KillerBOB

Oops, seems I've stumbled upon www.OldUKComputersLife.com

@CowCatcher

😂😂😂

Don't have to angle for a free review unit anymore when they won't exist!

Dude wasted all his Earthworm Jim money on this

@Jokerwolf

I'm gonna stick with my 8bitdo M30, it's pretty much a Saturn controller as is, and I think it's probably my favourite controller to use (for non-Nintendo cores) on MiSTer

@SalvorHardin

Yeah they really went all out in getting popular reviewers to make videos for it.

@Jokerwolf

The beta is out right now but it still has no sound, though the list of compatible games is expanding. Hopefully it is complete (or close too) in the spring!

Sega Saturn is also making improvements, which is pretty awesome.

@Grim

There should be a lot of pre-orders available, the only issue is if you will be waiting 1+ years to get it

@Jokerwolf

I don't know about it running EVERY core on a MiSTer. When it's FPGA specs were announced a year or so ago, it seemed like some of the MiSTer developers weren't sure if it would be able to do much more than possibly 16-bit consoles. I think we are going to have to wait until some of these guys get their hands on it first to see what it's capable of. That said, I doubt it will be playing PS1 games like a MiSTer.

@Morph

MiSTer, a PC, a hacked Switch, hacked Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X in developer mode, a RaspberryPi4, a hacked Wii-U, a hacked Wii, Odroid, NVidia Shield, Batocera mini PC...damn, I can only name 11 😓

@Moistnado

There are a dozen better devices that do the same thing already.

@Ghost_of_Hasashi

They gave them out to websites and YouTube influencers for free to get positive advertising and pre-sell even more units.

Unfortunately, the vast majority of people who actually paid for them out of pocket years ago have yet to get theirs yet.

Scumbag move by a scumbag company.

@abdias

Because they got one free and are compelled to give it favorable coverage

@Crono1973

But you can install your original games onto the hard drive and play them without the cart/disc!!!!!....oh wait.....

Too bad people who ordered it years ago will still have to wait several more months to receive theirs

@bryce951

Ya, let's not enjoy something that exists right now because in 5+ years something else might come along that can potentially do more 😂 Saturn and PS1 cores are being worked on now, so hopefully they will appear, but that seems to be the limit for this FPGA board.

MiSTer exists because a cheap Intel FPGA board (that is heavily subsidized by the company) can be easily purchased by individuals for around $130US. Larger and more powerful ones are available but are out of the price range of regular people. Until several years pass and the prices potentially lower, maybe we will see cores for even more demanding systems, but it's not worth sitting out until that point (I hope you didn't buy a Switch by the way, because what Nintendo is releasing next will be better!)

And have you ever been to any kind of forum for an electronic device/computer before? They are all littered with repetitive questions that could be solved by doing a forum search first, or spending more than 5 minutes trying to figure out the issue yourself.

If you want to plug a MiSTer into a modern display using HDMI, it's hassle free. If you want to display it on a 23 year old computer monitor, yeah, there are a couple visual settings that need to be changed in the menu (which can be trial & error), but many people's first reaction is to ask in forums.

I put mine together in 15 mins (easily identifiable pieces that snap/screw together), put a single file on the SD card, plugged an ethernet cable in, ran a script, and all the file systems and software installed. Then I just added the ROMs to the appropriate folders and that was it. Haven't had to touch a single thing again. And as new updates to the system come out, just plug in the ethernet again and do a 5 min update.

MiSTer is only as complicated as you want to make it, but if you just want to play console games on a flat screen its really quite easy.

@Azuris

That's not what you want, the "Mist" (that thing) is different from the "MiSTer".

MisterFPGA UK has the add-on parts, and you can get the DE-10 Nano board (the main component) from DigiKey or Mouser

@doctorhino

Yeah, not at all.

Retroarch runs on another device and emulates the consoles, then interacts with the ROMs.

An FPGA core essentially becomes the device, and plays the games the same way actual hardware would.

Not the same at all, and there is a noticeable performance improvement when you compare both.

@ParanoidDelusions

When I was waiting for my MiSTer to arrive a few months ago, I was playing The Punisher arcade game on Retroarch (PC) with my new arcade stick a day or two before it showed up.

That was one of the first games I played on my MiSTer when it got here, and it ran noticibly smoother and felt more like an arcade game. It's hard to explain to someone who hasn't tried it, but I could definitely tell the difference.

@Damo

True, it's just that a lot of people are put off by it thinking it's "too difficult", when in reality most of the people who end up getting it realize it's not as daunting as they thought. But yes, it's not just "plug and play"

@NinChocolate

A MiSTer can output video in VGA, composite, component, etc, depending on what cable you use. That is all possible if you want it.

I'd disagree that this is hard to put together.

Research and buy the parts you desire, and you can put them all together and build the thing in 10-15 minutes. Then put some files on a micro SD card, put it in the system, connect it to the internet, and it sets itself up in minutes and downloads all the stuff you need (minus the console ROMs...). There are a lot of YouTube videos that can walk you through it.

I already sold my Analogue Mega SG for double the price I paid, and soon I am going to sell my Super NT for even more. The MiSTer has replaced those for me.

@edwardnintendo64

If it is based on characters created/owned by Nintendo, Nintendo owns it (Star Fox Adventures for example)

If the characters were the creation of Rare, Microsoft owns the games.

GoldenEye is different because the game was based on a character that neither company owns.

@everynowandben

What is the "clear motive" for Nintendo to shutdown a game that they have no legal ownership of? Was Nintendo doing anything with it?

