Here are some of the consoles we would have loved to see get the high def mini, form factor, plug & play treatment:

N64 Mini

When Nintendo quickly followed up the NES Classic Edition with the SNES, many of us hoped we were witnessing the birth of a new trend.  Perhaps they’d go back into the archives and create retro mini consolized Game Boy units, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, Virtual Boy.  The possibilities were endless.

The most exciting of these of course would be an N64 Mini.  When Sony went ahead and released a Playstation Classic in 2018, it seemed the 5th generation of home consoles were ready for a new war of living room supremacy.  Unfortunately neither Nintendo nor Sega took the bait, leaving Sony’s entry into the classic edition segment the most recent console to receive such treatment.

As for Nintendo, it makes sense why they didn’t go all in with an N64 Mini – and the reason is their own Nintendo Switch Online service, which hopes to attract gamers of all disciplines to their Switch platform through the availability of abundant retro titles (many from the N64).  It’s a shame too because an N64 Mini would have been spectacular.

CD-i

While CD-i refers to a media format more than a single piece of hardware, Phillips replied to Tweets from users begging for a CD-i Mini with a response that sounded like such an announcement might actually follow.  Sadly, at present, it never has.

The CD-i library is surprisingly robust – with 214 total games released from 170 different developers.  Perhaps most famous among these coming in the form of the officially licensed Nintendo titles:  Hotel Mario, Link: The Faces of Evil, Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon, and Zelda’s Adventure.

3DO

From afar 3DO is remarkably similar to CD-i; it refers to a media format that could be licensed so that actual console hardware could be manufactured and distributed by a wide variety of brands.

While CD-i encompassed a wide variety of multimedia applications (encyclopedias on CD, edutainment titles, etc.), 3DO was more game-centric.  Over 200 titles were officially released by the end of its run, including some very faithful ports of arcade titles like Super Street Fighter II Turbo.

Amiga CD-32

Did you know that back in 1993 Commodore tried its hand at a 32-bit console to do battle with the likes of Sony, Nintendo and Sega?  The CD-32 was based upon their Amiga computer line but failed to make much of a dent in the market.

Now here’s where things get interesting from a Mini perspective.  Retro Games Ltd. has already done all the heavy lifting in creating an HDMI mini version in their Amiga A500 Mini.  All they would need to do to drive we console gamer types crazy with desire is develop a second shell shaped like the CD-32 and give the A500 controller a black paint job.  Here’s hoping they’ll consider it.

PC Classic

Back in 2019 a company called Unit-e announced a PC Classic console, one that would come chock full of games from the DOS era of home computing.  Despite a very strong public reaction, the PC Classic has yet to manifest and even updates from the company have gone cold.

Of all the possible mini classic editions, the PC would certainly be the easiest to achieve as there would be no licensing to procure from a hardware or branding standpoint.  The only licensing involved would be that of the games themselves and with tens of thousands to choose from even from a single era, finding a few dozen titles interested in participating is all but a given.

Here’s hoping Unit-e sees this one through to fruition.

Sega Saturn

We’ll end this list with what is perhaps the system most likely to see the light of day.  When Sega threw its hat in the classic edition ring with the Genesis Mini back in 2019, the talk of where they could go from there was immediate.  After all, why not go on with a Sega CD Mini, a Saturn Mini, a Dreamcast Mini?  To the surprise and delight of many, Sega listened and, in 2022, followed up with the Genesis Mini 2, a unit packed with different Genesis and some Sega CD titles (and a 6-button controller rather than the 3-button of the original Genesis Mini).

All of this to say, Sega clearly gets the demand here and, of all the brands mentioned on this list, has everything needed (including the massive back catalog of titles) to continue producing these things.  And, unlike Nintendo, doesn’t have any current hardware on the market to be concerned with competing against.

The post A Look At Those Mini Classic Editions We (Probably) Won’t Be Getting appeared first on Old School Gamer Magazine.

On account of a seemingly endless series of non-gaming related distractions (sometimes referred to as life), I’ve been regretfully slow at responding to some of the great reader questions that find me on social media.

Let’s take a look into the digital mailbag and see if we can’t rectify that situation.

Q) Regarding your coverage of 16-bit fighting games, wondering if you’re planning on continuing on with 3D titles (some of my favorites to date).  Also what was the worst fighting game you played back then?

I honestly gave consideration to carrying on with the fighting game coverage into the 3D foray when titles like Virtua Fighter and Tekken and Battle Arena Toshinden came onto the scene.  In fact, it could be argued that the transition to pseudo 3D began even earlier than these when games like Ballz 3D came to the 16-bit platforms.  The trouble, I soon discovered, was that there is no definitive point to stop.  It could very easily be argued that 3D fighting games from those days never stopped being produced and still exist today.  One of the problems of writing for a retro-centric mag is that there is no clear and concise line between what separates modern from vintage.  And if there were, it would be forever advancing as newer hardware is a very frequent cycle.

