Feature: Hyperkin Explains How The RetroN Sq Is Bringing The Game Boy To Your Living Room

"These consoles, with the exception of the RetroN 77, are digital solutions that don't employ the use of an operating system, like the RetroN 5."

Someone help me understand this statement? I have a Retron 5 and I'm pretty happy with it, being a casual collector of various retro games.

Do games look different on the more specific systems compared to the Retron 5, or is the difference the fact that the Retron 5 boots to an actual menu, whereas the later iterations do not?

On a side note, I am definitely planning on getting the Analogue Pocket. I'd say I'm a lot more serious in my Gameboy collecting and the Pocket looks phenomenal!

I’ll wait for the Analogue equivalent to launch and get that. I imagine it’ll be much better quality overall.

I think I'll be buying this, be great to play my GBA cartridges on my big TV.

I've had one of these for decades.

They called em Super Gameboys back then though.

I wonder if the quality is better. A lot of buyers say there are a many issues with Hyperkin products,

This looks like a great device!

But 'floodlit car rides home'? Who do they think plays Gameboy games in 2020? When we actually played them in car rides home with our parents we had the Super Gameboy to come home to.

I still got my GBP on my GCN. I’m good.

@Damo thanks for that info! My favourite part about the Retron 5, is being able to run language patches for imported games. Yay! Dragon Quest 3 for the Super Famicom!

Day one. i've wanted someone to do this for a very long time. I hope it isn't blighted with the usual compatibility issues.

Super Game Goy and the Game Boy player not a thing anymore then huh ?

Having owned and played both Retron5 and Analogue Super NT, I’ll be waiting for Analogue’s Pocket NT for my GBA goodness.

So I have this device that connects to the bottom of the Gamecube that plays Game Boy games and from what I understand, it uses actual GBA hardware instead of emulation.

Having played GBA games on the Retron 5, I prefer using the Game Boy Player.

I may have missed it, But how much is this going for?

Yeah I'll hold out for the analouge pocket thanks.

Excellent i wish id kept my gameboy games.
I hope in the far future when switch batterys die and we cant get replacement parts that someone makes something like this for switch games.

Improper scaling, poor sound and massive amounts of lag guaranteed.

I may skipped on this one, I was hoping they release their N64 clone first, that is the only one I would had bought day one just cause having a console with N64 support is cool to me. For portable though like others I will wait for Analogue's offering instead.

A lot of demand for the analogue pocket. Can understand why, it looks brilliant.

Really hoping this is compatible with the joy con.
Accessibility issues mean my adapted joy con is my go to controller and the few GB buttons are ideal to play.

I think this has promise, but have my heart set on the higher end Analogue Pocket to go with my Super Nt and Mega Sg (And hopefully one of these days, an AVS or Nt Mini successor as well).

It's cool but it does something that the SNES and Gamecube have done for over a decade.

Seriously. 🤨 while this is fun for a new generation, I suppose, I can’t help but think about the Super GameBoy cartridge adapter I have for my Super Nintendo that allows me to play my GameBoy games on “the big screen” and has for a quarter century. It’s great and all, but wouldn’t it be nice to have a large screen backlit handheld gaming device similar to the SupaBoy S that would allow us to play the GameBoy games on the go? The Super GameBoy adapter does work on that as well, but man is it ever bulky!

I still have a GameCube with HD component cables and the Gameboy player, which puts every GB game in color, so I doubt I’ll splurge. But it’s nice to see more options out there.

@Atariboy

Right? I have the Analogue NT and the Super NES one and once you go Analogue, it’s hard to go elsewhere. Super high quality stuff!

@Atariboy I see you like Atari, so do I. Have you tried the Retron 77, the 2600 console they put out? I got it about six months ago and I love it. Considering how cheap Atari cartridges are and that it works with every single controller Atari put out rather than buying an original 2600, I went that route and don’t regret it. I owned a 2600 when I was very young, which is why I have an affinity for them to this day.

