zidentia

@Desrever
The Solomon's key looks somewhat legit. I have some of the games in that auction and it is sad how prices have corrupted the industry.

There are several things that look off about this. 1)This is not a Dev cartridge, 2) The label is obviously printed on something as opposed to many of the era that were typewriter characters or handwritten, 3) If this is a test/prototype why did they go to the trouble of including the TM and the ACTIVISION/Mark with year?

I agree that this could be a white label rebox for a Blockbuster or some kind of non retail packaging for a contest or giveaway. Nothing special.

I remember seeing the write up for this. It was great for the N^$ but they need to fix the issues

I have played this a few times. Most of them do not have working fans or were not set up that way. I think more were produced than originally imagined.

I think it may find an audience is they market it a lot and hammer the family aspect of it. I may get one once I see more games that make it worthwhile. As it stands I only see about 3 or 4 games that are truly holding potential.

@NinChocolate
Sega was cool but they lost their way.

I got a chance to watch this all of the way through and it was informative if difficult to understand the translations at times.

He clearly says they are planet names that are used but they may not be your actual point.

Who is Kanye West? Is that Adam Wests son? You know Batman.

👀

@KillerBOB
I had not heard of that but I am seriously looking at getting it since the Analogue stuff is expensive and hard to get.

Sega, oh lord, you do know how to funk up peanut butter on toast if you try.

Wow, have not seen these in forever.

@KevvyLava
Ok, I will keep my eye on it ans wait for some time in the field first to see how it does.

@KevvyLava
Ah, thank you for the clarification. I have not really studied the information but I am looking for a console that plays almost everything. No N64 is still an issue. Thanks again.

The price is a bit high for emulation and you didn't list Genesis carts which have a different output than Mega carts. That would be a problem for me as I have a lot of Genesis games as well as N64. The other issue is the add on adapters adding to the price. It is tempting and on the bubble but I am going to wait and see what first user reviews are.

The base coin op looks legitimate but it is not clear from the site whether it is fully functional but possibly for that price it is. If so that makes it even better.

I think the price is almost spot on. If Uncle Trump will send my pandemic gifts I can buy it.

I can't believe people are still arguing this. I do not have time to post the links but there has been several briefs published online about fair use so search for yourself. The bottom line is this:

Making copies of media for ones self from legally purchased or procured items-LEGAL

Making copies of media produced through non license holding retailers or individuals-ILLEGAL

In other words if you really bought it or a friend gave his legitimate copy to you it is all good. If you found a ROM on the Internet or a friend sent you a ROM that has no real trail of legality then that is bad.

End of story.

I do not think these are true quarter scale except perhaps in height. Regardless you lost me at emulator. For $189 and what appears to be cheap controls I will pass. The 1ups appear to be better machines.

It sounds like a solid system but the price is out of step with the current economic situation.

@TheWingedAvenger 3 million is a bit more than 12 but to be fair Mattel did a terrible job marketing and supporting the unit. They were far ahead in regards to technology but they also made many missteps as well. The controller is difficult to use because it was designed for more than casual games which Mattel refused to explore.

@Bermanator
I think these games appeal to a specific audience and if you were around for the OG systems then I think you appreciate the simplicity of these games. Nintendo uses the same strategy but over time they have advanced the genre to suit newer gamers. Sometimes there is nothing better than playing a less challenging game that you can waste some time with and pick up whenever you like much like 8 and 16 bit games that have come back into vogue.

"While some of the titles shown are marked as still being early in development, many of them look like they've stepped right out of the iOS App Store form a decade ago."

I do not play games on smartphones any longer so I will take that comment as dipped in reality but I agree the games shown here are lacking in originality. There are some good games like Breakout and Night Stalker along with some other unnamed concepts I have seen. I have been keeping an eye on this one and I do like it more so than the Atari concept which seems even shakier at the moment. I am more interested in the Atari as a complete package as I had some of the consoles but the hardware they are using seems lackluster based on tech descriptions posted so far.

The controllers are the linchpin to the Amico system much like they were to the Wii. If they settle in the casual family simplistic fare and utilize the controller in a way that brings the player deeper into the game they may be successful. It is a big risk and I may just be into it for the hardware but at one time they were very innovative. Is there enough nostalgia to overcome the lack of solid titles? Also it could fail much like the Wii U did when players reject the concept. The other interesting divide is the pricing for the Atari and the Intellivision. This is another area which may help the Amico stick the landing.

@AlexOlney I want to say something about your Pokemon but in the current climate I just want you to be play safe.

I am sure I have read his work being in the industry but his name still escapes me. It is always hard to let people go especially when they are in our orbit and affect our center of gravity. The descriptions here certainly paint a picture of a warm, kind and generous person and his impact will continue to be felt by those he touched.

16 games, 200 dollars and sketchy emulation. Sure why not pass on it.

@nab1
They still could have capitalized on some of the IP regardless.

This is still one of Nintendo's biggest missteps in not acquiring Rare or the Rare properties.

Price is too high for me. It makes more sense for me to invest in the new Analogue system to hedge my bet on aging electronics and play original carts.