In short, this is the long way of saying that while I do remember that transition to 3D well and respected it at the time for what it was, stopping the coverage at the conclusion of the 2D era made for a good bookend.

As for the worst – that’s tough!  I had some very dubious titles in my Genesis collection while waiting for SFII; Street Smart, Fighting Masters, Slaughter Sport.  I think one of the worst though had to be the home port of Pit-Fighter.  Atari had beat Mortal Kombat to the punch (no pun intended) on the whole digital scanned characters in a one-on-one fighting game but abysmal controls and some of the choppiest animation in existence at the time made this one of those rare instances where it couldn’t go back to the rental store quickly enough!

Q) You seem to cover the Amico a lot but rarely talk about the new VCS.  Why play favorites?

I do try to treat all new retro-themed hardware equally but the VCS is a tough sale for me.  While it is admittedly nice to once again see the Atari logo on a new piece of hardware – especially one with some wood veneer face plating; the price and purpose of the new VCS really make it difficult for me to even understand what they are attempting or who it’s for.

It is essentially a very pricy Linux box with an included 2600 emulator.  Already there are instructional videos appearing online on how to get the UI to work on any PC.  Worse still, at $300 without a controller, and the fact that titles purchased outside of their Vault system aren’t cheap, it’s really encroaching on next gen prices to play some titles that are available just about anywhere else these days (for considerably less).

Again, no bias intended but unless the hardware cost comes down substantially or they begin to get some exclusive killer apps, the Flashback 9 Gold with its 110 titles, two controllers and 720P output that I picked up for $50 will probably retain its entertainment center location.

Q) What is your feeling on this Next Generation madness?

I am usually a sucker for the latest and greatest hardware but have bowed way out of the mess that has been the Playstation 5 and XBox Series X launch.  Sony and Microsoft did consumers no favors when releasing (just before the holidays, no less) hardware that they knew couldn’t keep up with consumer demand.  It’s no industry secret that Covid has severely limited raw material production and stymied shipping times and, as predicted, resulted in a situation where demand severely outweighed supply.

This isn’t the first time we’re seeing this and it surely won’t be the last (a very famous example of this technique being used to manufacturer extreme demand would be Nintendo with the NES Classic Edition) but it feels like the public in general is extra antsy of late – due, in no small part I’m sure, to political unrest, Covid-induced isolation stir craziness and the arrival of government stimulus checks.  It’s all adding up to a fever pitch where product is being purchased up by scalpers who are demanding (and getting) exuberant money for the hardware.

The worst part about this all is that this is possibly the most unnecessary hardware generation in the history of home gaming – the reality is that 85% of consumers don’t even own displays powerful enough to capitalize on the hardware’s increased video output and there is no exclusive “next gen” software slated to be released for the next two years.  In short, waiting on this one makes a lot of sense.

Q)  Why hasn’t Nintendo released an N64 Mini yet?  What do you think will be the next retro console to get a mini?

As to why Nintendo hasn’t released an N64 Mini, I can only speculate.  The most likely answer is that Nintendo, being Nintendo, marches to the beat of its own drum.  They don’t seem overly concerned with what’s going on in the industry at a given moment, instead opting to release products that no one sees coming.  Another way of saying it is they generally like to be trend setters, not followers of trends (even the ones they create).

Aside from that, Nintendo is in a strange position.  Unlike many of the other retro minis being produced, Nintendo is still a very active company in the current console and handheld generations.  They still manage to make millions upon millions in selling their retro games across all of their platforms (both physically and in their e-shops).  Often times their biggest competition on these things is themselves.  So while no one doubts an N64 Mini would sell extraordinarily well, it’s very possible Nintendo doesn’t see the need to open a factory to manufacturer the new hardware when they still have many of the titles available from the system’s library available for purchase already.

As far as what will be the next retro mini – this logic is the opposite of my answer above.  Companies that are not currently active in the industry have a great opportunity to capitalize on licenses and hardware that has been lying dormant for decades right now.  If you were a rights-holder to something like 3DO or CD-i or Amiga CD32, this would be a gold mine opportunity.  Strike while the iron is hot.

If you wanted my prediction, I’d take the easy way out (since it was already confirmed) and say it’ll be another from Sega.  Which one, however, that’s a bit tougher.  Most are hopeful it will be a Dreamcast Mini but I’m not so sure they would leapfrog to the very last piece of hardware they manufactured.  I would hope they would do a Saturn Mini next with plans to follow that one up with the Dreamcast a couple years after.

The post The RETROSPECTIVE Mailbag appeared first on Old School Gamer Magazine.

The era of the mini classic plug ‘n play consoles is firmly upon us but, with a single exception, companies have been slow to bring gaming computers to this red-hot market here in North America.  However, that exception did very well globally and now it appears it is well on its way of spawning a pair of new siblings; a process that’s been frustratingly delayed on account of the global pandemic.

