Retron 4 (console for snes\nes\genny etc)

[cimerians]

http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2013/03/hyperkin-retron-4/

 

Can anyone comment on this?

 

I usually find these consoles to lack compatibility with some carts as the the writer mentions...

 

HDMI, wireless and GBA sounds pretty cool. I've never heard of Hyperkin though.

[+Gemintronic]

If it's a hacked together "upgrade" of the Retron 3 I'm not impressed. The SNES PowerPak has no issues. My NES PowerPak worked for some games some of the time. The EverDrive worked but most SMS games failed.. then it STOPPED working altogether although normal carts would go in fine. The controller ports are sketchy and do not take most of my joysticks for any system. The infrared joysticks are a joke with no range. If they stop supporting RCA out then that's the final straw.

[OldSchoolRetroGamer]

Personally, as owner of Retron 3 and FC mobile II, stick with original or even some form of software emulation, HYPERKIN makes crap, their hardware clones are cheap garbage.

[Reaperman]

HDMI upscaling is a feature that most of us are going to be looking for in the near future.

I think there's room for a company like hyperkin (or any other company interested in retrogaming) to just put out a nice low-lag hdmi upscaler without having a cruddy game system built into it. Give it advanced ports on top of the standard (like RGB through scart) and we'd be talking. Aspect ratio and simulated scan line options would be welcome as well.

 

It's still nice to see them trying to pack in a feature not available on the original, but I'll probably pass. If for some reason I was space constrained (like on a boat or RV) I might consider more of these type of systems, but then the carts take up most of the space anyway, and these frequently don't run flashcarts (though I do have the full set for this device).

 

What would be really nice is if the sega genesis quality were upgraded and they released a multi-sega unit. (one unit that does genesis, sms and game gear) 32x/cd is probably a bridge way too far, but it'd be nice to play game gear games on something that's not a cruddy game gear. I'd pay for that.

Edited March 5, 2013 by Reaperman

[godslabrat]

They'll be releasing more information at Midwest Gaming Classc. As in, actual people from the company might be there. People who could answer questions. I'd love to get them to explain a few things. It's not just their very questionable design decisions, it's also that there's just no substantial information on any of these units available to the public. If it weren't for forums and YouTube, no one would have any clue what they were releasing.

 

I agree with another poster who said there is definately room for a company like Hyperkin in the market... But I've given up waiting on a decent clone and have focused my efforts on refurbing original hardware. It's not perfect, but it's at least consistent.

[StoneAgeGamer]

Hyperkin actually contacted me directly wanting us to beta test this new system. I am not 100% sure what I can say about it, but what they told me they have been working a long time on this system and have re-developed the motherboard from the ground up. They did say the wireless controllers will be bluetooth and switching between systems will happen from a software menu system so you don't have to get up from the couch to switch systems (assuming you have the game you want to play already plugged into the other system).

 

I am cynical when it comes to clones and I obviously can not vouch for the RetroN4 yet, but I do know Hyperkin does care about the products they put out and behind closed doors will admit that they did make mistakes with some of their past clones and it seems are taking the R4 very seriously. Only time will tell.

[Reaperman]

They did say the wireless controllers will be bluetooth and switching between systems will happen from a software menu system so you don't have to get up from the couch to switch systems (assuming you have the game you want to play already plugged into the other system).

Sounds good, but didn't they burn us a bit on the fc mobile II's controllers? Preproduction photos showed 2.4ghz on the box but then not so much when it hit shelves.

 

Though I will give them that the fc-mobile II was a damn solid piece of clone gaming hardware that I actually do use on the can from time to time. I don't know what prompted them to cut the d-pad in half on that one, though.

[+Gemintronic]

Hyperkin actually contacted me directly wanting us to beta test this new system. I am not 100% sure what I can say about it, but what they told me they have been working a long time on this system and have re-developed the motherboard from the ground up. They did say the wireless controllers will be bluetooth and switching between systems will happen from a software menu system so you don't have to get up from the couch to switch systems (assuming you have the game you want to play already plugged into the other system).

