Why are MAME and raspberry pi units still a hobbyist item?
Posted: June 27th, 2017, 9:00 am
We have obviously turned a corner in retrogaming. First there were plug and play units, then composite out Flashback units, and now we have moved into HDMI out units. These all use some sort of hardware (like an NES on a chip) or software emulation.
Once you have crossed the border to Emulation-Ville, you have to ask why buy these speciality units with limited game selections and not just go to something like the Raspberry Pi system. There is nothing illegal about either the hardware or the emulators, so why are they still kits? Its like the Raspberry Pi is stuck in the Altair 8800 phase.
There are or have been Android game players - including handhelds - most notably the Ouya, that was not a kit, but it failed. There is MAME as well, but its also seems to be stuck as a hobbyist product. Why are these kinds of emulation items not on the shelves of retailers or sold on Amazon, pre-loaded with dozens of emulators, or packaged with 2 nice USB controllers?
Games are certainly an issue. If Nintendo puts out a SNES Classic with 21 games, you can get those 21 games legally emulated instead of some grey way of getting ROMS. Is that really the big issue keeping companies from making a production non-kit model?
An emulation system could even be pre-loaded with some games very legally, as there are multigame arcade units out there that do this, as well as letting you install your own games. I'm sure you could buy up lots of Atari arcade or Jaguar or other 8 bit computer games cheaply and legally.
Why has the Raspberry Pi (or other similar things) remained either hobbyist or 'also ran' while these Flashback units are creating all sorts of buzz?
Once you have crossed the border to Emulation-Ville, you have to ask why buy these speciality units with limited game selections and not just go to something like the Raspberry Pi system. There is nothing illegal about either the hardware or the emulators, so why are they still kits? Its like the Raspberry Pi is stuck in the Altair 8800 phase.
There are or have been Android game players - including handhelds - most notably the Ouya, that was not a kit, but it failed. There is MAME as well, but its also seems to be stuck as a hobbyist product. Why are these kinds of emulation items not on the shelves of retailers or sold on Amazon, pre-loaded with dozens of emulators, or packaged with 2 nice USB controllers?
Games are certainly an issue. If Nintendo puts out a SNES Classic with 21 games, you can get those 21 games legally emulated instead of some grey way of getting ROMS. Is that really the big issue keeping companies from making a production non-kit model?
An emulation system could even be pre-loaded with some games very legally, as there are multigame arcade units out there that do this, as well as letting you install your own games. I'm sure you could buy up lots of Atari arcade or Jaguar or other 8 bit computer games cheaply and legally.
Why has the Raspberry Pi (or other similar things) remained either hobbyist or 'also ran' while these Flashback units are creating all sorts of buzz?