Nintendo doesn't own James Bond, and no longer had a licencing agreement for the use of the character (was it EA at that time?), so what control would they have over the game? The game was built and developed by Rare, they had all the development assets in-house, and they were now free of Nintendo's control and owned by Microsoft. Nintendo didn't make the game.

So we are dealing with a situation where Rare, MGM, Microsoft, Nintendo AND whoever held the game licence rights to Bond at that time (if another company had a contract to make Bond games, I'm sure they wouldn't be pleased about competition from another studio), not to mention potential likeness rights issues...but everyone now wants to blame some anonymous guy in Japan who picked up the phone and said "no" for killing the deal??

That just seems like a major oversimplification.

@everynowandben

Banjo was a character created/designed by Rare, who was paid by Nintendo to develop it, then published by Nintendo.

James Bond is a character owned by MGM, in a game made by Rare, which was paid for and published by Nintendo.

Two completely different scenarios, as the second involves a licencing agreement with a third party and potential likeness rights for real actors, so "no", it's not the same situation at all.

@Azuris

The reason why there is no replacement console for the Xbox is because it's completely unnecessary (who would want it? Backwards compatibility is a thing), and it's still patented by Microsoft.

Also, there is a Hyperkin N64 console in the works as well, but I expect it to be garbage as the emulation in lower powered devices is not good.

Hahahaha!

If the people who pre-ordered from Wal-Mart have any intelligence whatsoever (questionable, since they tried to purchase a Polymega), they need to get their money back and hang onto it.

My bet is that the Covid vaccine is out before this thing

@Zidentia

It's kind of similar to a Raspberry Pi (if you have heard of it), but it's an FPGA.

If you go on YouTube and look up "Smoke Monster Mister FPGA" he has posted dozens of videos showing you what it's capable of and giving a basic rundown, then you can research more on your own.

@sleepinglion

It's not patents, it's cost and technology that is holding everyone back on N64 FPGA development. You can't even achieve perfect N64 emulation on a high powered PC.

@HexagonSun

This has absolutely nothing to do with N64 or GameCube, since those systems (especially the N64) are infinitely more complex to replicate on an FPGA.

That said, just get a Mister instead of this. You can play all these games (and more) for the same price.

@Rodan2000

Not to mention nearly all these questions can be answered by watching one of the many YouTube review/preview videos that have been online for months.

Hopefully they add Netflix next, then it will really fly off the shelves!!!

@SaturnHero

If you want to play NES games in HD, the cheapest method is to get a RetroUSB AVS. The only thing better is the Analogue NT Mini, but that is $500 and currently sold out.

@ThanosReXXX

It's completely reasonable to question if there is a market for this product, I don't know why are taking offense to that notion haha.

The high-end retro gamers I see talk about this on various forums (people who buy/own Framemeisters, Misters, Analogue consoles and other FPGA flashcarts) are almost unanimous in saying they have no intention of buying this.

Either because they already own several options to play these consoles in a superior way (Mega SG, Super NT, RetroUSB AVS, etc), or they use original hardware with upscalers and FPGA options (Terraonion is coming out with a Saturn/Dreamcast ODE soon). These people aren't interested in software emulation at all, just FPGA based things.

So again, we will have to wait and see what happens, but I just don't see this thing becoming successful, especially with all the ill will Polymega garnered over the years of development.

@ThanosReXXX

But why would you play off the discs when you can install the games on the Polymega and play them that way? That's what probably most owners will do.

So if that's the case, you aren't using your actual disc anyway, so why not just play an ISO on your computer for free?

This is a weird (and expensive) product that fits in between low end emulation devices, and FPGA options. People who want to play 8 & 16-bit systems aren't going to buy this, and people who are hardcore Saturn fans already own a console or two, and there are also mods for that system that will play iso's from an SD card.

You may be impressed by this, but I don't think sales will be there beyond the initial pre-orders. It tries to do too much at a high price when there are better individual options for all of these things.

@FourBs

From what I have heard, the Dreamcast had a special laser to read their discs, so the standard laser in the Polymega wouldn't be able to play them.

@Heavyarms55

It's not so much a question of whether it's a scam or not (it exists in the base form, so far), it's whether or not it's a worthwhile product. And that is still debatable until it's been released and people who aren't receiving free demo units are able to try it.

@Morph

The console was originally going to feature FPGA technology when it was announced, but later on they said they were not longer going to do that and were switching to emulation.

@Cheez

It's not better.

@Morph

None of it will be FPGA anymore, it's all emulation

@Damo

Yikes, why so defensive? I seem to have struck a nerve! 😞

My apologies, and I look forward to your next article, likely pertaining to identity politics in a video game, and featuring quotes from a random Twitter user.

@Damo

Well at least those other reviews are actually about Nintendo products 🤷🏿‍♂️

@Damo

Then shouldn't the website editor remind the writer to mention in the article that it is an advertisement? 🤔

@Damo

Quick question!

Did you already get an email from Terraonion saying you would be getting a free review unit, or did you write this in advance in hopes they will see it and then send you one?

Before some idiot complains "WhY iS ThIS oN nINtEnDo LiFe??!!", Damien wrote "GameCube" in the final sentence.

That's why.

Cheaters never prosper

@RudyC3

Or those who have been shilling/reporting on it for years

@illsellyoursoul

Yeah, this thing has so many questions and negativity surrounding it, from the console itself to how it's been marketed/social media, it's kind of pathetic how NL sucks up to them and doesn't question anything.

@NoPhysicalNoBuy

If they are too negative (realistic) about the system, they won't get the free review unit they have been angling for for years

@KitsuneNight

It's free if you keep posting articles about it on NintendoLife