But its chinese design so what do you expect
Regarding the emulators, personally I think they should've just let consumers download them.
As you know, no single entity can develop quality emulators for so many machines in-house. It's quite possible that if they followed the legal route, something like the Retron 5 may have never existed. They went with the old adage, "It is better to beg forgiveness than ask permission."
It is shady that they pre-loaded and 'Tivo-ized' against TOS. Which is why I suspect there won't be another machine quite like the Retron 5 in our future.
Regarding the emulators, personally I think they should've just let consumers download them.
That would break their illusion. So much of their talk was about how it wasn't emulators. Of course the tech people understand they are lying but the general public doesn't.
Originally posted by: cirellio
As you know, no single entity can develop quality emulators for so many machines in-house.
Of course they could, it would just take money instead of stealing for free. Emulators are done as college projects all the time, and they didn't even copy the most accurate ones so quality isn't a concern anyways. All the hard architecture and documentation work has already been done, and by using the database they are limiting compatibility to a subset of the games. A few paid programmers with a year could easily do all of it. Or maybe 2x kevtris.
Originally posted by: cirellio
They went with the old adage, "It is better to beg forgiveness than ask permission."
They did neither
Originally posted by: cirellio
Which is why I suspect there won't be another machine quite like the Retron 5 in our future.
Retro Freak? Of course it is yet to be seen if they just stole everything too!
Comments
Is there any decent clone system out there?
They all seem to suffer from serious compatibility issues or horribly shoddy build quality or typically both. The Retron 5 looks to have some of the best compatibility because it uses emulators, but it has the same crappy quality as the others.
I think there would be a market for better made clones that are a bit more expensive... especially Famicom clones.
http://nintendoage.com/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=31&threadid=136150
Heres the old Retron 5 thread with impressions from a bunch of owners on this board. Take a look. The majority of owners I know love it, not saying the build quality is top notch mind you. Some cheap plastic on it bugs me but I love it, as do others, while a minority have (legit) issues with it. It's the current best clone on the market. BunnyBoy's NESHD will be out soon that will play NES, Famicom, and have a port for Famicom Disks using legit hardware if you want to wait for that.
It's amazing how an NES that's like 25 years old will still work like new if taken care of properly.
But something bought last year can't hold up at all.....It's not even just electronics anymore.
i swear man, after like the 1970's companies realized they could make shit products that just break in a few years, and people are so dumb they will just keep buying stuff. Win Win for businesses
It's the current best clone on the market.
Disagree, Analogue NT or the Super 8 Bit are the best clones on the market right now if you're looking to play NES. Also because the retron 5 is basically running (stolen) emulation software, is it fair to consider it a clone?
It's the current best clone on the market.
Disagree, Analogue NT or the Super 8 Bit are the best clones on the market right now if you're looking to play NES. Also because the retron 5 is basically running (stolen) emulation software, is it fair to consider it a clone?
Sorry, I should have said best Emulation system, you're right. With the bang for the buck in the fact it plays so many console games(roms,) it's excellent picture, nice looking scanline option, and translation hacks I think it's the best value if you're looking to cover more than just the NES/Famicom. I'd snag an Analogue NT in a heartbeat if I could justify the coin. I love how that system looks. I will gladly be buying BunnyBoy's sweet system when it launchs though instead!
But something bought last year can't hold up at all.....It's not even just electronics anymore.
i swear man, after like the 1970's companies realized they could make shit products that just break in a few years, and people are so dumb they will just keep buying stuff. Win Win for businesses
My DELL LCD monitor is pushing 8 years old and still works without any problems. DELL makes a good computer monitor.
But something bought last year can't hold up at all.....It's not even just electronics anymore.
i swear man, after like the 1970's companies realized they could make shit products that just break in a few years, and people are so dumb they will just keep buying stuff. Win Win for businesses
My DELL LCD monitor is pushing 8 years old and still works without any problems. DELL makes a good computer monitor.
It's funny because i just had the worst customer service experience with DELL that i have ever had. Ordered something on black friday. It took 10 live chats, 2 phone calls, and a report to a manager that never even ended up calling me back to get the return started. And i ended up getting it done myself by finding a return option hidden on their website that NONE of the customer service reps even knew existed. Or at least they didn't recommend me that.
