We’ve all been struck now and again by those fond thought bubbles of blowing into cartridge furiously because that was the only way to make it work.
For those of you that are brought down by the empty-handedness of digital games or the fragility of optical discs, here comes something that make sure the game you buy will be weighty in your hand and bulky enough to survive a fall down the stairs, and here’s what it looks like:
You can almost smell the plastic.
The Retro VGS or Retro Video Game System is an upcoming console designed solely to play cartridges just like the good old days. This passion project of Retro Magazine’s Mike Kennedy is meant to be a revival to the style of games that people long to relive, proven by the resurgence of games that emulate the style such as Shovel Knight. A better example of this love for retro titles being Gunlord which was a passion project from German indie developers NG:DEV.TEAM that released the game on the Neo Geo and the Sega Dreamcast in 2012, a year that had gone far beyond old consoles and cartridges. The game boasted 16-bit graphics, 9 non-linear levels and a constant 60fps. The same developers have been making games for the Neo Geo and Sega Dreamcast, so called ‘dead’ consoles, since 2006.
Interests such as this is what gives proof of concept to the Retro VGS. The console will play original 2D games and 16-bit fan favourites as well as digitally distributed mobile games that will be available for the first time in a cartridge format. This will apparently be made possible by repurposing the Atari Jaguar tooling and will be sold with a new retro controller as well as featuring USB ports for different types of controllers and a HDMI port for use with new TVs as well as old. As the console will be played entirely from cartridge this will mean no DLC of any kind, no patches and no updates. Only a complete game sold entirely in one package.
To keep up with the Retro VGS make sure to visit its facebook page.
Sources: Siliconera