Pre-Ordered A Polymega With Walmart? We've Got Bad News For You

I don't know why even buy this System if it is Emulation.
Buy a Retrode2 to use your Cartridges or even extract the Roms with it and use Devices you still own.

There are other better Solutions to play your old Games and Systems on newer TVs.
Be it a Mister or a original System connected with a OSSC.
8Bitdo has wireless Solutions for many Systems.

Take a look at
dragonbox.de
retrogamingcables.uk
amigastore.eu

@Azuris But this can play Sega Saturn and Sega CD disks! If they add Dreamcast in future I'll be all over it.

As i have PS2 Slim Japan and PS2 Fat USA, i don't think i need Polymega since my PS2 machines play both PS1 and PS2 games.

@Clyde_Radcliffe True, but it's emulation. For some people that's already enough to turn them away if they already have another means for emulating those systems.

@Emob Apparently its hybrid emulation and real (using the discs) which they claim provides optimal performance.

@Clyde_Radcliffe

Via Emulation, so can every other open System
So why buy something expansive if you can use Devices you still have?
And Emulation for Certain Systems is still very bad, like the N64.

It is fully Emulation, reading Media is nothing special.
It is even better if you wouldn't use Discs (loading Times).

Edit:
And as i mentioned, you can use a Emulator and a CD-Drive and also use your original Media on other Systems.
With a Retrode2 you can use your Cartridges.

@Azuris "So why buy something expansive if you can use Devices you still have?"

Because most Sega Saturn disk drives are probably in a bad way these days if second hand Dreamcasts are anything to go by.

The system looks cool but it's obvious that the company can't deliver on their promises. If I had ordered one I'd be well pissed off. The thing has been delayed about 5 times already and to be honest I don't think it'll ever be released.

I like that they denounce Walmart all the while leaving the Walmart link on their Facebook page. They also posted this news as a story and NOT on their Facebook or Twitter feed, likely because they've got hords of screaming customers who are getting tired of waiting 2 years for a machine they've already paid for. They lock comments so people can't be critical of them, they don't respond to questions, and they STILL have no firm ship date. I wonder at what point lawyers or the authorities step in?

@Clyde_Radcliffe

Yes but this Device does not replace a Drive or a original Console, it is Emulation, so why not connect my Laptop via Cable to the TV and use my Bluetooth Controller ?
It would be the same but doesn't cost me so much.

If i want to play Games as original as it can be, i replace the Drive or buy a FPGA replacement Console.

All the business stuff around the system is a bit unfortunate, because it seems like the actual console itself is getting a lot of praise.

I looked it up and it really looks cool but I dn't have any old school games like that but it sure is cool for people that do.

Guaranteed this’ll never ship, it’s been a fiasco from day one. Never trust a company that can’t fund its own ventures and wants
100% payment up front.

I like the idea behind these kinds of things, but as someone who's bought and not played a lot of retro titles in the past on modern consoles, I've learned to be honest with myself about the simple fact that I don't have time to get through all the new games I want to play, let alone spend enough time to justify the purchase of something like this. Unless it's something I know I'm going to play at length on the day I get it (recent example being Super Mario 3D All Stars) I don't bother buying retro titles any more. Frankly, I'm tired of having a backlog.

Wait, these announcements came through an Instagram post? Is that really how businesses work these days?

Walmart probably realised it was a scam

@Azuris Because if you think you can have an optimal emulation experience with most CD-based games on a laptop you got another thing coming.

@Clyde_Radcliffe If Hyperkin consoles that do that with cartridges are anything to go by, the hybrid emulation thing might not be optimal.
I can definitely agree with you on the disc drive thing, bought a Saturn 2 years ago that had a lot of work done on it, including the lense for the drive replaced, and it was nearly $300. With parts starting to fail I can see the appeal of something like this.

These new emulation systems certainly have their place. I just love the original consoles plus CRT though - to me there’s nothing like dropping a cart into the original console & playing on original silicon - just gives it a sense of occasion. I love the way a CRT blends the graphics to give that cohesive feel. Super pixelated graphics on modern TVs have their place too - it’s all about enjoying the games after all.

I wonder if the emulation will end up being as smooth as its development

@andykara2003 I’m with you there. I even love playing old consoles via RF on a CRT, it’s just so nostalgic for me! Obviously RGB is the best though.