Even then i am still waiting on the shipping label email 3 days later.
All that because i wanted to cancel an order before it shipped because i ordered the wrong item. It ended up shipping out because they never got back to me.
Now i have to ship it back and i have had $250 tied up for a week now.
Can't judge their product but their customer service is garbage.
My DELL LCD monitor is pushing 8 years old and still works without any problems. DELL makes a good computer monitor.
DELL some OEM makes a good computer monitor.
I always stayed away from all these clone systems....
It's amazing how an NES that's like 25 years old will still work like new if taken care of properly.
But something bought last year can't hold up at all.....It's not even just electronics anymore.
i swear man, after like the 1970's companies realized they could make shit products that just break in a few years, and people are so dumb they will just keep buying stuff. Win Win for businesses
Just look at how thick the main board is in the NES. This thing can never break! And all the chips were probably produced in Japan and in the 80s there was no doubt about the quality of Japanese manufacturers. Nowadays things break just by looking at them :-(
I always stayed away from all these clone systems....
It's amazing how an NES that's like 25 years old will still work like new if taken care of properly.
But something bought last year can't hold up at all.....It's not even just electronics anymore.
i swear man, after like the 1970's companies realized they could make shit products that just break in a few years, and people are so dumb they will just keep buying stuff. Win Win for businesses
Just look at how thick the main board is in the NES. This thing can never break! And all the chips were probably produced in Japan and in the 80s there was no doubt about the quality of Japanese manufacturers. Nowadays things break just by looking at them :-(
Totally! Buying hardware/appliances nowadays seems no different than paying for an annual subscription.
I had a retron 3 that worked for years and it played castlevania 3. It was one of the middle revisions that were able to do that later revisions messed it up again. But anyway it worked great for a long time it only broke because of my own stupidity I had the upper case off to test a repro I made and touched my hand to a couple of parts and fried it, and got a little jolt myself. I would buy one again if I wasn't already thinking about getting the 5
Don't get the 5, stay away from the 5!!!
I had a retron 3 that worked for years and it played castlevania 3. It was one of the middle revisions that were able to do that later revisions messed it up again. But anyway it worked great for a long time it only broke because of my own stupidity I had the upper case off to test a repro I made and touched my hand to a couple of parts and fried it, and got a little jolt myself. I would buy one again if I wasn't already thinking about getting the 5
Don't get the 5, stay away from the 5!!!
I asked for it for christmas so we'll see what happens
I had a retron 3 that worked for years and it played castlevania 3. It was one of the middle revisions that were able to do that later revisions messed it up again. But anyway it worked great for a long time it only broke because of my own stupidity I had the upper case off to test a repro I made and touched my hand to a couple of parts and fried it, and got a little jolt myself. I would buy one again if I wasn't already thinking about getting the 5
Don't get the 5, stay away from the 5!!!
I asked for it for christmas so we'll see what happens
it's good for somethings, but the sound quality for certain games is bad. just don't use it alot, itll wear easily.
Seriously, this thing is falling apart like a 90 year old man.
First the controller just stopped working. Took it apart, cleaned the cheapo micro switches, it worked for about a day and gave out again. Legacy controllers are starting to seriously lag, not matter what ones I use (they used to work beautifully). The Sega slot stopped reading games, the NES slot keeps showing games as "Unknown". I was playing a game the other day and it just reset on me. I mean WTF? Without even regular use it just deteriorates.
I have the same problem with mine, it would be awesome if it didn't break. Mine doesn't read nes or sega as well. It was great while it lasted, live and learn! Keep your eye out on reviews of this retro freak! Could be the answer!
Ditto. I've got my eye set on the Retro Freak. It is the Japanese version of the Retron 5 that doesn't suck that supports Famicom (and NES via adapter), Genesis/MD, SNES/SFC, TurboGrafx/PCe [!], and the menu can be chanfed to English. It remains to be seen whether this system supports SMS/MK III by adapter. The Retro Freak also dumps the game carts as ROMs so you don't need the cart every time (and also doubles as Retrode/dumper capability for which the Retron5 is useless), and you can load additional ROMs via the microSD card. Plus, the brains of the Retro Freak is a dockable unit that can be disconnected from the base station so you can transport your game/ROM collection on the go while leaving the cart dumper at home. There's also a separate adapter dongle for plugging in retro controllers.
