4 ms·

But... why? It's so janky. Looks painful to hold, the games look like crappy flash games in monochrome, and the crank is just going to break off. What am I miss

But... why? It's so janky. Looks painful to hold, the games look like crappy flash games in monochrome, and the crank is just going to break off. What am I missing?

porkloin 5y ago
It's a combination of nostalgia for a (largely imagined) bygone era of handheld devices, plus the fact that two relatively famous boutique hardware manufacturers/developers are involved (Panic! and Teenage Engineering). People will buy this for $180 for the same reason people still buy TE's OP-1 synthesizer for well over $1k when there are more feature-rich devices available for half the price or less. They're paying for the design, the ecosystem, the aesthetic, and to some extent, as a "lifestyle" purchase.
- temp_account001 5y ago
  Thanks for explaining that. I've never heard of any of those things or brands, so I guess I'm not the target market.
  - arthurcolle 5y ago
    You've probably heard of Panic, they made Coda, Nova, Prompt, there's another one that's escaping me right now... and a bunch of other apps. Untitled Goose Game.
    - JKCalhoun 5y ago
      Transmit is the one I think of.
    - salamandersauce 5y ago
      They didn't make Untitled Goose Game, they just published it.
      - arthurcolle 5y ago
        Good call - appreciate the correction, forgot about House House
- quantumsequoia 5y ago
  If you have nostalgia for old games, why not just buy an old console and some old games?
  - incanus77 5y ago
    Because Panic has forced you to purchase this instead, so you no longer have a choice.
    - christoph 5y ago
      Buy a DE-10 Nano and get MisterFPGA running on it. It’s been great replaying arcade perfect classics like Pac-Man and Space Invaders and also being able to dive into classic SNES and MegaDrive games that I missed out on the first time around. Exploring some other totally missed systems like TurboGrafx which basically never got sold here or only at totally crazy prices has been fantastic as well. It’s got an amazing & friendly community building up around it as well.
christoph 5y ago
I’m possibly not the most rational when it comes to these things as I have one on order, as well as an Analog Pocket, ZX Spectrum Next and Switch Deck. The price point seems fairly reasonable to me when you consider hardware and software development costs, plus overheads like marketing, infrastructure etc. It’s unlikely to ever be seriously mass market. Compare the cost to a PS5 game like the recent Ratchet & Clank - the RRP in the UK is £70. I know my 3 year old and I will easily get £200 of comparable value from this, even if it is a bit janky and gimmicky. I’m also keen to support some of these random projects as they seem to have some real passion driving them. As I said, maybe I’m not totally objective, but i’m hopeful there’ll be a couple of real gems in the games they have coming out on this. I’m sure we’ll have a few weekends of good fun playing about with the SDK making some stuff as well.
- temp_account001 5y ago
  If they just put the games on any indie storefront and allowed demos, videos, reviews, etc. like any other game, I'd be thrilled to support them. But locking them into a 1-bit $200 gimmick? That's not a good way to get their passion project out. Dwarf Fortress, on the front page these same days... now THAT's a passion project. Arguably X-plane too. Both of which deliver tremendous value for pennies compared to this.
caconym_ 5y ago
> It's so janky. People who've had a chance to use one generally disagree. > Looks painful to hold, People who've had a chance to use one generally disagree. > the games look like crappy flash games in monochrome The graphics look like low-res 2D monochrome graphics. If that's not your cup of tea, that's fine. > the crank is just going to break off. [citation needed] > What am I missing? You're assuming the absolute worst about a product you've never seen, held, or used yourself.
- elliottkember 5y ago
  Sadly this seems to be very common here nowadays. HN is not really a place of encouragement. I think it sounds like fun.
  - caconym_ 5y ago
    The internet will tell you that eating at a Michelin star restaurant is a waste of money because you could just go to McDonald's. Personally, I think both have their place.
  - temp_account001 5y ago
    There are some very novel, occasionally brilliant things on HN. This just doesn't happen to be one of them, IMO. Fun at $50, extremely overpriced at nearly $200 considering the competition. No real innovation. A crank that rips off Sands of Times's primary mechanic, except you have to take your hands off the already tiny thing to crank a tinier crank? Cool, I guess...? To each their own.
    - elliottkember 5y ago
      Thanks for letting us all know, in no uncertain terms, how you feel about this thing that you don't want to buy. It's very important that we all hear about how you don't like this thing you haven't tried.
- b0tzzzzzzman 5y ago
  Wonderful statements...

