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Would You Buy a New Console Just to Have Cartridges?

Would You Buy a New Console Just to Have Cartridges?

Remember cartridge media? You know, those plastic carts that you got NES, SNES, and N64 games on? Back when they were being developed, they were incredibly expensive to make. Space was limited and, at the time, using optical media was far cheaper.

However, that isn’t particularly the case these days. Optical media, while still cost effective, isn’t particularly more expensive than USB flash drives keyed into the size of some small games. Add to that the fact that solid state memory can be accessed incredibly quickly via USB 3.0 or other transfer technologies, and “cartridge’ media seems to be a viable alternative to the blu-ray DVD we all use.

Of course, both of these forms of media are a bit outdated. Digital distribution is quickly becoming the norm. Games mostly exist as data at this point, and the method by which you get this data is pretty arbitrary.

However, Mike Kennedy, publisher of Retro Magazine , is looking to change all that. He believes that cartridges hearken back to a more pure time of gaming. Developers weren’t able to take the game away from you when you used a cartridge, nor were they able to lock things behind DLC. You could freely buy, sell, and trade your games with your friends and stores, It was simple, and it’s the type of gaming he wants to get back to.

That’s why he is looking to develop the Retro VGS or Retro Video Games System. The Retro VGS is not looking to be a media machine. It’s not looking to connect to the internet, or social media. It’s not looking to allow you to digitally download your next big game. On the contrary, it is looking to simply allow you to put cartridges in and play the games you want to play.

The system is designed for retro style games like Shovel Knight . It’s also designed for “sequels” to retro games like Mother 4 . It has more power than a standard SNES, but is built exclusively for 2D retro style games.

And that’s the genius of the Retro VGS. It’s not trying to compete with current gen systems. It’s not even trying to compete with the Ouya. It’s trying to offer a completely different service, a “new retro system” for games like Mega Man 9 and 10 . It is letting companies make entirely new games in retro style, instead of forcing them to push the boundaries of technology. Who knows, maybe this is the system that we will see the next Chrono Trigger on.

Would You Buy a New Console Just to Have Cartridges?

“RETRO VGS will reestablish the culture of video gaming, something that has been slowly dismantled over the last couple console generations. It will promote game ownership, tangibility and collectability. There will be no system updates, digital downloads or buggy games,” says Kennedy.

The Retro VGS will run a Kickstarter to get off the ground financially sometime this summer.

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