RetroN 5 Plays SNES, S Famicon & GBA WC Console Games (May 4, 2013)

KrisV

KrisV

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The Hyperkin RetroN 5 is an upcoming console that emulates a number of popular gaming machines. The system has slots for NES, SNES, Super Famicon, Sega Genesis, Megadrive and Gameboy Color/Advance. If you've wanted to play your PAL or Super Famicon Wing Commander on a North American computer's LCD, the N5's HDMI output will make that quite a bit easier. The press release points out these key features:

  • 2 Original Controller Ports for Each Platform (6 Total)
  • Includes 1 Wireless Bluetooth Controller
  • 5 Cartridge Ports for NES, SNES, Genesis, GBA and Famicom
  • HDMI Output with upconversion on HDTVs
  • PAL and NTSC Cartridge Compatibility

Release information is still sketchy (note that there are only renders and no pictures of the finished product), but the console might be due out around July and be priced under $100. Joystiq recently posted an introspective on vintage hardware versus the convenience of all-in-one solutions like the RetroN5.







Love playing retro games from the NES and SNES-era, but are sick of having all those consoles clutter up your living room? Or maybe your new-fangled HDTV is struggling to deal with the decades-old machines? Hyperkin has you covered, announcing the RetroN 5 retro-gaming console. The console can play games designed for the NES, SNES, Sega Genesis, Game Boy Advance and Famicom (Japanese NES). It can play games from both PAL and NTSC regions, and supports HDMI output with up to 720p resolution.
Just as the GBA supported Game Boy Color and Game Boy games, and the Genesis supported Sega Mega Drive games, so to will the RetroN 5. Super Famicom (Japanese SNES) games will also work in the SNES slot. This means the console can play games from nine different systems. The Famicom slot is the latest addition to Hyperkin's line of RetroN consoles, with the company stating that "we found that we could incorporate one more cartridge slot without hindering our current developmental cycle."
Six controller slots line the sides of the console, supporting controllers from the NES, SNES and Genesis. As well as being able to use any controller for any system (for example, you can use a SNES controller to play Genesis games), the RetroN 5 comes with its own unique wireless controller. The new controller has a Microswitch Directional Pad instead of a traditional directional pad.
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Original update published on May 4, 2013
 
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The Controller looks weird, but you can plug in NES, SNES and Genesis controllers.
 
I'm wondering 2 things:
1. Will they be selling in the UK and if so how much will they cost.
2. Why have they listed Sega Genesis and Megadrive separately when they're the same thing?
 
Kyle Maverick said:
I'm wondering 2 things:
1. Will they be selling in the UK and if so how much will they cost.
2. Why have they listed Sega Genesis and Megadrive separately when they're the same thing?
Click to expand...

They'll probably only be sold online, so I'm sure anyone will be able to get one. The Genesis and Megadrive are listed separately to show that the system plays US, UK and Japanese format games.
 
IIRC there were separate cartridge slot shapes for "Genesis" and "Megadrive" in order to enforce regional incompatibility, thus a device made to play both needs to be able to accommodate both shapes.
 
I hope the controller is improved, I have the Retron3 and the wireless controllers are terrible.
 
Ijuin said:
IIRC there were separate cartridge slot shapes for "Genesis" and "Megadrive" in order to enforce regional incompatibility, thus a device made to play both needs to be able to accommodate both shapes.
Click to expand...
The only differences between them were USA ones were in NTSC, UK & Europe in PAL, the cartridges were the same shape.
 
ChrisReid said:
The Controller looks weird, but you can plug in NES, SNES and Genesis controllers.
Click to expand...

I saw someone else post the same thing in another thread, but I didn't see them advertise that anywhere. Much less see where on the case would you plug in such controllers.
 
wcnut said:
I saw someone else post the same thing in another thread, but I didn't see them advertise that anywhere. Much less see where on the case would you plug in such controllers.
Click to expand...

It's mentioned in the original post up top, and it's in the company's press release announcing the device: http://hyperkin.com/blog/2013/03/hyperkin-announces-the-retron-5-at-the-midwest-gaming-classic/

"RetroN 5 Points of Interest: · 2 Original Controller Ports for Each Platform (6 Total)"
 
Kyle Maverick said:
The only differences between them were USA ones were in NTSC, UK & Europe in PAL, the cartridges were the same shape.
Click to expand...
Ah, well the Japanese NTSC cartridges are definitely a different shape from the North American NTSC carts in order to prevent importing.
 
Just like NES and Famicom - they were different cartridge shapes and connector sizes, but basically the same console. Though the Famicom lacks the NES001 chip.

I have a few of those adapters, and one of my carts actually has the adapter built inside the cart.
 
Yeah, back when Nintendo could not cheaply provide software-based regional lockouts, they separated regions by making the cartridge physically incompatible.
 
Yeah. The adapters usually have a spot on the circuit board for an optional NES001 chip as well (this was the way NIntendo prevented third parties from making clone games that lead to the game crash a couple of years earlier).

Of course, the joke really is the spring contacts on the NES were a joke compared to the vertical insertion connector of the Famicom.
 
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