The UK’s Retro Games LTD struck while the iron was hot back in 2018 when they shrunk down the Commodore 64 into THEC64 Mini (a ridiculous official name we assume to avoid legal snags); a little high def emulation box that included 64-preinstalled games, the ability to boot BASIC and a Competition Pro joystick.

They captured the world’s attention but users of the product had some valid complaints.  Rather than simply turn a deaf ear to the user base, Retro Games took note and assured that they would get it right in their next project.  Now it appears that next project has taken shape and, while it’s yet to arrive here to North America, a full size Commodore 64 retro plug ‘n play has been making its rounds through Europe since December of 2019 with favorable impressions in the process.

Its full title being none other than THEC64, nicknames like the C64 or C64 Maxi (to differentiate it from Mini) have been appearing on the internet to remind us that the real world cares not for the nuanced restrictions born of lawyers.  Like the name suggests, THEC64 is no longer a half-scale replica of the original hardware upon which it’s based but rather a full 1:1 scale reproduction with nearly every single complaint about the Mini eradicated in the process.

The first of the big complaints addressed is that of the keyboard – while the Mini’s was non-functioning and existed strictly for show, the Maxi’s keyboard isn’t only an exact replica of the original, it’s fully functional as well.  Given the penchant for most games to rely upon the keyboard in some capacity, not to mention keyboard dependency for any and all use of the included BASIC language functionality, this is a very welcome change indeed.

I should note that the Mini did have a cumbersome onscreen keyboard to help avoid some of these snags as well as the ability to run a USB keyboard but with only two USB inputs, one needed for the joystick and another for ROM-files, a working keyboard on the full size solves a lot of dilemmas.  But if that weren’t enough, Retro Games doubled the number of USB ports for good measure.

The other major upgrade comes in the form of the included joystick, which now includes micro switches like the original.  The benefits of this transition are two-fold:  The first being more precise control/ haptic input and the second being durability.  As they are releasing the new joystick as a stand alone accessory as well, this means good news for C64 Mini users who found fault with the original pack-in unit.

This time, rather than create two separate versions of the hardware, every unit made will output in either 50 or 60 Hz (PAL or NTSC displays respectively).  Once again the final image will be 720P high definition, customizable with a bunch of filter options and, bucking a trend we despise, the set will include the necessary power supply.

Once again the system comes with 64 preinstalled games but there are some changes here as well.  The roster has been shuffled so as to include new additions like Attack of the Mutant Camels, Hover Bovver, Iridis Alpha, Gridrunner and A Planet of Death.  That’s right folks, what good is a working keyboard if not to celebrate with an honest-to-goodness text adventure snatched right from the original hardware’s prime.  Also of interest are the inclusion of recently released titles this time around like 2017’s Galencia (think Galaga).

The full list of included titles is as follows:

Alleykat

Anarchy

Attack of the Mutant Camels

Avenger

Battle Valley

Bear Bovver

Boulder Dash

Bounder

California Games

Chips Challenge

Confuzion

Cosmic Causeway

Cyberdyne Warrior

Cybernoid II

Deflektor

Destroyer

Everyone’s a Wally

Firelord

Galencia

Gateway to Apshai

Gribbly’s Day Out

Gridrunner (VIC-20)

Heartland

Herobotix

Highway Encounter

Hover Bovver

Impossible Mission

Impossible Mission II

IO

Iridis Alpha

Jumpman

Mega Apocalypse

Mission AD

Monty Mole

Monty on the Run

Nebulus

Netherworld

Nodes of Yesod

Paradroid

Pitstop II

Planet of Death

Psychedelia (VIC-20)

Ranarama

Robin of the Wood

Silicon Warrior

Skate Crazy

Speedball 2

Spindizzy

Steel

Street Sports Baseball

Street Sports Basketball

Summer Games II

Super Cycle

Sword of Fargoal

Temple of Apshai Trilogy

The Arc of Yesod

Thing Bounces Back

Thing on a Spring

Trailblazer

Uridium

Who Dares Wins II

Winter Games

World Games

Zynaps

BASIC functionality is back with a twist – this time the user has the option of running either Commodore 64 or VIC-20 BASIC.  In short it means inputting and running programs from either of Commodore’s successful machines is an option now and installing ROM files from either library is now fully doable.  If this doesn’t sound significant to you, consider this (and you may wish to be seated):  Estimates put the original Commodore 64’s library of commercially released games at close to 10,000 and the VIC-20 at at least half that.  In short if you can’t find anything to play on THEC64, you simply aren’t looking.

Keeping in mind that all of the timetables are pushed way behind thanks to Covid, by now the plan was to have THEC64 released globally on the heels of THEC64 Mini with another machine making rounds of Europe this month – this one a modern reproduction VIC-20.

