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It's 2025, And We're Getting A Brand New 8-Bit Game Console (retrododo.com)

submitted 9 months ago by i_am_not_a_robot@feddit.uk to c/retrogaming@lemmy.world

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Yes, you read that right. In a world of cloud streaming and teraflops, a gamer from New York is striving to release their own 8-bit home console with its own gaming infrastructure. Meet the GameTank, its simple controller, and its chunky cartridges that are looking to bring 8-bit gaming back

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[-] daggermoon@lemmy.world 82 points 9 months ago

Not offering HDMI support is a mistake

[-] weirdo_from_space@sh.itjust.works 28 points 9 months ago

Yup, I wonder if that's HDMI Forum's fault though. I hear they are insufferable.

[-] LiveLM@lemmy.zip 44 points 9 months ago

A 8 bit console with a DisplayPort would be funny

[-] Thassodar@sh.itjust.works 16 points 9 months ago

Super easy to find a DP to HDMI cable, why not?

[-] krooklochurm@lemmy.ca 9 points 9 months ago

It's very easy. Even easier than DPing yo mamma which is also pretty easy.

[-] Thassodar@sh.itjust.works 8 points 9 months ago

Hey-yo! (☞ﾟヮﾟ)☞

[-] krooklochurm@lemmy.ca 2 points 9 months ago

Yasss queen

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[-] daggermoon@lemmy.world 9 points 9 months ago

Even better than HDMI

[-] Redkey@programming.dev 17 points 9 months ago

There are all sorts of licensing shenanigans when dealing with HDMI, so I wonder if it's compatible with their open source policy. But personally I'd have put a VGA output on it as a compromise between period correctness and modern usage. Easy to output as analog from the console, and easy to convert cleanly for modern displays with inexpensive adapters.

[-] Peffse@lemmy.world 40 points 9 months ago

I saw these guys at Portland Retro Gaming Expo. I played the demo a tiny bit, and while it was interesting in a way... it felt a bit too early to be showing to people. Maybe it was the 3D printed stuff that made it amateurish.

That said, if I am recalling correctly, the was open-source (oh I found the site and it is) so maybe that whole booth was to demonstrate how someone could build their own unit.

[-] Treczoks@lemmy.world 29 points 9 months ago

Basically, a nice idea. BUT:

What a graveyard of 74xx chips. Maybe just using a FPGA would have been a smarter solution?

RCA video jack? What year is it? Yes, it's a retro design, but it still has to interface with something in this world. And display devices that still use RCA video are not exactly common.

[-] bridgeenjoyer@sh.itjust.works 2 points 9 months ago

Literally all4 of my tvs have rca, lol

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[-] just_another_person@lemmy.world 16 points 9 months ago

It's cool as a fun project, but I don't see how this could possibly be commercially viable, especially with cartridges. The need for physical distribution alone is already a huge money burden on both the producer and the consumer.

[-] Nemo@slrpnk.net 12 points 9 months ago

Why does it need to be commercially viable? What's wrong with doing it for love of the game?

[-] markz@suppo.fi 4 points 9 months ago

It's a product for sale.

There are tons of people who are fine not profiting from their cottage industry projects, but it's not expected that someone wants to lose money on them.

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[-] Peffse@lemmy.world 7 points 9 months ago

I mean, we have Evercade and it's not failed yet.

[-] i_am_not_a_robot@feddit.uk 13 points 9 months ago

Evercade has the advantage of a huge software library to draw from (they have a few native games but the majority are emulated), whereas this will only run it's own software, which puts it at a disadvantage.

Mind you, the Playdate seems to be going well.

[-] ApollosArrow@lemmy.world 3 points 9 months ago

I think one of the things playdate has going for them is they are portable.

[-] MajorHavoc@programming.dev 2 points 9 months ago

Good point. With the specs fully open, hopefully we get a portable of this, at some point.

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[-] Buelldozer@lemmy.today 15 points 9 months ago

I wonder if I could port Petsci Robots to it.

[-] DmMacniel@feddit.org 2 points 9 months ago

The 8 But Guy would certainly approve of this.

[-] Valmond@lemmy.world 10 points 9 months ago

Good luck to them, but IMO too little too late. The only strength is like nostalgia, the rest is just worse than what exist already, again IMO.

[-] weirdo_from_space@sh.itjust.works 8 points 9 months ago

I think an evergreen 8 bit system can be great for gaming an a tight budget. But whater this system will appeal to enough people to justify indefinite support or if the team is even capable of delivering this product remains to be seen.

[-] Aggravationstation@feddit.uk 3 points 9 months ago

It's open hardware so I don't think profitability is a factor.

[-] chiliedogg@lemmy.world 3 points 9 months ago

Getting it to display on a screen is gonna cost enough to kill any value proposition.

How many people in 2025 are still going to be using a display with vintage inputs?

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[-] Valmond@lemmy.world 2 points 9 months ago

Any idea on how tight? I mean the concurrence is hard at lower pricepoints.

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[-] mesamunefire@piefed.social 9 points 9 months ago

I think in order fpe this to succeed they are going to NEED good games. No really that's what people care about.

[-] jordanlund@lemmy.world 5 points 9 months ago

Video looks like an 8-bit Strider clone which isn't a bad idea.

Strider:

https://youtu.be/hzL3Mj12Ilg

[-] frunch@lemmy.world 3 points 9 months ago

Strider is one of my favorite arcade games. I love the graphics and the mood of the setting. Still holds up to this day, imo 😆

[-] mbp@lemmy.sdf.org 4 points 9 months ago

Wow, this is pretty cool

[-] realitista@lemmus.org 3 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

Honestly I would at least expect the animation to be smoother. Seems kind of pointless when a $20 handheld can do better. By all means, develop new 8 bit games or games with that look but why run them on this?

[-] TrojanRoomCoffeePot@lemmy.world 3 points 9 months ago

If anyone has direct access to the developers, could you ask them to release an version of Nethack? I swear to God, I never get tired of getting massacred in that game (or dying from falling off my horse, down stairs, etc.).

[-] replicat@lemmy.world 3 points 9 months ago

The controller has like 3 buttons.

[-] TrojanRoomCoffeePot@lemmy.world 5 points 9 months ago

If Final Fantasy and other older games can have submenus and the ability to select individual characters to name objects, so can ports of old games on new systems.

[-] replicat@lemmy.world 4 points 9 months ago

I really kind of doubt it's even possible to make a game as complex as nethack on anything like a traditional 8-bit system but maybe something like Powder?

http://www.zincland.com/powder/index.php?pagename=about