But... why? It's so janky. Looks painful to hold, the games look like crappy flash games in monochrome, and the crank is just going to break off. What am I missing?

porkloin 5y ago

It's a combination of nostalgia for a (largely imagined) bygone era of handheld devices, plus the fact that two relatively famous boutique hardware manufacturers/developers are involved (Panic! and Teenage Engineering). People will buy this for $180 for the same reason people still buy TE's OP-1 synthesizer for well over $1k when there are more feature-rich devices available for half the price or less. They're paying for the design, the ecosystem, the aesthetic, and to some extent, as a "lifestyle" purchase.

temp_account001 5y ago
Thanks for explaining that. I've never heard of any of those things or brands, so I guess I'm not the target market.
- arthurcolle 5y ago
  You've probably heard of Panic, they made Coda, Nova, Prompt, there's another one that's escaping me right now... and a bunch of other apps. Untitled Goose Game.
  - JKCalhoun 5y ago
    Transmit is the one I think of.
  - salamandersauce 5y ago
    They didn't make Untitled Goose Game, they just published it.
    - arthurcolle 5y ago
      Good call - appreciate the correction, forgot about House House
quantumsequoia 5y ago
If you have nostalgia for old games, why not just buy an old console and some old games?
- incanus77 5y ago
  Because Panic has forced you to purchase this instead, so you no longer have a choice.
  - christoph 5y ago
    Buy a DE-10 Nano and get MisterFPGA running on it. It’s been great replaying arcade perfect classics like Pac-Man and Space Invaders and also being able to dive into classic SNES and MegaDrive games that I missed out on the first time around. Exploring some other totally missed systems like TurboGrafx which basically never got sold here or only at totally crazy prices has been fantastic as well. It’s got an amazing & friendly community building up around it as well.

christoph 5y ago

I’m possibly not the most rational when it comes to these things as I have one on order, as well as an Analog Pocket, ZX Spectrum Next and Switch Deck. The price point seems fairly reasonable to me when you consider hardware and software development costs, plus overheads like marketing, infrastructure etc. It’s unlikely to ever be seriously mass market. Compare the cost to a PS5 game like the recent Ratchet & Clank - the RRP in the UK is £70. I know my 3 year old and I will easily get £200 of comparable value from this, even if it is a bit janky and gimmicky. I’m also keen to support some of these random projects as they seem to have some real passion driving them. As I said, maybe I’m not totally objective, but i’m hopeful there’ll be a couple of real gems in the games they have coming out on this. I’m sure we’ll have a few weekends of good fun playing about with the SDK making some stuff as well.

temp_account001 5y ago
If they just put the games on any indie storefront and allowed demos, videos, reviews, etc. like any other game, I'd be thrilled to support them. But locking them into a 1-bit $200 gimmick? That's not a good way to get their passion project out. Dwarf Fortress, on the front page these same days... now THAT's a passion project. Arguably X-plane too. Both of which deliver tremendous value for pennies compared to this.

caconym_ 5y ago

> It's so janky. People who've had a chance to use one generally disagree. > Looks painful to hold, People who've had a chance to use one generally disagree. > the games look like crappy flash games in monochrome The graphics look like low-res 2D monochrome graphics. If that's not your cup of tea, that's fine. > the crank is just going to break off. [citation needed] > What am I missing? You're assuming the absolute worst about a product you've never seen, held, or used yourself.

elliottkember 5y ago
Sadly this seems to be very common here nowadays. HN is not really a place of encouragement. I think it sounds like fun.
- caconym_ 5y ago
  The internet will tell you that eating at a Michelin star restaurant is a waste of money because you could just go to McDonald's. Personally, I think both have their place.
- temp_account001 5y ago
  There are some very novel, occasionally brilliant things on HN. This just doesn't happen to be one of them, IMO. Fun at $50, extremely overpriced at nearly $200 considering the competition. No real innovation. A crank that rips off Sands of Times's primary mechanic, except you have to take your hands off the already tiny thing to crank a tinier crank? Cool, I guess...? To each their own.
  - elliottkember 5y ago
    Thanks for letting us all know, in no uncertain terms, how you feel about this thing that you don't want to buy. It's very important that we all hear about how you don't like this thing you haven't tried.
b0tzzzzzzman 5y ago
Wonderful statements...