THEVIC20 as it will be officially known looks to include all of the features of THEC64 like the full-size hardware, functioning keyboard, micro switch joystick, both bootable versions of BASIC but a game list made up of examples from each library:

 VIC-20

Abductor, Andes Attack, Arcadia, Bewitched, Blitzkrieg, Brainstorm, Catcha Snatcha, Connect 4, Encounter, Frantic, Frog Chase, Gridrunner, Harvester, Headbanger’s Heaven, Hell Gate, Laser Zone, Martians, Matrix, Mega Vault, Metagalactic Llamas Battle at the Edge of Time, Psychedelia, Snake, Starquest, Subspace Striker, Tank Battle, Traxx, Wacky Waiters, Zor.

C64

Alleykat, Bear Bovver, Boulder Dash, California Games, Chips Challenge, Cyberdyne Warrior, Cybernoid II, Destroyer, Firelord, Galencia Mini, Gribbly’s Day Out, Heartland, Impossible Mission, IO, Iridis Alpha, Jumpman, Mega Apocalypse, Nebulus, Netherworld, Paradroid, Pitstop II, Planet of Death, Robin of the Wood, Speedball 2, Spindizzy, Street Sports Baseball, Street Sports Basketball, Summer Games II, Super Cycle, Sword of Fargoal, Temple of Apshai Trilogy, The Arc of Yesod, Uridium, Winter Games, World Games, Zynaps.

We have been hearing success stories of North American customers having little trouble ordering the yet European-exclusive VIC-20 from sites like Amazon so while it’s true that neither of these latest two retro classic edition systems have enjoyed a global release yet, entrepreneuring gamers are upping their collections for roughly $129.99 per system.

The post Exploring The New Full Size C64 appeared first on Old School Gamer Magazine.

#3 : Mortal Kombat Trilogy

After an amazing launch day of two great titles, the follow up release on the Nintendo 64 was…this. Now, Mortal Kombat is a pretty big title, it’s a series that stands tall today with Mortal Kombat X having been released a few years ago as of this writing. Trilogy is a bit of a mislead in this title. Initially, it might have you thinking that this is a compilation of all three of the first MK games, but it’s not…well, not really. Story-wise, this is just MK3 in a repackaged cartridge. Shao Kahn lost to Liu Kang in the previous game’s tournament, and in his anger he finally takes action on a plan that has been in the works for over 10,000 years : revive his old queen who died at a young age. She’s revived in the Earthrealm, and in his reaching across the boundary, he temporarily merges our realm with Outworld. Now, Raiden and his band of fighters must save Earth and stop Shao Kahn.

What the Trilogy means in the title is this game mashes up all the characters and stages from all the previous games. A handful of characters get new moves, some of which have never been seen before, and any of the mechanics that had been introduced in the last games come back as well. Newly introduced is the games Agressor Bar. This fills up naturally as you fight, but fills quicker when you’re blocking. Once filled, the respective character will be able to move a little bit faster and deal extra damage for a short amount of time.

It’s a fun game and a lot of fun on the N64. I’ve never been a big fan of fighting games because I’m never quick enough with the combos so I never make it all that far. However, being able to use the joystick or the D-Pad (yes you get to choose) is amazing! It makes some of the combos, especially any sweep maneuvers, a lot easier to pull off (at least for me). If this had been made today, it probably would have just been Mortal Kombat 3 Remastered because in essence, that’s all it is. To me personally, this one is on the fence. It’s not a “must have”, but it’s also not a “throw away” and for the price you’ll pay to just pick it up loose, it works out perfectly.

Grade : B
Price : Loose ($15) CIB ($30) Sealed ($95)

#4 : Wave Race 64

Originally refrred to as “F-Zero on water”, Wave Race 64 is the jet ski racing simulator you never knew you wanted. Players compete on a number of tracks spread out over four different tournaments, differentiated by difficulty : Easy, Hard, Expert, and Reverse. The level you choose determines the number of races in your tournament, as well as the AI difficulty. Outside of these tournaments, you can choose to play in Time Trial or Stunt Mode, or if you have a friend, throwdown in multiplayer.

While racing, you’ll be sloshing through waves, navigating around buoys, sandbars, over ramps, and sometimes pretty damn close to some animals. If you’re in one of the tournaments, before each race you’ll be given a total of points you must earn to advance to the next round. These points are cumulative, so there’s a chance that in Round One, you may earn enough to guarantee entry into Rounds Two and Three. Fail to earn these points and your game is over. On the water, your main focus is the red and yellow buoys. Each buoy much be passed on the correct side (red on the right, yellow on the left). When you make the pass, a power bar will start to fill up that has a maximum of five slots, with each slot adding to your jet ski’s speed. If you miss a buoy, you’ll lose all your gained energy and have to start all over, but make sure you don’t miss five buoys because that’s a game over as well.

The other game modes are fairly simple and self-explanatory. In Time Trial, you’ll have free roam of a course to practice your laps, while Stunt Mode puts you in a closed off area with some fun ramps to shoot off of and score points.

