Depending on how old you are, you probably either have fond memories of the old time-y consoles, or you’ve heard grand stories of said consoles. Sadly, those days are long gone, and these days the only major consoles are the Xbox One, PS4, and the Switch. Not that there is anything wrong with them, per se, they are all good systems in their own right, but they lack the loving nostalgia that many associate with older consoles.
Modular retro revival
The new Polymega from Playmaji tries to change this. It is a modular retro game console. What does that mean? Well, it means that the console has different modules that are compatible with real retro game cartridges for systems like the NES, SNES, Genesis, PS1, and others.
While there is plenty to do on modern consoles, there have been hundreds if not thousands of great games over the past few decades, and few people still have working consoles to revisit them. Then there is the issue of space – even if you could find and afford a working console of every generation and release, storing them all safely would be a nightmare. Older generation consoles were huge and sometimes heavy, not to mention prone to catching dust.
Keeping the old gear?
This can be a problem for gaming enthusiasts. They have the choice of dedicating a huge part of their home and life to keeping and maintaining older consoles to play their favorite childhood games again…or not experiencing those games again. Neither are particularly great options.
The Polymega tries to give a better alternative and even lets players upscale retro games to a higher resolution. It allows for full HD 1080p play but doesn’t require it – in other words, for those who prefer the original look, the console supports that too.
If you are wondering how it achieves that – through a new patent-pending technology called Hybrid Emulation. This allows for the use of hardware components in combination with specialized chips and mappers found in game cartridges. These were considered notoriously difficult to emulate, especially natively, and yet that is precisely what Polymega promises.
Even the controllers seem solid – the consoles allows for the use of classic retro controllers as well as the use of their own series of controllers. Both are simply plugged into the machine and allow for casual and competitive play at new performance levels. Since with every generation of consoles, their computing powers improved significantly, this modern emulator allows for precision and the kind of gaming experience original consoles may not even have been able to provide.
Use old games or the digital collection
In order to play your favorite games, all you need to do is slot in the correct module insert the game cartridge or CD, or even launch a game from the digital collection, and you are good to go. How much will this beauty set you back? Sadly, that is not yet known as the Polymega isn’t available for pre-order just yet.
Costs and further details
The website promises that it will be available soon, so stay tuned for more news on this proverbial game-changer. Over there, they are stating that the base unit will one wireless controller will cost $249.99 and that “most” modules will be available for $59.99. They also added a small disclaimer that the planned pricing may change.
YouTube: POLYMEGA – User Interface Part I – Home Screen, Search
Photo credit: All images have been provided by Playmaji for press usage.
