Polymega

General and high profile video game topics.
User avatar
DrLitch
Posts: 938
Joined: July 19th, 2017, 12:57 pm

Re: Polymega

Postby DrLitch » August 24th, 2020, 1:50 pm

Not trolling but what is the hook of this product? If it is using standard emulation why not just download the emulators and Roms/Isos and save $400? If you want to play original game pads, there are ways to do so on a modern Laptop or PC. I thought initially this was sporting original hardware (or hardware replicated via FPGA's). If this is just an emulation rig, it is a lot of scratch for just that.

User avatar
Marriott_Guy
Posts: 78
Joined: April 11th, 2015, 6:05 am

Re: Polymega

Postby Marriott_Guy » August 24th, 2020, 2:15 pm

DrLitch wrote:Not trolling but what is the hook of this product? If it is using standard emulation why not just download the emulators and Roms/Isos and save $400? If you want to play original game pads, there are ways to do so on a modern Laptop or PC. I thought initially this was sporting original hardware (or hardware replicated via FPGA's). If this is just an emulation rig, it is a lot of scratch for just that.


From my understanding, the goal is not a DL device but more of a unit to accept CDs / cartridges from your existing library. Yes - ROMs / etc. are available out there, but for those that just want one device to play original media from a number of consoles via plug n play this may be a good (albeit expensive) option.

User avatar
DrLitch
Posts: 938
Joined: July 19th, 2017, 12:57 pm

Re: Polymega

Postby DrLitch » August 25th, 2020, 8:17 am

Marriott_Guy wrote:From my understanding, the goal is not a DL device but more of a unit to accept CDs / cartridges from your existing library.


Thanks that makes sense. Convenience factor.

User avatar
Retro STrife
Posts: 2531
Joined: August 3rd, 2015, 7:40 pm

Re: Polymega

Postby Retro STrife » August 25th, 2020, 8:32 am

Yeah, I look at it mostly as like a Retron 5, but for CD consoles. I don't own a Retron, but they sell for around $150, so I would consider buying one in order to consolidate consoles to save space and hassles. The price is tougher on the Polymega though. $400 is hard to justify for me, when I could buy a Switch or another classic console with that (like the Amiga CD32 that I've been eyeing for years..). But for people without some of the Polymega's consoles, maybe the price is easier to digest. I mean, just ballparking off the top of my head, the U.S. systems by themselves might cost around $1,500-$1,800 if you bought them separately on ebay right now. These days, a console like this might be the best way to enter the retro gaming hobby for a newcomer.

Either way, I think it's a positive thing that someone is coming out with a console like this for CD games. We've had cartridge clone consoles for a long time now, but this is the first time I've seen a multisystem CD console like this.

User avatar
jackj5000
Posts: 70
Joined: April 18th, 2020, 12:16 pm

Re: Polymega

Postby jackj5000 » August 25th, 2020, 9:21 am

Yeah, for me it looks awesome because I'm incredibly lazy. I've already got all these games and the thought of plugging this thing in, putting a game in, and it just works sounds really nice to me, especially the Saturn games. I took a gamble and preordered it when it was $300, which was still pretty steep, so I'm realllllllllly hoping this things comes out. They've pushed the release date back multiple times now.

snakeboy
Posts: 308
Joined: April 30th, 2015, 3:40 pm

Re: Polymega

Postby snakeboy » August 25th, 2020, 10:32 am

At first I was excited for this because I don't have a Neo Geo CD, TG-16 CD, Saturn, or Sega CD. And then I saw the price. And then I started to think about how much it would cost to collect games for all those systems.

It all just seems like a reeaalllly expensive proposition to me.

User avatar
ActRaiser
Posts: 1543
Joined: April 8th, 2015, 12:38 pm

Re: Polymega

Postby ActRaiser » August 25th, 2020, 12:17 pm

snakeboy wrote:At first I was excited for this because I don't have a Neo Geo CD, TG-16 CD, Saturn, or Sega CD. And then I saw the price. And then I started to think about how much it would cost to collect games for all those systems.

It all just seems like a reeaalllly expensive proposition to me.


Well, if you don't care about having "official" games it will play CD-Rs. So...you can order reproductions from Etsy if you don't want to mess with downloading ISOs and burning them yourself.

If it supported CD-I I'd be all over it. I've got the CD-I games I'd like to play but no working CD-I. The unit arrived broken and I didn't want to have to send back the games with it. I've got Burn Cycle, Voyeur and one of the atrocious Zelda games I'd love to try. In theory they say it could potentially be expanded to support other disk based systems.

I'll throw this out if you get to play Panzer Dragoon Saga and Snatcher for $400 for the Polymega versus $1000 (games alone) plus hardware costs think of all the money you'll save. :) Ignore that you'd save $400 by going for a walk with the dog instead but that's a different argument. C'mon buy it and then let us know how well it works. :)

snakeboy
Posts: 308
Joined: April 30th, 2015, 3:40 pm

Re: Polymega

Postby snakeboy » August 25th, 2020, 4:42 pm

ActRaiser wrote:
Well, if you don't care about having "official" games it will play CD-Rs. So...you can order reproductions from Etsy if you don't want to mess with downloading ISOs and burning them yourself.


Good to know. However, it's a rabbit hole I probably shouldn't go down, especially considering all the games I have lying around that I've barely touched or haven't played at all :)

But it would be a great system for anyone who already has games for several of these systems, especially given how delicate these old CD based systems can be. If they ever come out with one that can play PS2, Gamecube, Xbox, and Dreamcast games, I would probably buy it.

Roperious
Posts: 33
Joined: September 4th, 2016, 10:41 am

Re: Polymega

Postby Roperious » August 25th, 2020, 6:14 pm

I pre-ordered back in April and am looking forward to it.

With respect to the controllers, you can use your original controllers for the module based systems. The CD systems are stuck with the OEM Polymega controller or USB/2.4 GHZ based controllers like the RetroBit wireless Saturn/Genesis controllers. Looks awesome!

User avatar
Retro STrife
Posts: 2531
Joined: August 3rd, 2015, 7:40 pm

Re: Polymega

Postby Retro STrife » September 9th, 2020, 1:37 pm

Marriott_Guy wrote:This thing looks like it may be a good investment. Hands-on review of the base unit testing various CDs from the supported platforms.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKMHpwDfzFQ


I finally had a chance to watch all of this video and it's really good for showing off what the system can do. I'm definitely more interested now than I was before, after seeing all the extra features with it. Also, the Polymega looks great for fans of the Neo Geo CD because, finally, you can play the fighting games with fast load times. The fighting games on the NG CD are virtually unplayable due to slow loading between every single fight, and this appears to solve that issue.

Either way though, I'd hold off for awhile. The reviewer ran into a few issues that he was able to fix by upgrading the bios with a download off the internet. To me, I have no interest in figuring out how to do that -- it's part of why I avoid emulation and burning games, and only play original hardware/games. So for me, this thing would need to work perfect out of the box, without needing to fumble around the internet for updates. In the video, Polymega says they are aware of the issue and working on it, so I'd wait until the flaws are patched up. I'll also be more interested in it if more modules come out for other CD systems, like the Jaguar CD.


Return to “Video Games General”