All in all, this is a really fun game. It’s tough to get used to at first, especially if you’ve played a lot of more modern racing games on current consoles. The N64’s joystick is quite responsive, though, and once you feel it out you won’t have any issues whipping around the buoys. It still looks amazing over 20 years later, the soundtrack is perfect for the races, and the commentating is obnoxious enough to be funny but not annoying. This one’s fairly cheap to find, even CIB, and again it’s a ton of fun. If you’re being selective about your N64 collecting, be sure to include this title.

Grade : A
Price : Loose ($7) CIB ($16) Sealed ($80)

Upcoming On Stream

Next N64 Chronicles Stream : April 20, 2018
I typically do this series on stream on Wednesdays, but since I got this article a bit later than I was hoping, I’ve moved it to Friday this week. So, if you wanna come check it out in action, my channel is linked to the “upcoming” header above. What am I playing this time? I’ve got a triple feature on tap, a couple sports game and a fighting game. Of the three, I’m more excited for NBA In The Zone ’98. Mostly due to the fact that I’ve never played a basketball game on N64, which makes it literally the only console I’ve never played basketball on.

Next Time…
Wayne Gretzky’s 3D Hockey
Killer Instinct Gold

The post Nintendo 64 Chronicles [2] Mortal Kombat Trilogy + Wave Race 64 appeared first on Old School Gamer Magazine.

By and large, we human-types like things in linear fashion.  We binge watch our shows by season and by episode, we like our phone books alphabetized and when it comes to experiencing our video games from years ago, we sort of expect a natural progression there too.

This point is especially pertinent when it comes to the actions of Nintendo; who have recently discovered gold in the form of the retro market thanks to their plug & play NES and SNES Classic Editions Minis.

When the original 8-bit NES Classic Edition came out in 2016, the world was awash with rumors of Nintendo following suit with a similar self-contained package using titles from their 16-bit Super Nintendo library.  What began as simple speculation came to be when in 2017 North America received the SNES Classic Edition Mini.

Natural progression tells us that won’t be the last we see of Nintendo’s Classic Editions but where they go from here brings up some very interesting discussions.  The net, it seems, wants to believe very badly that the N64 will be the next system to get the Classic Edition plug & play treatment.  So much so that box art mock ups are all over with a little searching, Youtubers are claiming to have deciphered the list of games it will include (if these predictions are true, we’re only looking at 19 games this time around).

Search the term N64 Mini in Youtube and be prepared for information overload.  Posters here claim that the hardware confirmation from Nintendo has leaked, that they have the official trailers, screen caps, gameplay footage and on and on.  Of course truthfully Nintendo has released absolutely nothing about their next Classic Edition effort; or for that matter that there will even be another.  It stands to reason that they will: They have been selling out on entire production runs of these retro game machines the world over and stirring up a ridiculously inflated secondary market (scalpers) in the process.  Demand has outpaced supply not once but twice in recent years.  They would be foolish indeed to leave the segment untapped after two successful entries.

But whether or not the N64 is to be the next target on their list isn’t so cut and dry.  Perhaps it is so at a passing glance; after all, the progression of home hardware from Nintendo went NES, SNES, N64 right?  Not so fast!  Discounting all of the mobile efforts by the big N (which includes several Gameboy iterations), the next semi home console after the SNES would be the Virtual Boy.  You do remember the Virtual Boy, don’t you?  A bizarre bipod-like contraption that had its player gaze into a pair of stereoscopic goggles while holding an M-shaped controller?

The year was 1995 and while the rest of the world was amped on Sony’s Playstation and Sega’s Saturn, Nintendo was still a solid year away from releasing what would become the N64.  To tide its consumer base over, the Virtual Boy hit shelves with claims of an interactive 3D gaming experience like no other before it.  Well, they did manage to provide an experience all its own but perhaps due to factors Nintendo would rather not talk about.

The whole project had its plug pulled in less than a year and closed up shop with a library of merely 22 games.  In addition to displaying only in monochrome (red and black, no less), complaints began pouring in from users of headaches, eyestrain, motion sickness and so on.  All told, Nintendo would manage to move only 800,000 systems worldwide and never even bothered releasing the failed experiment to Europe.

Now if you’re thinking why in the world would Nintendo bother releasing so failed a piece of hardware as a modern plug and play retro unit, you’d have a good point.  But do keep in mind that a majority of the complaints surrounding the system stemmed from two key factors:  1) The dual LED display that was viewed as if through binoculars made people sick.  2) The red and black color scheme was horrendous in a time-frame when full color 3D graphics were making their way to consoles.  Both of these concerns could be remedied simply and cheaply in made-for-TV emulation.  And since under a million units ever saw the light of day in the entire world, Nintendo is essentially sitting on 22 very rare games that few have ever experienced (and there were a few good ones in there like Wario Land).