I find the title humourous....explaining why they did something that Nintendo themselves realized and have been doing for decades - allowing portable games to be played on the TV. They did it with Super Game Boy, Game Boy Player, heck even the Switch is designed around the premise of portable games that also play on TV.

@JayJ

Gamecube, yes. Super Gameboy only plays original gameboy games.

I don't need this because I have the super game boy 2 and the super nt for my original Gameboy needs and the gamecube Gameboy player with E-O-N GCHD MK-II for my Gameboy advance needs but I'm going to grab one anyway. the cube design looks great and the fact that they included composite is great for my crt needs.

@Agent721 I actually just got a Retron '77 about two days ago. While I've had a Retro-bit clone system in the past (The Retro Duo), this is my first experience with a Hyperkin product.

Haven't yet given it a full workout though. The process to update it to the latest build of the Stella emulator sounds slightly complicated at AtariAge, and I want to read through the long threads there to make sure I don't screw anything up.

I also have the Atari Flashback 9, which is very similar to the out of the box state of the Retron '77 with a similarly old version of Stella under the hood (Although the Flashback system lacks the cartridge port of the Retron '77).

But an updated Retron '77 with the latest version of Stella should make that purchase obsolete and provide a good way to play these on my HDTV (I'll keep my genuine 2600 connected to my Trinitron).

A little OT but Im still waiting to see if Polymega will actually release but this an the upcoming Analog system for GB look very promising

@Atariboy Whoa! I had no idea you could upgrade it, thanks for that info. I will look into it, but I must say I’m impressed with it as is. That’s cool you still have an original and with a trinitron to boot. You’re dedicated!

What do you think of the new console/pc they’re putting out?

@Agent721 The folks in the AtariAge community don't seem to think too favorably of the new Atari VCS (Or the Polymega for that matter, but the upcoming Intellivision Amico that I haven't paid much attention to seems to be drawing a lot of optimism).

The main thing the Atari system has going for it from my perspective is the out of the box installation of Atari Vault that each system includes. But I already own that same classic compilation for my Windows PC (Atari Vault) as well as the three individual Atari Flashback Classics releases for my PS4 and the combined 150 game Atari Flashback Classics collection on Switch and Vita.

It hopefully manages to surpass expectations, but Atari SA has done a poor job so far of communicating and the financial situation over there isn't great. So it probably will live up to the low expectations most have and be an expensive low end PC for video streaming and emulation for many of their buyers.

@Agent721 My post got too long above, so wanted to post these links separately. They're the active threads at AtariAge dealing with the Retron '77. The top one is going to be the one you want to look at if you want to update Stella.

https://atariage.com/forums/topic/289929-stella-6-on-the-r77-the-eagle-is-landing/

https://atariage.com/forums/topic/281462-retron-77-community-build-image/#comments

https://atariage.com/forums/topic/266544-retron-77/#comments

@Atariboy Yeah, I get the exact same impression on the new VCS. It looks like they don't know what market to target, and I'm not really sure who the product is targeting. I had higher hopes than this and currently have no plans on getting it.

Thanks for those links, I will definitely check them out! I appreciate it!

@Damo common sense here,and FPGA AS THEY MENTION IS NOT PROVEN AND WILL NOT BE FOR SOME TIME,UNLIKE ANOLOGUE WITH THEIR SALVAGED SHOTTY PRODUCTS HYPERKIN IS JUST TRYING TO PRESERVE NOT BANK AND RIP OFF LIKE ANOLOGUE! I WILL NEVER FORGET THE STOLEN NES BOARDS IN THEIR NES RIP OFF IN THE BEGINNING.

@Nookingtons You do realize Nintendo has done a purge last year that caused a lot of Emulation Sites to remove roms that were first party titles right?, While you can still find third party title roms but the first party roms are gone, The safest way to play them currently is just getting the cartridge it's self

@Nookingtons It's not about finding another script though, Nintendo purged a lot of first party roms which prompted sites like Emuparadise and Vizzed to remove first party titles, Point still stands the safest way to enjoy games without having to deal with that BS is through the cartridges that the games originally came on (No matter how much we wish Nintendo would just preserve these games properly)

Preorders live but still no news on the "beta" GBA emulation. The fact that it's still a beta feature suggests compatibility may be patchy. Does not support flashcards? Does that mean the console's firmware has a database of cartridge/ROM IDs? Definitely advise anyone without $75 to gamble to await reviews.

