Poll on portable N64????

[bud]

It really depends on how much you're charging for that, which is?

 

[mesojdm]

Yes the screen is big. But, the motherboard is the exact same size(roughly) so it makes for a perfect fit in our case. (keep in mind a normal DIY would not want to hack the motherboard up)
"portable" is all relative, and arguable. In reality, yes this is bigger than a PSP(lol) and you would not want to lug it around everywhere. It is more for the retro/ :cool factor. Thanks again for all the input, we really like to hear from first hand modders on pros and cons.


Bud-
We are shooting for the $200.00 price point.
Which includes;
•front and back injection molded cases(painted)
•7" LCD module with display board
•Li-ion batteries
•PCB and charger
•All wire harnesses, and hardware
•Speakers, with amp
•A/V out and inline pot for volume
pretty much everything but a N64 console and controller!(customer supplied)

 

[βeta]

I have no confidence in your ability to do anything. Why should I? What proof do you have that you know anything at all about what you are saying you can do?

 

[bud]

Bud-
We are shooting for the $200.00 price point.
Which includes;
•front and back injection molded cases(painted)
•7" LCD module with display board
•Li-ion batteries
•PCB and charger
•All wire harnesses, and hardware
•Speakers, with amp
•A/V out and inline pot for volume
pretty much everything but a N64 console and controller!(customer supplied)

How in the heck are you going to make a profit, let alone break even at that price?

 

[mesojdm]

BETA- a picture is worth more than a thousand words If the above is not proof it can be accomplished, nor have faith in my ability to do so, please wait until it is released. And only then you will be able to make an educated decision(maybe first hand if you purchase one? ) on our "ability" to do "anything". Foot note; I have over a decade of experience in electronics, manufacturing, product development, and fabrication.

Bud- Well, then it should be a bargain at that price point, correct? For an average modder, yes this would cost well over $200.00. Heck, by the time you sourced a company just for the tooling of the upper and lower casing, mold costs would run into the thousands(maybe even ten's). Fortunately, I have many contacts in manufacturing plants and factories throughout Shenzhen, Hong Kong, Japan, etc(where 99% of your electronic components even come from)
So yes, with proper sourcing, quantity order and planning I feel this can be done at that price point. I am not going to be a millionaire, but rather bring a cool new "hip" product back to life
Thank you

 

[bud]

What I'm saying is, parts cost around $200 total, probably a bit more. So you would be making next to nothing in profit. I'm just trying to understand why you'd go through all of this trouble for basically nothing in profit.

 

[ShockSlayer]

You aren't going to accomplish any of what you think you will, and you experience does not show with your poor choice of layout.

 

[mesojdm]

You aren't going to accomplish any of what you think you will, and you experience does not show with your poor choice of layout.

Really sorry to see all the hostility on this board
My goal was to create a portable kit that was unlike any other handheld experience. (super comfortable, amazing screen size) and allow it to be a fun project anyone could do and afford to do.
after sourcing all the components I have no doubt I will be able to meet in the $200 range.

So i am not sure how to respond to this comment as I have accomplished all the points I set out to do so far.
As for the poor choice of layout, I don't know how you can say that since it closely follows the original layout, from the creators of this console. (I don't know anyone who uses the start button excessively in regular game play, and 2nd controller plugged in is not uncomfortable, in fact it doesn't even touch your hand gripping the portable)

super sorry again to stir up any anger . I have never seen this much hostility towards a fellow modder and am not quite sure what exactly I said to provoke this. I have over 150 hours into designing and building these full fiberglass prototypes(not original plastics glued together) and thought a community that embraces this kind of work would be happy to see a new take on the concept. I'm Just a guy who grew up on the 64 and wants to bring its spirit back to life for everyone else that misses those fond memories. Thank you everyone for your feedback I have admired all your work over the years.

 

[kylechu]

I feel it's unlikely that you'll make a profit on this, regardless of any discounts you get, simply because the volume isn't there. However, I hope you go for it. I haven't made a (working) n64 portable, and if I had money, I might be interested in one of your kits.

If you can tap into some new, unknown market, and if by some miracle you get these made cheaply (hey, I've been surprised before), then I can't wait to see it. I jut feel like the market you're shooting for doesn't really exist. I just don't see the market of those who have 200 dollars to drop on an n64p, AND want to make one AND want to make it from a kit. If someone has the money to pay for a kit like this, I'd guess they'd spring the extra money on a commission, and if they're willing to work on it, they'd probably just make one themselves.

I'd bump the price to $250. If someone's willing to drop 200 for something like this, they'll likely be more than willing to put in the extra 50 dollars, and that still undercuts the price point of most n64 portables.

Again though, I hope to see success from this. And people can always just push the start button with their nose.