@brunojenso They certainly are both examples of 1980s design. If I had to choose between a Famicon and an Evercade design the Famicon would win but it is a contest that lacks merit regardless.

This console design reminds me of track suits from the 1980's. Cheezy and lacking real style.

This looks great and would be perfect for FPS games and the rumored Duckhunt reboot coming.

If the crank is not also a way to recharge then I see limited use for game application. Also the Black & White screen is no go for me.

I have to say I am enjoying these articles by Damo. These are definitely timely and anytime we travel through history I am in. Good job.

I suppose this article could be helpful for people who do not deal in anything retro but repairing retro electronics is actually quite easy and there is a lot of great information out there.

I have repaired a lot of consoles and PC's and it is both simple and satisfying.

@Damo
Perhaps it is the editors fault because the article layout is wrong. A run on grammatically flawed sentence could be considered a paragraph in some cases. In any event it has the appearance of click bait since the title should have reflected the purpose of the rerunning of the article.

@Damo
To begin with the comment you refer to is not in the opening paragraph. It is a sentence under the first photo. If you intended this to be a retrospective on the year then you should create an appropriate headline that reflects what you tried to do instead of what you went with.

"Mortal Kombat is an example of how the 16-bit generation went wrong. The gore and complicated combos turned off a lot of people. The NES was played by people of all ages, but in the 16-bit era, gaming became less accessible and started to appeal only to teenage and college boys. The Wii was so great because it was a successful attempt to correct this and make gaming popular again with people of all ages."
@JDORS
I have to disagree on the fundamentals of the situation. The NES did enjoy a wider demographic but it was a combination of bringing the right product to market at the right time. The interest in video gaming was already there and as normally happens in the revitalization of a product category customers were waiting with disposable income to try the next "big thing".

The 16-bit era was a natural progression of the market and as the newness of the original NES wore off casual gamers stayed with the 8 bit system. The fervent customers meanwhile bought into the newer is better strategy. This is the same market tendencies the computer industry sees. The casual customer buys what they need not the newest or best.

As larger and more graphically appealing games came to the 16 bit console market the causal gamer was left to deal with dwindling support and a shrinking 8 bit game availability. If you consider the timing of the NES and the introduction of the 16 bit consoles then the majority of the 16 bit customers are going to be underage gamers and the introduction of animated violence and blood most likely shocked the adults who controlled the spending habits of these gamers. These 16 bit gamers were mostly welcoming the advancing realism that allowed them to play actual arcade games at home.

In the early to mid 1980s the expectations and moralities expressed were much different then today. Taking this into consideration it is understandable why the introduction of Mortal Kombat was a landmark shift in gaming and the controversy surrounding it to be expected. Nintendo, by this time, understood the threat of the Sega assault but they were also following their internal mantra of game play first. They knew they had to compete in the 16 bit category but also manage their reputation as well.

The 16 bit gamer then became the 32, the 64 bit gamer and so forth. Nintendo decided early on they would not compete to attract this demographic so they continued to plot their own course. To this hardcore gamer who demanded and fueled the console race Nintendo had already lost due to their insistence on less violence and no blood.

Gaming did not become less accessible during this time but it did become fragmented as casual gamers were left with less options and hardcore gamers were led by the nose towards planned obsolescence to continuously spend on the newest console.

I agree that the Wii brought the casual gamer back into the industry but I argue that they were always there waiting on for something more aligned with their needs. The market simply changed and now it has changed back for the most part. The shine is gone from the more powerful is always better doctrine. The console race is being battered by streaming which benefits the publishers and takes the ownership form the customer.

Nintendo did not win the console war but they were able to reestablish their niche and reclaim these lost gamers.

Why is Nintendo Life recycling articles? This was already posted.

I had an Intellivision and seriously I need to see gameplay before I even move forward with a maybe. It was a great innovative platform but I am not sure it can compete two years in the future against a new Switch and a PS5. I understand their market approach but is this prototype consumer still around? This is, after all, 2020 when it launches not the 1980s when video games were a crazy volatile new form of entertainment that Mom would buy you for Birthdays and Christmas.

Ahhh, I see Battletoads.

What is really missing here is true context. The digital arcade/video game business atmosphere, much like any new startup category, was not clearly defined by the players yet. Certainly there were standouts but nearly all of the well known video game companies used contracts to allow faster turn around times for game concepts to compete with the older established legacy companies that started with electro mechanical machines.

There is also a huge cultural divide between the Japanese and The US market. Nintendo, like many of the early Japanese companies, was trying to reinvent themselves in a market they were unfamiliar with. What they did was leverage the culture of honorable dealings in their home market to help them recoup possibly lost assets. The fact that they had no contract is not unusual but would be considered careless in todays world.
Ikegami, I am sure acted in good faith as they expected Nintendo to. Nintendo's position is, actually quite common in the industry even now, the concept and the idea are the true assets and the coding is a function of production not the origination. Nintendo simply lacked the skills and the knowledge to and felt they owned the concept. Ikegami most likely felt they were shortchanged on the deal since Nintendo circumvented the process in violation or spirit of the agreement. The settlement really reflects the change in the business for both companies and especially for Ikegami as they continued to diversify their product line.