Of course the biggest downside to all of this is that the Virtual Boy was essentially a 1-player only machine and a good part of the appeal of the retro plug & play experience is grabbing a friend for some couch co-op.  There had been plans to release a link accessory that would allow for chaining various Virtual Boys together for simultaneous game play but the system’s lifespan had ended so rapidly, it was never released (and thus no games developed to make use of the technology).

Now if Nintendo decided to start bringing out their true mobile games to TV hardware (and don’t think there wouldn’t be a market for such things, the Super Gameboy attachment which allowed Gameboy games to be played through the SNES on a TV proved highly successful), the options would become nearly limitless.  The original Gameboy (including the Color) sold 118.69-million units worldwide and amassed a library of 1,049 games in the process.

The Gameboy Advance sold close to 90-million units and had a library of 1,519 games.  The DS boasts 154.02-million units sold worldwide and a library of over 1,837 games.  The 3DS is coming in around 80-million sold and boasts a still-growing library.

The numbers quickly becoming too staggering to even contemplate.  All told, between the three iterations, we’re looking at well over 5,000 games.  Fortunately Nintendo has shown very little interest in crossing their mobile customer base with their home console one; well that is until the Switch came along.  But that’s clearly a subject for a more contemporary-minded journalist to tackle.

So back to the N64 Classic Edition.  Could it work?  Theoretically.  At least from a hardware perspective.  From an economic one, things begin to get fuzzy.  The type of emulation required to accurately run the larger file N64 titles is more complicated and difficult to get right.  We know Nintendo’s got the chops as proven by their Virtual Console versions of most N64 games but making that software stable enough to fuel a (likely weaker) stand-alone box is something they have yet to exhibit.

Next up is the issue of controllers.  Unlike the NES and SNES pads, the N64 introduced both more technically advanced controllers (which included an analog stick) as well as hardware (and many games) that supported 4-player simultaneous gameplay.  In terms of increased manufacturing cost alone, it’s likely Nintendo would have to go back to including just a single pack-in controller.  And hopefully much better availability of additional controllers.

The last, and certainly biggest, obstacle standing in Nintendo’s way in making a N64 Classic Edition is the simple fact that they would be competing with themselves.  How so?  Many of their popular N64 titles are still able to command a pretty decent price in the Virtual Console as well as warrant ports to their portable systems.  In other words, the N64 library may not be quite old enough to warrant packing up and selling off in an emulation package.

Sony has been slow to get on the plug & play retro console bandwagon for the simple fact that their earliest system lands squarely within the hardware generation containing the N64.  Too new, as it were, to begin banking on nostalgia to push units.  In Sony’s case specifically, they emphasized backward compatibility with each new hardware release to keep fans of the generations prior playing on their hardware; a trend Nintendo has yet to adopt.

In any event, while the concept of an N64 Classic Edition Mini is certainly an exciting one, and while it makes perhaps the most sense out of Nintendo’s progression of hardware options, it is not without some hefty drawbacks that may keep it on hiatus for several years to come.

I personally would rather Nintendo cater to the hungry retro marketplace they’ve roused by making NES and SNES Classic Editions more readily available.  If not simply by re-releasing the two systems that sold out in record fashion, then perhaps by creating various editions of the hardware with different games pre-installed on them.  Doing this would make the hardware even more appealing to collectors and completists and as an additional bonus, puts more of the system’s library back into circulation.  The license holders of the individual titles would surely love such an opportunity to cash in on properties they’ve long assumed buried and forgotten as well.  Nintendo, the consumer and the software companies themselves would all benefit from this approach.  That’s what’s known in the industry as a win/win/win.

The post RETROSPECTIVE: Are We Ready for an N64 Classic Edition? appeared first on Old School Gamer Magazine.

Have you ever wondered why the numbers in the names of today’s consoles have more to do with the generation of the hardware family than they do processing power?  Let’s cut to the chase on this one – technology has surpassed the point where a single number can encapsulate a system’s performance.  But perhaps more importantly, the way video games are marketed has changed.  In short, video gaming has become more popular over time.  What was once a rather niche’ activity is now a staple of pop-culture.  Nevertheless, we refer to console generations past by their bits.  Why do we do this and when did it change?  Let’s find out.

To start at the very beginning, we need to define a bit.  The bit is a basic unit (the smallest unit, in fact) of information used in computing and digital communications. A binary digit can have only one of two values; 0 or 1.  So 1-bit can have 2 states (again, 0 or 1).  2-bit would have 4 possible states.  4-bit would have 16 possibilities and 8-bit boasts 256 of them.

By the time the early 1980s rolled around, 8-bit architecture had become the standard in commercial processors.  When Nintendo was developing their Famicom and then Sega their Mark III (NES and Master System respectively), 8-bit architecture was the natural fit.  What this meant was their CPUs use an 8-bit data bus and can therefore access 8 bits of data in a single machine instruction.  Remember that there are 256 possible values for 8 bits; 256 places to store information if you will.