So if you're on the fence regarding the Retron5, save your money and buy a Retro Freak.
I had a retron 3 that worked for years and it played castlevania 3. It was one of the middle revisions that were able to do that later revisions messed it up again. But anyway it worked great for a long time it only broke because of my own stupidity I had the upper case off to test a repro I made and touched my hand to a couple of parts and fried it, and got a little jolt myself. I would buy one again if I wasn't already thinking about getting the 5
I had a R3 for years, and only sold it because I got an R5. What a shame. I think I will just get a 3 again. Does the R3 work with the Game Genies?
Seriously, this thing is falling apart like a 90 year old man.
First the controller just stopped working. Took it apart, cleaned the cheapo micro switches, it worked for about a day and gave out again. Legacy controllers are starting to seriously lag, not matter what ones I use (they used to work beautifully). The Sega slot stopped reading games, the NES slot keeps showing games as "Unknown". I was playing a game the other day and it just reset on me. I mean WTF? Without even regular use it just deteriorates.
I have the same problem with mine, it would be awesome if it didn't break. Mine doesn't read nes or sega as well. It was great while it lasted, live and learn! Keep your eye out on reviews of this retro freak! Could be the answer!
Ditto. I've got my eye set on the Retro Freak. It is the Japanese version of the Retron 5 that doesn't suck that supports Famicom (and NES via adapter), Genesis/MD, SNES/SFC, TurboGrafx/PCe [!], and the menu can be chanfed to English. It remains to be seen whether this system supports SMS/MK III by adapter. The Retro Freak also dumps the game carts as ROMs so you don't need the cart every time (and also doubles as Retrode/dumper capability for which the Retron5 is useless), and you can load additional ROMs via the microSD card. Plus, the brains of the Retro Freak is a dockable unit that can be disconnected from the base station so you can transport your game/ROM collection on the go while leaving the cart dumper at home. There's also a separate adapter dongle for plugging in retro controllers.
So if you're on the fence regarding the Retron5, save your money and buy a Retro Freak.
Me too. Although I never really had problems with my Retron 5, hopefully the duribility on the Retro Freak's a little better than the Retron 5. Not sure if it's a China Vs. Japan as far as the build quaility (was the R5 made in China?), but for the overall things of what it can do, Retro Freak seems to be the better solution imo. Just for the TG16 and PCE alone-- freakin' awesome if you ask me.
However, as someone's stated before, I do know that things aren't built like they used to, and all these clone consoles are obviously 3rd-party... So I do think quality does go into play. So I won't go into it with expectations that are too high-- but you've got to admit, the Retro Freak is again... freakin' awesome.
Well, today I tried out an NES game and it actually ripped a bin right out. So I decided to pull out the old super glue and see what what it will do. Super glued the pin in, waited about 20 minutes and POW works like a champ again. lol I ran about 10 games through it and all worked just fine.
Geezuz! It really is fallin' apart on ya! lol Man, I'm glad you got it fixed.
Well, today I tried out an NES game and it actually ripped a bin right out. So I decided to pull out the old super glue and see what what it will do. Super glued the pin in, waited about 20 minutes and POW works like a champ again. lol I ran about 10 games through it and all worked just fine.
Geezuz! It really is fallin' apart on ya! lol Man, I'm glad you got it fixed.
Its funny because I have had it for going on two years now and it only started this within the last few months. Its worked like a champ up until now.
I threw the pack in controller away when i got my retron. you would be better off using the power glove...
i havent updated the firmware and i bought it the week it launched.
I hear you guys talking about loosening the pins. mine still has a death grip, but ive used retrons for quite a few years now and there is a certain way to take the games out where it isnt that hard. its like those chinese fingercuffs you would get a chuck e cheese or discovery zone as a kid.
mine runs like a sewing machine. i never have any issues. it reads my games more consistently than my toaster or toploader.
I threw the pack in controller away when i got my retron. you would be better off using the power glove...
i havent updated the firmware and i bought it the week it launched.