EDIT: And I'm sorry for conduct of the rest of the forum. They judged you by your first post, which resembles a lot of posts we get from people who talk a lot of talk but never end up creating anything, and your less than stellar grammar. To be honest, I was mocking you too at that point. However, the pictures turned me around, and now I'm excited to see if you can really make this a success.

 

[Seren]

*Can'tSayThisOnTV* haters.

I can understand the general modretro "gang up on the retarded kid" style, and I'm totally fine with hating on posts that say:

"HAI IM MODDERHACKER123 AND I WNT TAKE UR TIM AMEK PORATBALL KIT 4 EVERYONE!
IDEA!?
THANK FOR HALP EVERYON!"

This post started out slightly like that. But his pictures have shown that he understands what he is doing and is a very impressive design imo for not trimming the controller or any board AT ALL.

The only thing anyone's managed to bring up against it is that the start button is in a weird spot, and the pricing / marketability.

Start button: Yeah, it's in a weird spot, and i think it should be moved somewhere more accessible.

Pricing: He claims to have contacts that will allow him to get parts extremely cheaply. If so, that's good for him, if he's lying, who gives a flax? He's asking for design opinions etc, not financial advice. If he's lying he's just wasting his time / will have to make it more expensive.

Marketability: I think it actually has a chance to make money if he gets it done at a reasonable price ($200 - $250?). I'm sure anyone on this forum, who's either made portables themselves or have even just been paying attention have seen the "LOLOL I PAY U 200 FOR PORTABALL YES?" We scoffed at them, said "lol noway noob" because of the countless hours put in to those portables, and the costs involved. This will give them an option. Who cares if they actually have the intelligence to put the thing together? That's their problem. They'll probably just jump on the kit like an idiot and then break it in minutes.

But seriously guys, stop treating this guy like a retard. His skills are good and his plan might just work. If anyone else posted those pictures on a wip thread everyone would be posting about the nice casework. Because it really is nice casework, but nobody seems to care because the start button is in an inaccessible place?!?

I have no confidence in your ability to do anything. Why should I? What proof do you have that you know anything at all about what you are saying you can do?

Also the 7" screen? Not needed or wanted in a portable. Go with a 4 - 5" screen.

The flanks ??? With a 5" screen and a much smaller design could work. But it makes the unit huge.

Why is the screen not needed or wanted? With flanks the smaller screen would look silly with the design. Also a bigger screen will attract more buyers.

Making the unit smaller isn't really an option unless you:

A) Trim the motherboard
B) Remove flanks, but that will make you have to put the controls above the screen which just looks even sillier than flanks. Besides, the flanks would be comfortable.


/rant (and good luck)

 

[hailrazer]

Also the 7" screen? Not needed or wanted in a portable. Go with a 4 - 5" screen.

The flanks ??? With a 5" screen and a much smaller design could work. But it makes the unit huge.

Why is the screen not needed or wanted? With flanks the smaller screen would look silly with the design. Also a bigger screen will attract more buyers.

Making the unit smaller isn't really an option unless you:

A) Trim the motherboard
B) Remove flanks, but that will make you have to put the controls above the screen which just looks even sillier than flanks. Besides, the flanks would be comfortable.


/rant (and good luck)

Your opinion.

My opinion ( as one who has actually made a lot of portables and sold them and has had thousands of emails and tens of thousands of comments on his portables)

7" is to big and the system in the pic is way to big and bulky. With a 5" it would be smaller better and more easily marketable.

If he has access to all the companies and tools he says he does, it should be quite easy to shrink the casing down, move the flanks in, move the speakers up and put in a 5".

No need for a 7" screen.

 

[Seren]

how are you going to make the case smaller without addressing either of the points i made?

 

[hailrazer]

how are you going to make the case smaller without addressing either of the points i made?

Flanks would extend inward over and under the motherboard. Speakers and start button moved up under the 5" screen and also over the board. With the right tools I think it could be done.

I could probably do a rough hack/slash mock up in about 30 minutes to show you. But I tried a portable with flanks and hated it. It wasn't comfortable to hold. It's hard to explain but it stresses the wrist. But the closer you get the flanks the less stressful it is and more like holding a regular controller.

Like I said, my opinions which is not the end all be all. In the end the customer will decide. If this is going to take off though I thought I would add my 2 cents on what would help make it work.

 

[ttsgeb]

It looks purty, but it's too Dang wide.

Seriously, holding your hands out that far from each other for an extended time gets uncomfortable, especially when you're supporting all of the weight in between them.

You want the weight as close to your palms as possible, and as compact as possible in something like this.

BASICALLY, make it a 5 inch screen. 5 inches is Plenty, 7 inches that close is bordering on too big.

Move the flanks in, and fill in the gap between them and the screen. Use that gap for speakers or batteries or something.

Right now, this looks to be between 10 and 12 inches wide, when with little effort it could be 8 inches wide or less.