Now what’s interesting is that while we call the third generation of home consoles (as of July 15, 1983, with the Japanese release of both the Famicom and Sega SG-1000) the 8-bit era now, at the time there was very little marketing or even mention of the term “8-bit” as it was happening.

It seemed like bits really became a factor the following generation; when 8 became 16-bit.  NEC went as far as to name their Japanese PC Engine the Turbo Grafx-16 for North America, ensuring part of the very name reminded consumers of its processing prowess.  The Sega Mega Drive/ Genesis boldly displayed the word “16-Bit” across the top of its hardware.  Suddenly the bit had become a term used to identify not just the machine’s processing capability, but also a sort of bookend for which generation the hardware itself belonged.

Consumers, largely unaware of how processing even works, knew one simple thing: The bigger the bit number, the more powerful the console.

Now the leap to 16-bit was a surprising one.  Rather than that 256 possible values that our NES could process simultaneously, that number rocketed to 65,535.  Nintendo didn’t bother flaunting processor specs on their SNES, instead letting their strong library of game titles represent their stake in the 16-bit console wars (of which they would eventually take the lead).

It was the following generation that set much of the precedent that we still follow today.  When home consoles began coming equipped with 32-bit processors, it meant that the CPU was capable of deciphering a staggering 4.3-million (4,294,967,295) bits of data in a single instruction.  When it comes to this much information being processed simultaneously, suddenly other factors began to bottleneck the data flow.  For example 32-bit processors could actually only access roughly 4 gigabytes worth of information at a time (as restricted by the system’s RAM).

To get around some of these snags, RISC processors were implemented (reduced instruction set).  RISC processors actually break up actions that consume memory resources before performing their calculations.  Take Sony’s original Playstation, for example.  It’s RAM came in well below 4-gigabytes; instead working with 2 mebibytes of main RAM and 1 MB SGRAM for frame-buffer.  In short, even the most taxing hardware functions weren’t anywhere close to the limitations of the processor’s capabilities.

Another thing that happened around this era that started to put the proverbial nail in the bit coffin was the allocation of various processors to perform specific tasks within the hardware.  The Sega Saturn is a famous example of how calling the system “32-bit” was a very blanket description of what was actually taking place under the hood.  The system achieved its output across a total of eight processors!  Even its main central processing unit was in fact two Hitachi SH-2 (32-bit RISC) microprocessors clocked at 28.6 MHz and capable of 56 MIPS and two video display processors, the VDP1 (to handle sprites, textures and polygons) and the VDP2 (which handled backgrounds).

Nintendo sat back and watched what was then deemed the 32-bit generation of consoles, aware that its decision to rely upon the highly restrictive cartridge medium while Sega and Sony were touting the vastly more spacious CD-ROM format would demand more horsepower somewhere along the way to compete.  Their solution?  To spec an NEC VR4300i.  While technically a 64-bit RISC processor for which the system was named, the N64, like most video game hardware, faced data restrictions elsewhere throughout the architecture that ensured merely a minuscule fraction of the processor’s ability to interpret 18,446,744,073,709,551,615 combinations of data as a single instruction was ever used.

Believe it or not, home computing even to this very day is still based on 64-bit architecture.  The reason for this is that it would take about 16 exabytes of RAM (and do keep in mind one exabyte is 1-billion gigs) to reach the limitations of a 64-bit processor’s abilities.  Think about that for a moment.

But back to consoles, there has really never been a reason to advance beyond 64-bit processing; it’s simply a matter of boosting up the limitations of the hardware around the CPU to achieve the desired results in system output.

About the last time I recall bits being used in console marketing was around the year 2000 when Sony was discussing its Emotion Engine fueling the Playstation 2 as a 128-bit platform.  This wasn’t just marketing hyperbole, but nor was it truly a 128-bit processor in action either.  What’s actually there is a two-way Sony/Toshiba RISC processor operating on 128-bit wide groups of either 32-bit, 16-bit, or 8-bit integers in single instruction fashion.  So contrary to popular misconception, the Emotion Engine is not a 128-bit processor as it does not process a single 128-bit value, but rather a group of four 32-bit values that are stored in one 128-bit wide register.

So in conclusion, as nice as it is to imagine a processor bit count that continued to double as quickly as it did in the 1980s and 90s, the truth of the matter is 64-bit is about where the train has stopped.  Engineers are continually developing new ways to tap into that type of processing potential; faster buses, increased clockspeeds, larger and faster system RAM, multi-core processors to divide workloads, more efficient co-processors and control modules to allocate tasks etc.  Or another way of saying it: We don’t expect video game console manufacturers to return to CPU bit-counts in marketing any time soon.

The post RETROSPECTIVE: What Ever Happened to Bits? appeared first on Old School Gamer Magazine.

As I am not one of THEC64’s original backers, I suppose I have less reason to be upset about this than do those who have put up cash to get one and are still waiting.  Of course, I’m not sure that hyping up the Mini is the right thing to do ethically either.