I hear you guys talking about loosening the pins. mine still has a death grip, but ive used retrons for quite a few years now and there is a certain way to take the games out where it isnt that hard. its like those chinese fingercuffs you would get a chuck e cheese or discovery zone as a kid.
I take the games out using the recomended way that Retron posted on youtube. Always have. The NES slot is the loosest of them all, but still the pins broke. I may end up just going back to the Retron 3 as I dont know how much life the R5 has left in it.
I tried the Retron 5 at a con once, and I wasn't too impressed. Plus doesn't it have stolen software or something?
The front end had some early commented code that was from another frontend but it was never in use - they just forgot to remove the commented code out and corrected that in the first revision. Other than that, some of the emulators they are using are supposed to be downloaded and not pre-packaged. No big deal at all but dissenters LOVE to make a huge deal out of it.
Those Retrons and clone system are too cheaply made for me to invest despite of the features. I rather spend hours repairing a NES knowing it would last for 20 more years than having a clone system that is lucky to last more than a year.
I have all of the original systems, just dont have the room to have them all hooked up at once. The R5 is convenient and the features are really nice when it works.
I tried the Retron 5 at a con once, and I wasn't too impressed. Plus doesn't it have stolen software or something?
The front end had some early commented code that was from another frontend but it was never in use - they just forgot to remove the commented code out and corrected that in the first revision. Other than that, some of the emulators they are using are supposed to be downloaded and not pre-packaged. No big deal at all but dissenters LOVE to make a huge deal out of it.
If you care about legalities, it is a big deal that a company of that size is stealing from the community to make a big profit. It is far more than some commented code they accidently left in. The SNES and Genesis emulators they copied are not licensed for commercial use at all. The NES emulator, GBA emulator, and framework are not compatible with the open source license they picked either. They have failed to provide their source as required by the license, and their encryption system violates it too. These aren't small parts they can easily swap out, it is the core of their system. Nobody with rights complained in a legal way, so they will continue to rip off others. But its chinese design so what do you expect
I tried the Retron 5 at a con once, and I wasn't too impressed. Plus doesn't it have stolen software or something?
The front end had some early commented code that was from another frontend but it was never in use - they just forgot to remove the commented code out and corrected that in the first revision. Other than that, some of the emulators they are using are supposed to be downloaded and not pre-packaged. No big deal at all but dissenters LOVE to make a huge deal out of it.
If you care about legalities, it is a big deal that a company of that size is stealing from the community to make a big profit. It is far more than some commented code they accidently left in. The SNES and Genesis emulators they copied are not licensed for commercial use at all. The NES emulator, GBA emulator, and framework are not compatible with the open source license they picked either. They have failed to provide their source as required by the license, and their encryption system violates it too. These aren't small parts they can easily swap out, it is the core of their system. Nobody with rights complained in a legal way, so they will continue to rip off others. But its chinese design so what do you expect
Regarding the emulators, personally I think they should've just let consumers download them.
As you know, no single entity can develop quality emulators for so many machines in-house. It's quite possible that if they followed the legal route, something like the Retron 5 may have never existed. They went with the old adage, "It is better to beg forgiveness than ask permission."
It is shady that they pre-loaded and 'Tivo-ized' against TOS. Which is why I suspect there won't be another machine quite like the Retron 5 in our future.
Regarding the emulators, personally I think they should've just let consumers download them.
That would break their illusion. So much of their talk was about how it wasn't emulators. Of course the tech people understand they are lying but the general public doesn't.
As you know, no single entity can develop quality emulators for so many machines in-house.
Of course they could, it would just take money instead of stealing for free. Emulators are done as college projects all the time, and they didn't even copy the most accurate ones so quality isn't a concern anyways. All the hard architecture and documentation work has already been done, and by using the database they are limiting compatibility to a subset of the games. A few paid programmers with a year could easily do all of it. Or maybe 2x kevtris.
They went with the old adage, "It is better to beg forgiveness than ask permission."
They did neither
Which is why I suspect there won't be another machine quite like the Retron 5 in our future.
Retro Freak? Of course it is yet to be seen if they just stole everything too!