 

I am cynical when it comes to clones and I obviously can not vouch for the RetroN4 yet, but I do know Hyperkin does care about the products they put out and behind closed doors will admit that they did make mistakes with some of their past clones and it seems are taking the R4 very seriously. Only time will tell.

 

You've got almost all the flash carts that I'd be using on it. I wouldn't mind trying them (Hyperkin) again. Any word on if they were planning on improved flash cart compatibility? Also, traditional TV out like RCA or s-video?

[StoneAgeGamer]

Sounds good, but didn't they burn us a bit on the fc mobile II's controllers? Preproduction photos showed 2.4ghz on the box but then not so much when it hit shelves.

 

Though I will give them that the fc-mobile II was a damn solid piece of clone gaming hardware that I actually do use on the can from time to time. I don't know what prompted them to cut the d-pad in half on that one, though.

 

Yeah it was either the FCM2 or RetroN3 where they did that. Either way IR sucks and no one should be using it anymore.

 

 

You've got almost all the flash carts that I'd be using on it. I wouldn't mind trying them (Hyperkin) again. Any word on if they were planning on improved flash cart compatibility? Also, traditional TV out like RCA or s-video?

 

Well they have asked about flash cart compatibility before and if they do indeed send me a R4 for testing I will test all flash carts on it, but my guess it will be more up to KRIKzz to support the system. KRIKzz just recently asked me for RetroN3 so he could improve clone compatibility, but I am unsure if it will ever be something he fully supports or not. The big issue with clones is they they sometimes change the hardware randomly and without notice. They also rarely differentiate between models of the same system. For example there have been a couple changes made to the R3, but there is no markings on the system to my knowldge that allow you to tell the difference between the v1 and v2.

[Taskmaster99]

Sign me up for this. I'm a sucker for a console clone. Dont know why. I just like collecting them.

[+Gemintronic]

Sign me up for this. I'm a sucker for a console clone. Dont know why. I just like collecting them.

 

I was hoping you could explain. It would really help me understand why I have an NES clone shaped like a Penguin. or why I own at least 3 Superjoy III

[Taskmaster99]

I was hoping you could explain. It would really help me understand why I have an NES clone shaped like a Penguin. or why I own at least 3 Superjoy III

 

My wife diagnosed it as a mental sickness. Something in our brain triggers our hands to reach into our wallets whenever we see an inferior cheap piece of plastic that may or may not play all of our games. We know its not going to be as good as the original.....but we gotta have it!!!! on second thought.....maybe its more like a drug addiction.

[Satoshi Matrix]

Damnit Hyperkin, you got me legitimately curious!

 

HDMI output? GBA compatibility? Bluetooth wireless controller? This all sounds good on paper. I reallllllly hope they put in a better NOAC here.

 

As an owner of many Hyperkin products, I have to say I've been woefully disappointed by the vast majority of their products, including the RetroN3.

 

More than likely, I'll buy one for review.

 

 

Right now with as little information as we're currently given, I have many questions looming over this product.

 

StoneAgeGamer, when you get the proto system, could you see about answering some of these questions?

 

 

1. How exactly will HDMI output work? There is no NES-on-a-chip that supports anything better than composite. For the NES side, is Hyperkin simply planning on feeding a composite signal through HDMI as they did with the S-Video signal on the RetorN3?

 

2. Will OEM Nintendo and Sega controllers work? I assume so given the RetorN series history, but it's still an important question to ask.

 

3. Will the device be HDMI only? As in, no other video standards?

 

4. GBA compatibility sounds exciting, but there's quite a number of questions looming over this concept alone. How will you control GBA games? Will GBA games be fullscreen? Will they include the entire GBA chipset meaning GameBoy and GameBoy Color games are also playable?