The move to create a Mini makes perfect sense, however.  All it takes is a passing glance at what Nintendo’s been able to accomplish with both the miniature NES and SNES Classic Editions to realize that a nostalgic looking box that emulates original titles legally and pumps the images into a modern display via HDMI is the hot ticket right now.

Fortunately Retro Games isn’t denying any of this.  In fact the following message can be found on their official site: PLUS – Full sized, fully working version also coming in 2018 as well!  Perhaps this is to offer backers some assurance that they haven’t been forgotten.

So what exactly does THEC64 Mini propose for its March 29, 2018 global release?  The $69.99 package will include a miniaturized Commodore 64 (roughly half the size of the original) shell with HDMI out and a pair of USB inputs, a single competition pro joystick and 64 licensed games pre-installed.

Interstingly, while the unit appears to be USB powered – (your TV’s USB port should be able to provide the needed voltage via the included cable), Retro Games does state clearly that no AC adapter is included in the package.  A bit of a bummer for $70.

Like the efforts by Nintendo, it appears THEC64 Mini will be pushing its signal out via 720P resolution with a variety of viewing options to chose from like pixel perfect/ 4:3 aspect ratio and CRT filter.  Now where things get interesting is that because the emulation running on the ARM SOC chip is designed to mimic the original’s architecture, it looks like playing Commodore 64 roms will be possible right out of the box via either of the unit’s USB inputs.

What’s more- the company says the unit runs BASIC.  This may not mean much to modern gamers but users of the original will surely be delighted to discover the appeal of manually typing in old game programs from books will once again be a viable means of increasing one’s game library.  I personally was all over this trend of the early 1980s.  When I wanted a new game to play on my shoestring budget (often literally a shoe string), I would visit the computer section of my local library and transcribe lines of BASIC.  Most of the resulting games were fairly rudimentary but maybe even more challenging was learning what lines did what so that developing games of my own was a legit possibility.

On the flip side to this exciting ability of THEC64 Mini, that shrunken down form factor means the keys here are only for show.  To actually be able to type on the Mini, an external keyboard will have to be plugged into one of the USB ports.  Also, do keep in mind that Commodore ran its own unique subset of the BASIC language called PET BASIC.  And while the 64 included games will likely be launchable from a front end similar to those snazzy interfaces found on the Nintendo minis, it’s looking like classic commands like LOAD “*”,8,1 may be back in circulation when running roms.  -If that last line means nothing to you, you probably had to be there!

So what about those 64 included games?  Well, if you were around collecting for the 64 back during its initial run, you are surely aware of the reality that the library was a mixed bag at best.  The reason for this makes sense too, especially when compared to the more quality-controlled library of a dedicated game console like the NES.  Computer game manufacturers of the era had no “official seal” to apply for to make software available for the machine in question so shovelware abounded with reckless abandon.  Hacks of other games, poor ports and clones littered store shelves.  Decent games existed, of course, but finding them wasn’t always easy.  And do keep in mind that we’re talking about a pre-internet era so simply popping the title you were considering into Google, reading customer reviews or checking out Youtube footage of game play weren’t even an option.  You simply went to the store in those days, studied the game box and hoped for the best.  More often than not, you ended up disappointed.

Retro Games claims to be well aware of this as well and hand-selected 64 titles to license that have largely stood the test of time.  Among these we have some of Epyx’s more popular offerings (Impossible Mission 1 & 2, California, Winter & World Games), Boulder Dash, Star Paws, Uridium, Chip’s Challenge and Bounder to mention a few.  The complete list of games can be found here.

All in all, it’s easy to think THEC64 Mini won’t inspire the type of rabid furor we witnessed with the Nintendo minis (and hopefully nor the type of hardware shortages that benefited only the scalpers) and the raw numbers hint to similar hunches.  The original NES sold 61.91 million units during its run, the Super Nintendo 49.10 million.  Nintendo, consequently, moved 2.3 million and 4 million Classic Edition NES and SNES respectively; their entire production runs of each.

The original Commodore 64 sold around 12.5 million units by comparison.  How many C64 Minis Retro Games plans to produce prior to release is anybody’s guess.  Will I pick one up once they’re released?  I’m not entirely sure.  While I remember many of the games fairly fondly, I can’t really attest to craving a Commodore 64 session the same way I have the NES, SNES and even Sega Genesis (thanks, ATGames).  Though I am a sucker for plug and play nostalgia systems in general and that this one will be fully BASIC ready out of the box is a pretty cool feature in my opinion. 

One thing’s for certain- the retro gaming movement isn’t going unnoticed and I’m hopeful we’ll be getting retro minis of those systems I foolishly passed over the first time around.  If someone makes a TurboGrafx-16 or Sega Master System version any time soon, my credit card and I are in trouble.

The post RETROSPECTIVE: Making Sense of THEC64 Mini appeared first on Old School Gamer Magazine.