Hmmm ...... not so sure about this on a 50 inch 4k TV. I think the aesthetics are best reserved for a smaller screen.

@Damo No, most other systems aren't emulation based (Including most of Hyperkin's range of products outside the Retron '77, the Retron 5, and now this).

They're typically hardware recreations on a single integrated circuit (i.e., the "NES-on-a-chip" clones for one such example) or on a reprogrammable FPGA (The newer Analogue platforms and the Retro USB AVS ).

An easy way for the novice to figure this out is if a cartridge loads instantly or must be dumped. If it's the former, it's a hardware based solution. If it's the latter, the console is running a software emulator.

Another easy sign is if multicarts are supported. If they work, it's definitely a hardware based solution. If they don't, the system potentially is emulation based which breaks how multicarts work due to the dumping process.

@Damo You're mistaken about system-on-a-chip devices like the NOAC chip. They're a hardware based solution and don't involve software code.

Something such as the NES-on-a-chip is a single integrated circuit that contains a replica (Oftentimes not a particularly accurate replica) of the hardware circuitry of an older platform (Edit: This post has been slightly edited due to some inaccuracies subsequently pointed out; System-on-a-chip are of course also used in some products that rely on software emulation, especially in the plug and play marketplace in recent years such as Nintendo's own NES/SNES Classic Edition).

It's why the Retron 1 HD for instance has such lackluster video quality on a HDTV, despite the 720p HDMI output. The NOAC chip inside of it only outputs analog video (They at least were able to tap into RGB instead of composite off the NOAC), so Hyperkin literally is sending that signal to a cheap scaling chip that digitizes and upscales it to 720p.

If it was running a NES emulator, it could've been a digital to digital solution and would at least look nice and sharp on a HDTV instead of the very soft image of the Retron 1.

@WarioWoodsfan

You do realize that it's remarkably easy to still find every ROM for Nintendo systems from the 80's to the Switch in a matter of minutes, right?

A few of the "popular" ROM sites took them down, but they exist in torrents, Google drives, MEGA folders, etc.

They haven't been wiped from the internet as you seem to believe.

The quality of Hyperkin is so sketchy. I m waiting on the Analogue

@KillerBOB

If i remember it well, both Sites were owned by the same Couple that actually made Money with it through their "Company" in the US.

How can somebody be so naive?

@Atariboy @Damo
The term SOC does not mean it is a hardware only solution. It only means the major components have been integrated onto a single chip for efficiency and ease of design for OEM's. Normally if you are not using FPGA then you are using emulation due to the complexity of obtaining hard to find parts.

For example, in your theory, the NES classic would have utilized a SOC for compatibility but they used emulation because it was more cost efficient and faster to manufacture.

@YANDMAN Better but GCN with Gameboy Player. Or buy a Wii and homebrew it.

It's one of the ugliest console designs I have ever seen...

@RadioHedgeFund And we used the “Light Boy” in the car at night. If he’s talking about streetlights alone... impossible! Gonna call bs on that one. 😂😉

The shape on the side panel looks like it's flipping us off!
That's okay by me, 'cause that's my reaction to Hyperkin hardware in general.

Stick with Anaolgue. You pay more, but you get what you pay for. If a clone system doesn't read flash carts, it's just an emulation box

Though I like Hyperkin's design with their products, they use very cheap plastics and materials to make these it's basically not worth it in the end. The durability of these would last at least a few months, a year if you're lucky. I'll pass on this one, already got the Analogue Pocket on pre-order anyways.

@KitsuneNight Game boy player is so expensive these days, it’s nice to see a gameboy console that will use hdmi.

NINJA APPROVED

@Ghost_of_Hasashi How is a thing that basically just sits there going to suffer from durability issues? More importantly, how hard are you jamming cartridges and controllers in there?!