 

5. Compatibility! Will the current issues with the NES and especially SNES sides of the RetorN3 be fixed?

[Austin]

HDMI--I'll give it a shot just for that. I have a 4X3 HD CRT with HDMI ports which would be ideal for testing this thing.

[Atariboy]

This has nothing to do with the topic at hand, but can a 4:3 HD CRT even display something full screen in HD (Beyond perhaps from a PC)? I would think this thing would be outputting at 16:9 with pillarboxing and would be displayed letterboxed on your HD CRT.

 

I wish this had support for playing roms off a SD card like some of the AtGames products do. GBA flash carts seem to be a confusing mess to wade through which has kept me at bay so a nice clone with that feature would be nice to see. Also I hope the GBA side can also be played with Super Nintendo controllers. If you're stuck playing GBA games with their stock controller, that could easily kill that feature off even if a minor miracle happens and the GBA side is implimented well since I'm sure their controller will be less than ideal.

Edited March 6, 2013 by Atariboy

[+wood_jl]

I wish this had support for playing roms off a SD card like some of the AtGames products do.

 

Hell, yeah! That would be great! I'm surprised this isn't more popular. Which AtGames products do this?

 

 

 

Edit: I'm usually not interested in clones, but this #4 at least sounds promising, or has potential if well-done.

Edited March 6, 2013 by wood_jl

[wccw mark]

I was hoping you could explain. It would really help me understand why I have an NES clone shaped like a Penguin. or why I own at least 3 Superjoy III

me too.lol

[Gabriel]

So, a Retron with a Super Game Boy preinstalled? The HDMI output sounds good. I couldn't care less about the controllers. One of the key features and reason why I like my Retron 3 is because it uses original controllers. Original Game Boy compatibility isn't that big of a deal for me.

 

Game Boy Advance compatibility would be a different story.

[+Gemintronic]

More than likely they're shifting from NOAC technology to emulation with real cartridge slots. In a strange way that should improve compatibility. Although some ARM emulation products have VERY POOR sound quality.

[godslabrat]

I realize the bluetooth controllers and HDMI output are the "Sexy" features of this unit, but honestly I would gladly give them up if it just worked right.

[+Gemintronic]

I realize the bluetooth controllers and HDMI output are the "Sexy" features of this unit, but honestly I would gladly give them up if it just worked right.

 

Agreed. However, I'd consider bluetooth joysticks part of "working right" as finding compatible joysticks has been frustrating and the existing wireless controllers were weak.

 

HDMI better be an option as opposed to the only connection, though.

[godslabrat]

Agreed. However, I'd consider bluetooth joysticks part of "working right" as finding compatible joysticks has been frustrating and the existing wireless controllers were weak.

 

HDMI better be an option as opposed to the only connection, though.

 

I'm very skeptical of the HDMI. Don't get me wrong, I'd love it if it worked well, but I can see too many ways in which it'd be the worst of all worlds, implemented incorrectly.

 

I liked the RetroN3's approach of using the original controllers. I'd like it even more if Hyperkin would re-create classic wired controllers. I'm struggling to keep my vintage stuff in working order, and I'm succeeding, but if I had a source for factory-fresh authentic repros, I'd definitely get a bunch. I'd be surprised if they went that route, though. Wireless stuff is a much bigger selling point.

[cimerians]

Hopefully Satoshi and Stoneage can test these out and let us know. I've ALWAYS held off on buying a clone but this one of course peaks the interest.

 

The gameboy controls also have me a bit worried and also how the gameboy games will look on the screen.

[Rex Dart]

Juuust use the real damn consoles, or software emulation. These knockoff systems are bound to be inferior.

Edited March 6, 2013 by Rex Dart

[+Gemintronic]

Juuust use the real damn consoles, or software emulation. These knockoff systems are bound to be inferior.

 

I'd love to. In reality I cannot devote that much room for all the systems I like to play. Also, stuff breaks. It's sad that while triple systems are technologically impressive the quality stinks. It doesn't have to be that way.