Also, I think you're asking for trouble if you want customers to provide their own controller. Do whatever it takes to include your own pcb in there, because 102% of the people that buy this won't be able to figure out where to solder on the controller, and 107% won't get the *right* one for your mounting points.

If you provide that, they could potentially only have to solder 0 points, and something where you just take apart your N64(with a hammer), throw the motherboard in, plug it up, and put in 4 screws WOULD sell. Especially if you do your marketing right.\

looking at the popularity of android smartphones, I'd say your list should be something like 15342

 

[Seren]

I just cant imagine a world where the 5" screen with moved in flanks idea doesn't look absolutely silly.

But I'm going to have to agree and say flanks might be worse.

I think the best option would be to get a 5" screen and either make it less wide like hail said or plop the controls sort of above the screen to save some space.

 

[ttsgeb]

This is something I came up with a while back for the Genesis, but I think it demonstrates what I'm saying to do to the case pretty well:

You could still have the controller ergonomics with a flat front. Most people don't wrap their hands ALL of the way around the controller, anyway.

That was designed with a rounded back in mind, and with a 3.5 inch screen, but it could easily, and nicely, scale to a more N64 styled design with a larger screen.

Or, my idea applied via crappy photoshop that doesn't take into account actual sizes of anything:

http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/8086/23074519.jpg

I would also make very sure that you aren't infringing on any design patents, and likely apply for one yourself before trying to mass market something like this.

You should probably call it an accessory, too, just to be extra careful.

 

[Triton]

I used this same exact design about seven years ago, when i was 15. even with a 5" lcd its bulky and akward to hold, i mocked up a revised design that was smaller a year or two later, it looks cool but is probably still about the least compact design you can do for an n64.

this one was about a foot wide, the revised one below was a few inches narrower

 

[Zero]

Guys seriously, I gotta agree there is a little too much hostility here. Like Luke said, he started off suspicious, but the pictures show he at least put a good amount of work into this. flax, when I'm the one saying this, you know it's gone too far.

mesojdm, I would try advertising the idea around just some general retro gaming sites, because the problem with doing it on a modding site is that everyone here would just rather do it themselves. That way, you could get a better idea of what the interest for this would be for your average retro gamer/collector. Otherwise, besides the layout changes people have already suggested, it's looking good and it's a pretty interesting idea. I hope you get enough interest to get it off the ground.

 

[Triton]

I honestly don't think anybody here is intentionally pissing in his cheerios just out of spite. While they might not be super polite about it i think the concern about the marketability of his product is a valid one. if there was mass market volume demand for it would be one thing (volume discount of parts), but for a niche of a niche? (people who want portables, and the subset of those people who want it in kit form) I genuinely wish him good luck but unless he has some trick to turn a profit at the 200$ price point with a low volume of sales i just dont see it working out.

 

[mesojdm]

mesojdm, I would try advertising the idea around just some general retro gaming sites, because the problem with doing it on a modding site is that everyone here would just rather do it themselves. That way, you could get a better idea of what the interest for this would be for your average retro gamer/collector. Otherwise, besides the layout changes people have already suggested, it's looking good and it's a pretty interesting idea. I hope you get enough interest to get it off the ground.

Thank you, and I am waiting until I complete the final coat to showcase the idea to a broader public eye. Just wanted to show the rough concept off to you guys in hopes of bouncing back some ideas.

But also Thank you for the legitimate responses instead of the usual condescending remarks. Its amazing to see usable feedback on something I have worked this hard to make.

So far I have seen two main concerns, the screen is too big making the portable too big and the flanks are ridiculous looking and feeling.

Thelukestir made a good point, and one that I figured out while building this portable. To have an uncut 64 board, the only real spot for the controller to sit is right against the top 64DD slot. So moving the controller in would make the case a lot thicker or awkward placed buttons.

Also the final dimensions on this portable are 10.5in X 6in and I don't think people realize that what I added in width I more than made up for in depth.

This portable at its VERY thickest point is a little less than 2 in. and slims down to about 1 in. so yes it's a bit wide but extremely thin. And for no trimming i would say that is an accomplishment in itself.

Triton I think the reason it may feel awkward to hold is due to the weight distribution (top and bottom) compared to the flanks, which I had to redesign a few times to get the perfect equilibrium. I have held my fair share of portables and can honestly say this is what a portable should feel like, extremely comfortable, form fitted to your hand. but I am just one guy so it could just be my preference really. I think the design really puts people off because it is not what we are used to seeing, and no one has been able to successfully pull of separated handles from the unit without compromising design imho. Also the flanks don't do the size justice as they make the portable look a lot bigger than it actually is.

Also the 7" screen is an amazing experience to play on. I know so many people are dogging on it but it does have it's benefits in engulfing you into the gameplay.

Thank you all who gave input. I am going to be painting the cases in the next few days and can post final pictures and work logs if anyone is interested. Thanks again