I love this trend of retro micro console

It's just more unnecessary plastic junk that will end up in landfill sooner rather than later. Nintendo has done a great job with 'NESflix' on the Switch to the point that NES Classic just seems so redundant. I'd rather Sony concentrate on something like that for PS4, rather than making more (albeit small) lumps of plastic for the device and controllers that would need to take up more space in my living room, and occupy another HDMI slot on my TV/AVR.

But I realise there's a novelty factor here which is the reason behind the huge success of NES Classic. But, despite being the grand old age of 37 and growing up with physical everything, there's literally no novelty in that for me. I'd rather have less clutter.

butman said:

I'd prefer to play all old games on the latest console.
This is how it should be. Gameflix.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

Gameflix? No.

Xbox BC.

FloatOn said:

Waking up to the news of playstation classic has me grinning like an idiot.

I know there is an argument for backwards compatibility but honestly it's a bit silly to play games 20 to 30 years old on a machine designed to push the latest and greatest.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

Who paid you to make this post OP, Sony or Nintendo?

FloatOn said:

getting nickled and dimed is wack

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

I could buy every PSOne Classic I want for about $85 lol, and I have a feeling that I'm including some games that aren't gonna be in the Classic.

Kinda meh about it myself. Initial news is cool and I think about getting one, but diving into what's available and seeing games that can usually be played already without spending money on another console, makes me keep my money in my wallet.

The novelty does not last.
I much rather have these game on modern consoles.
Or have the option to do both.

Maintenance said:

Gameflix? No.

Xbox BC.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

Not streaming.
You download any game and play it for $12 per month.

I'd like it more if i could actually buy one of them. Shit's sold out in a flash.

MELLO said:

Need the Dreamcast the most, Sega playing

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

My man, it's the only console I will bite, simply because mine is dead.

I chalked my lack of interest in the NES/SNES minis up to my not being a huge Nintendo fan therefore not having much fondness/nostalgia for those games or systems, but I'm just as cold on the PSone Mini despite PSX being one my all time favs and the first console I saved up to buy myself. Idk, they all just come across as money grabby/overpriced and poorly curated (for my tastes). Plus I have way too much shit hooked up already.

I'd prefer to buy the games I want backwards compatible or digital on my modern system, after hauling around 3 generations of consoles, games, and controllers in two recent moves I want less physical please.

Id be cool with classic minis if they didnt kill the VC. Now I just resent them for that.

Also there are better options out there for emulating old games.

FloatOn said:

I know there is an argument for backwards compatibility but honestly it's a bit silly to play games 20 to 30 years old on a machine designed to push the latest and greatest.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

This forum has hit rock bottom.

Mr_Moogle said:

Id be cool with classic minis if they didnt kill the VC. Now I just resent them for that.

Also there are better options out there for emulating old games.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

They are obviously not what killed the VC. Nintendo moving to a new subscription model for VC games, starting with NES games, is what killed the VC.

Nostalgia sells.

As some who has been playing emulators for over 20 years, all you people pumped for these things are being scammed, paying top dollar for less than 2% of rhe good games in these respective system libraries.

It would be acceptable as a novelty if it wasnt clearly replacing backwards compatibility for the companies investing in them.

Hate retro console re-releases. Put the games on a console I use everyday, stop making me buy separate devices.

MY TELEVISION IS NOT MADE OUT OF HDMI PORTS!

...already using every port + a switcher.

I hate it, they use it as an excuse not to offer legitimate bc. I'd gladly pay $5-$20 for digital versions of old games on NEW consoles then buying these mini classic consoles.

I like the idea of them, just hate how you cant add more games without hacking it and pirating. At Least add an online store or something.

I'm old and lazy, I'd rather have a single system where all my games reside and I don't need to buy new boxes to get more games.

I hate this retro console trend.

I wouldn't mind it if it wasn't at the expense of virtual console and proper BC on the PS4, but it is.

FloatOn said:

I don't think as many people play retro games on current consoles as you think.

If you have to go through the trouble of hooking up a little box for a retro night might as well make it worth it with as much nostalgia as possible.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

I actually think you'd be blown away by how many people do this and want more of it when it's done properly.

There's no reason the $500 consoles shouldn't be able to emulate some of these retro games. Manufacturers are actively removing the capability in order to sell these boxes.

I like the idea too, but haven't purchased any of them because I think it's dumb that these things don't have the option for expansions. It would be neat to be able to build the library up a bit, rather than be limited to just what is available on the system.

I'm not. I don't need more plastic things and wires. Would prefer to just own games digitally on PS4 or Switch.

MinusTydus said:

Hate retro console re-releases. Put the games on a console I use everyday, stop making me buy separate devices.

MY TELEVISION IS NOT MADE OUT OF HDMI PORTS!

...already using every port + a switcher.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

the classics are small for a reason. You are supposed to connect them on the side hdmi port and call it a day if you are done with it.

Problem is looking at the trailer reminds you just how ass PSX games looked, It's super cringy. This is not a case where 2D stands the test of time. Bad 3D is just ugly full stop.

I'll be interested to see how well it sells. Probably a decent amount to people who will buy and never play beyond 15 mins (lets be honest, the intended audience of these retro consoles) but I suspect maybe not near as well as NES/SNES mini.

Seems to me like a lot of physical clutter. I'd prefer some kind of virtual library instead. It lacks theatre and novelty, sure, but at least it doesn't waste space and resources. Releasing retro controllers would be decent middle ground.