I have looked into things like the Franemeister and OSSC in the past, as I know one day my CRTs will die. But I always end up down the rabbit hole of all the hassle that comes with it, like OSSC settings for different consoles, even different games on the same console, issues with resolution switching on PS1/N64 games, will my TV be compatible with all the modes the OSSC has, lag on the Framemeister etc. And I just can’t be bothered and stick to playing on my CRT. I do have a RAD2X cable for my Nintendo consoles, as whilst not the best picture it’s just easy plug and play. Will get a RAD2X for the PS1/PS2 too, then I should be done!

Someone at walmart they couldnt flip the consoles for four times the price and are ignoring them lol

@GravyThief Love this! RF has it’s place too

@Nintendemon
It will run as smooth as with the Polymega, both use Emulators to mimic the Hardware.
The Horsepower behind the Hardware is even on the cheapest Devices nowadays.
If the Program can handle the Architecture and Software of the Console, it will run on a Laptop, if not, it will also not run on the Polymega.
There are Reasons why there aren't replacement Consoles for the N64 or the original Xbox.

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.

@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.

To think the Atari VCS came out before this thing is a sign that this device is now just worthless trash. Soon someone would be able to get the Sega Saturn emulator working on other OS and there wouldn't be a reason to get this thing as almost all the emulations on this could be done and done better on other OS and devices including the Atari VCS as evidence by ETA Prime who tested emulations on these kind of things.

You could already play close to perfect emulations from Arcade like MAME, Final Burn Alpha, Atomiswave, Naomi, NeoGeo MVS, consoles like Atari 2600, 5200, 7800, Colecovision, Intellivision, NES/Famicom, Super NES/SFC, SG-1000, Mark III/Sega Master System, Turbo Grafx-16/PC Engine, MS-DOS, MSX, Commodore 64, Amiga, Amiga 32, Sega Genesis/Mega Drive, Sega CD, Sega 32X, Sega Game Gear, Tiger Game.com, Tiger LCD, Game and Watch, Apple Pippin, Philips CD-i, 3DO, NeoGeo AES, NeoGeo CD, NeoGeo Pocket Color, Virtual Boy, Wonder Swan Color, Turbo Grafx-CD, Super Grafx, PS1, PS2, PS3, Sega Dreamcast, N64, Game Boy, GBC, GBA, GameCube, Nintendo DS, 3DS, PSP, PS Vita, Xbox, Xbox 360, Wii, Wii U, and even the Nintendo Switch.

The fact that it doesn't let you rip and dump games for external back-up digitally is also another reason not to get this. Heck for the $400 price tag, they could had at least let us Steam link so we could stream play our PC games on there for added convenience, a lot of those RetroPi setup already had that feature, the fact that this doesn't is just lame.

@Clyde_Radcliffe So can any PC with a CD drive. That's what this thing is.

Mind you at this point I bet it never releases.

@Azuris Why buy it? Why do people owe you the explanation?

NINJA APPROVED

Well this seems to be the issue with these consoles, they are interesting but the availability sucks.

For 500 bucks they couldn't have popped a dvd drive in there in case they could get gamecube or ps2 working in the future? Do enough places still really produce cd drives to make it cheaper. It still makes no sense to me.

Overpriced emulation boxes? Sign me up!

What, why? If you want to download illegal ROMs, use your computer. Also, there's lots of old games available through Virtual Console, Switch Online, etc. If you need more games than that, buy the cartridges and get a console like the AVS.

@KillerBOB Xbox cannot be easily emulated because it's basically a mix of proprietary directx components. It would be like reverse engineering a windows virtual machine. Sure some programs have done it like Wine but it took years and years to even get that working.

I ja e been following these guys since the beginning. Did not pre-order as I have "adult responsibilities" or something. Figure I would wait for more reviews, but this thing sounds fantastic. I can finally take all of my cartridges and discs and dump them to an HD console. No more having to pull out SNATCHER! Hope the release goes well.

i still want one... but if Im not going to get it until Q3, then Im not going to order until Q2. I have faith in the project, but not that much faith.

@Goat_FromBOTW

No, my PC is more than Powerful.

