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The RetroUSB AVS just replaced my childhood Nintendo
When I was a child, I fought with my brothers. A lot. It was part of being the youngest, and part of being a family. Most of our sibling rivalry died with our youth, but one single, never-ending quarrel outlived our childhood: the Nintendo Entertainment System. My oldest brother and I have been bickering over our original NES for decades. Who really owns it? Me, the guy who scoured garage sales to build our collection of classic games, or him, the firstborn who -- by sibling law -- is right by default? To this day, we still argue about whose house our childhood console should live in. Today, that war finally ends. I don't need our old Nintendo anymore. I have the RetroUSB AVS.
Faulty connectors push Retron 5 game console into early 2014 launch
Everyone who wants to snag Hyperkin's Retron 5 this holiday season may want to look elsewhere for now, because the retro gaming console won't arrive in time for Santa's visit. Unfortunately, Hyperkin scrubbed the (already delayed) December 10th launch date after discovering faulty cartridge connectors in units already packed for shipping. The Retron 5, which we took for a spin at E3 this year, magically combines compatibility with several ancient gaming system cartridges, including those for the NES, SNES, Sega Genesis (plus Master System with a converter) and Game Boy Advance. While we bet this news breaks a lot of retro gamers' hearts, we hope they don't throw out those vintage games just yet. Sure, it'll take time to ensure all units are in working order, but the firm aims to ship out the first consoles within the first quarter of 2014.
Hands-on with Hyperkin's Retron 5: emulating nine classic consoles with help from Android
This year's Electronic Entertainment Expo might be all about the next generation of gaming hardware, but not in Hyperkin's E3 booth: these guys are looking backwards. We dropped by to check out the Retron 5, the outfit's latest machine to traverse the library of older gaming titles. All told, this iteration strolls through half a dozen hardware cycles, offering compatibility for a full nine video game systems. It's more than a simple hardware emulator, however -- this machine offers save states, cheats and visual filters too.
Hyperkin Retron 5 plays the cartridges of nine classic consoles (video)
Hyperkin has developed a reputation for modern takes on legendary game consoles that are often better than the real thing. If true, its just-unveiled Retron 5 is a nostalgia singularity. The hardware emulator can use its namesake five cartridge slots to play original games from no less than nine vintage consoles, including the Genesis (Megadrive), NES (Famicom), SNES (Super Famicom) and GameBoys from the original through to the GameBoy Advance. It keeps going: there's a custom Bluetooth controller that can handle every system, mix-and-match original controller support, save states and upscaling for both video (to 720p, through HDMI) as well as audio. While we'll have to see just how well the Retron 5 works whenever it exists as more than a conceptual graphic, that opportunity may come quickly when Hyperkin is tentatively shooting for a July release at less than $100. About all that's left for a follow-up Retron are Jaguar and Turbografx 16 slots -- pretty please?