NINJA APPROVED

How do you guys always manage to post links that don't actually go where they are intended?

@Xeacons. Yep me two. Just found the boot disc i misplaced a few months back. Love GBP

Maybe if it has a fast forward

Does this support SGB colors and borders for applicable games? Also, what's with X & Y buttons on the controller? Even GBA doesn't have those.

@BloodNinja I bought their Retron 5 and SupaBoy from 5 years ago. The Retron 5 works great the first six months but on the seventh month one of the cartridge slot doesn't recognized cartridges anymore and then of the controller port had compatibility issue where it'll work with OEM controllers but not third party controllers. On the SupaBoy the battery doesn't recharge to full anymore and you could play it for 2 hours and it'll just shutdown by itself. When new it usually last for around 5-6 hours before it shutdown or need a recharge.

@Ghost_of_Hasashi That’s a shame, hopefully this thing holds up a lot better.

@Zidentia No, normally they are not.

Almost every clone system that has ever came out has been a hardware based solution. Those utilizing software emulation have been few and far between.

In the classic gaming world, system-on-a-chip typically refers to the miniaturization of a hardware based solution that replicates the functionality of an older platform on a single integrated circuit.

The most famous of such chips and by far the most produced is what's known as the NOAC chip. That it was a hardware solution rather than software emulation is the exact reason why NOAC chips typically shared the same faults from different companies and why issues never were rectified, since revising such products is an expensive proposition and it was far cheaper to buy an off the shelf NES-on-a-chip. Addressing a software emulator flaw and flashing newer production models with a later revision of the software program isn't such a hurdle.

We've also seen one chip SNES and Genesis clones, almost a million Atari Flashback 2 clones with a single chip hardware based replica of the Atari 2600's hardware, and the Commodore 64 DTV as some of the most notable examples. And many plug and plays masquerading as something else have used NOAC chips and rewritten ports of classic games such as the original Atari Flashback and many of the Jakks Pacific products. Many such games have even been dumped and are playable on original NES hardware via Everdrive and Powerpak cartridges.

Software emulation based solutions are a relatively recent development in the clone world, driven by the increasing power of small cheap microprocessors. One of the earliest such examples with original cartridge compatibility was Hyperkin's Retron 5.

Currently using a Gameboy Player. I have recently purchased a Raphnet adapter which lets me use my SNES classic controller or Wii Pro Controller on the GameCube which is awesome. Now I can play Gameboy games with a SNES controller.

@Atariboy
I am not going to get into semantics with you in regards to FPGA'S and ASIC's but all of the NOAC clones use some type of emulation(hardware or software) to accommodate issues like proper audio interpolation and buffer/ram incompatibility due to the lack of accuracy in prototyping for extinct components As far as software emulation it has been around for decades you just never realized it. Many have to port original code to allow to reduce playability issues. My perspective is likely different than yours as I have designed chips over the years.

@Zidentia There's no software emulation of any sort with a NOAC chip. It's a hardware based solution.

There's no shortage of technical information out there about the various popular NES-on-a-chips that have been manufactured, if anyone wants to go dig and check it out. Some such popular chips are the NT6578 and the SH6578, for any lurkers wondering what the truth is and wish to seek out the answer independently instead of a back and forth between people insisting the other is wrong.

@sword_9mm
Me too. But mines called my laptop. 😁

I want an easy solution to play all game boy games on a crt and this appears to fit the bill - can anyone confirm it outputs composite by the looks of it?

As an aside the Analogue Pocket plus dock plus DAC plus shipping plus VAT+import fees to the UK will be around (drum roll)

$200+$80+$100+$50+$86+$107.50 = $623.50

So about £450. brilliant.

@Atariboy
Great advice as I am no longer debating this with you as you fail to read what I say. Let it go, its the best thing.

@FX102A Same. Unfortunately very few of us were able to get preorders and the price is a bit more. I sat on the dock, and therefore missed out, same with the GameGear adapter. But still I'm excited.

Will this come to the UK, does anyone know?