But they know nostalgia is one of the strongest forces in gaming, so they won't miss an opportunity to get some money out of re-releasing hardware.

FloatOn said:

I know there is an argument for backwards compatibility but honestly it's a bit silly to play games 20 to 30 years old on a machine designed to push the latest and greatest.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

I want one system for playing games on, not a room full of them.
Most people are going to spend an hour or two at most and then it will be ignored and eventually discarded. More unnecessary electronic waste.

Give me GameCube mini and we are good. Until then this doesn't matter to me.

I think they are terrible, thankfully have no real interest in collecting stuff like that. Or any real interest in playing standard PS1 games anymore.

They makes for cute little shelf items though, but there's probably far cheaper alternatives. Also, not something I'm interested in.

The only reason I hate this trend is it's meant that Nintendo (and now sony) have seriously dropped support for legacy consoles on their current machines, I'm never going to buy one of these consoles and I want the option to play certain classics on Switch/Ps4.

I feel like all current mini consoles aren't really for me. I would love a device that acted as the old hardware and software innovations to improve QoL and sturdiness of the platform.

For disc based systems specifically I would have loved a mostly solid state system that would only uses the disc drive for initial caching of the data and copy protection. I'm already kind of there with a Vita TV that runs adrenaline but I would love something official.

NoKisum said:

Still waiting on that Game Boy Classic.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

That would be day 1 for me!

I would like them more if they worked like official emulators you could buy old games for at an affordable price. I think the way they work now, as a device that only plays a preselected bundle of games, isn't the most consumer friendly way to go about it.

I hope I live long enough to buy a PS5......classic mini

No thanks. I just want backwards compatibility because I already have a decent collection of retro games and I'm not about to rebuy any of them.

FloatOn said:

getting nickled and dimed is wack

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

I mean that's literally what these mini consoles are doing

I'd rather pay the same price to play all 20 of those games on my PS4, or the same price as the NES and SNES classics to play all those games on my Switch. And I don't think it's silly to play such old games on new hardware.

The idea that new hardware should only serve to play new games is one of the main things that's wrong with console gaming if you ask me. These micro boxes just exacerbate the problem of console games being too wrapped around proprietary boxes. Sure, I have some nostalgia for the NES or SNES, but ultimately the only reason for that is the games that were on them, and at the end of the day I don't care that much what I'm playing those games on, so much as I'm playing them.

I don't get why Nintendo loves the NES so much. Why didn't the VC launch with SNES too? It's not any harder to do.

Nall said:

I like the idea too, but haven't purchased any of them because I think it's dumb that these things don't have the option for expansions. It would be neat to be able to build the library up a bit, rather than be limited to just what is available on the system.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

The NES/SNES Minis are easy to "hack" and add your own games to! I'm not sure how many you can add but I added ~6 games to mine.

FloatOn said:

actually you are buying most of the good games in one go in one consolidated spot.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

I guarantee you there will be games I have no interest in ever buying on this emulator and at the end of the day it would be cheaper for me to just buy the ones I want separately.

I hate it. I don't want more plastic and wires sitting in my living room or in the closet. I want a digital collection that transfers from generation to generation. I'd be happy to pay for old titles again if Sony guaranteed future compatibility.

what have we done

I totally understand the appeal for the much more casual audience who isn't buying current or even last gen consoles as an easier cheaper way to play those old games, but honestly I don't understand the appeal for the hardcore audience. Or more specifically, I don't understand why those people wouldn't rather have a robust BC strategy that went across multiple generations of consoles. I understand it as a compliment to something like that from a nostalgic perspective, but these things seem to be being made in lieu of that strategy for the most part. I'm not very nostalgic for retro games in general though so a lot of the appeal is lost on me in general. I have more nostalgia for the console/controller designs and if I was still the collecting type, I'd be more interested in like $5-$10 non-functioning mini replicas for display purposes.

I respect the trend, it's a fun product that could be cool. I've still got a PS2 that plays PS1 games, and a PS3 that does as well, and I'm pretty much covered by collections and ports of older games I like. So I haven't been tempted by these yet. Plus the selections aren't quite 100% spot on with my taste enough to tempt me so far.

I'm not sure why people think this is related to console BC efforts. It's absolutely not from a business perspective. It's targeting a different audience and going thru different pipelines for licensing agreements and manufacturing.

BC has been a challenge because of having to update licensing agreements, and handling the technical implementation, and business plan around that.

It's much easier to do a one off mini console to target those not interested in the core console space while keeping your brand in the news and licensing for this type of stuff has been done before so there is nothing to figure out.

BC is about future proofing access and compatibility across future generations and form factors with potentially no end date. These type of deals are new and bizdev is still wrapping their heads around that stuff. It's a big reason why Xbox has to trickle out games even if they have most of the technical side figured out.

The subscription models also add a new wrinkle and new contracts need to be written up for that as well.

MS can be super disruptive with BC because they have the engineering talent and budget , which btw starts out in the red since they are not requiring content owners do anything. That business approach won't work for every platform because everyone has a different strategy and financial restraints and goals.

I want a mini Saturn. Even better if it also includes emulation of the Model 2 arcade games.

A Turbo 16/PC Engine one would be nice. It has the superior Jackie Chan game.

I like dedicated hardware, and flexibility

I want to have a firestick for media playback, but also have media apps on every device

And I want a cute little micro console with the original controller, and also the games on other devices

I want it ALL