It is no Secret that N64 Emulation is just far away from perfect and miles away from running without to configurate it for certain Games.
The most popular Games will run fine, but even those have graphical issues (Mario Kart for example).
Try playing Body Harvest, it runs badly.

Edit:
Thats also why i am criticizing the Polymega, you'll have no Benefit from this Device, it runs a Emulator and will have the same Issues an Emulator on any other Device has.
Machines like those from Analogue or the Mister aren't emulating, so you have the Benefit of proper running Games.

They have to conince me to buy their Product, i am the Audience for that kind of classic Gaming Stuff.
But there is no Benefit from it.
I can emulate on other Systems, can play on original Hardware with my OSSC and 8Bitdo wireless Controllers, make it more comfortable with an Everdrive and change broken Drives with new ones or SD-Slot-Drives or buy something like the Mister/Analogue.

@Azuris That's true.

IDK. It has an optical drive but it uses emulation in part or fully. Hope it comes out for the backers. I have seen a lot of Youtubers with units months ago.

Been looking forward to this console for a long time, and I still am. However ordering through Walmart guaranteed that you wouldn't be charged until the product shipped. Ordering direct means an immediate charge, and you lose your credit card dispute protections before the product even has a chance to ship. This is now too risky. I'll wait until units actually start to ship out before putting money into this thing...

@Azuris Do we now have PC emulators that run CD-based consoles by reading the ROMs directly from inserted game discs in the PC's CD drive and run them well? If so, that's very impressive and something I was not aware of.

However, if not, then you're relying on downloaded ROMs which are illegal, and the Polymega is worth it just to play some of these systems legally with your legally purchased games if original hardware is no longer available or too expensive and/or troublesome to fix or replace.

It's just all drama with this company and no products. Good luck if you decide to preorder off their site and get charged now for a product that has missed many deadlines.

@BulbasaurusRex

Yes we have, first one with that Feature i've ever used was Bleem back than.
Viceversa many Emulators even mount Isos as a virtual Drive to play them.
Last Games i played from Disc through an Emulator on my PC were Tomb Rider (Dosbox) and Final Fantasy Anthology (Playstation).

If one should not support direct play though CD/DVD-Drives, it is legal in Europe to make yourself a Copy (Iso/Rom) and use it
Same with Cartridge Based Games with the mentioned Retrode2.

@Clyde_Radcliffe honestly! I'm already excited for it as it is... but oh man, if they can somehow manage to add on Dreamcast capabilities... I'd buy it in a heartbeat!!!!

How has this gone unnoticed by Nintendo, Sega AND Sony?

The Nintendo Polymega.

Nintendolife, the Damien McFerran fansite, where Damien talks about whatever he likes.

I'm looking forward to the picture of the polymega beside a banana.

@p0cketpingp0ng

I mentioned it in the Context of ripping
Also what it does is the same as the Polymega or a Retron does with Cartdriges.
They load the rom and than play it on a their build in Emulator.

@gaga64 #15 ”Wait, these announcements came through an Instagram post? Is that really how businesses work these days?”

Yeah, I agree that it feels very unprofessional! Kinda shady too.

ive never gonna buy this junk, im better off with orig games

@Clyde_Radcliffe Daaaaaytoooona let's go away, let's go away.

Why do some people believe this is some kind of hybrid emulation and uses the real disks to play their games? Please go watch watch Modern Vintage Gamer on YouTube, he got a review unit and he has a background in emulation, so he knows what he’s talking about. He says outright that it is all 100% emulation and all the polymega does is rip the roms/isos to the console. That’s all you need your cd’s for. You can save these rips so you don’t even need the cd’s in the console to play them after that. You can do all this with a computer, cd drive, and the right software. The cores that the polymega uses for emulation can all be found online. But if people want to buy this to simplify then go for it. I personally don’t see the point because I have emulators for all these systems set up. The emulators on the polymega are gonna have tweaks specific to it because they will be personalized. But the same difficulty that’s these emulators have with certain games on a computer exist on this as well, including saga Saturn, N64, etc.

@Ptbrady12 I think the early communication from years ago referenced "hybrid emulation," and there's even a whitepaper about it by Rob Wyatt, who went on to the Atari VCS before dropping out of that project.
You're right, nothing about the current Polymega is "hybrid" anything, it's straight emulation, just with ripping the ROM from the cartridge or CD before loading it into a PC-like emulator.