Poll on portable N64????

[mesojdm]

hey triton I don't think thelukestir was talking about you directly with that comment, just the majority of comments on this thread in general. And thank you for the forum list. Super helpful base to start from!

If you think you are going to get ANYWHERE, you have to understand the market.
And let me tell you, you don't.

I'll tell you the EXACT formula for success to mass produce these things:

1. No controller flanks, the mass market doesn't grasp the concept of comfortability, they prefer stupid boxy flax like 3DS's.
SS

1. that is a shame, blindly following the status quo and becoming non-accepting to any new ideas based solely off of current designs now. (see a pattern here?) I think if every potential buyer spent 5 minutes with this portable there attitude would change on this subject. But yes I am considering douching to a new level and changing to a more accepting design even if it is inferior.

2. It has to be tiny and battery operated. To them, fitting everything into an SL68p without a spacer and internal batteries is still HUGE to them. So you're going to have to break my record, which is not impossible either.
SS

2. i think the demensions as of now 10.5 X 6 X 2 is a great size for anyone not wanting to cut any boards, also this includes enough batteries for 2.5 hour battery life which are already fitted into the case and no spacer needed.

3. It has to have an everdrive64/64Drive. Because it exists now, it has to be implemented, because giant gingivitus-inviting carts are a huge downside.
SS

3. I agree with the lukestir, I don't see why anyone in the category of not wanting to cut a board to make a fast portable wouldn't like to use their stock games. Just doesn't make sense to me.

4. It has to have EVERYTHING. 4 controller ports, full AV out, AC adapter, Dpad and L, expansion pack, controller pack port. Full compatibility is a must for them.
SS

again with the lukestir on this, why 4 controller ports? on a portable. I really don't think there is going to be a whole lot of use for ALL four controller ports. even with 2 i doubt anyone will be using it much. I could keep 4 but decided to keep a sleeker case instead, I hope you will understand this.
It has full AV out, ac adapter etc. the only thing it doesn't have is a D pad which i doubt will severely hinder anyone(especially the clientele we are talking about) from enjoying gameplay.

5.ability to be thrown across the room
SS

5. I will tell them to buy the cheaper substitute, a boomerang, for this. Losing customers I know, but I pride myself on being a nice guy.

$10 a PERFECT FLAWLESS TINY CASE. You put 150+ hours into the case you've shown? Why? This is so much better.
SS

After being in the business all I can say is good designs can be 3d drawn quickly, but great designs are built originally by hand, by molding the exact shape you want and can feel, there is nothing like the quality of a handmade product later 3d scanned and made into a 3d drawing. Not to mention a lot easier to get the exact size you need. The many many hours I put into designing these prototypes will greatly show when put into final production in fitment, comfortability, and stylish design. Something that would be trial and error many times in cnc cases.

Thank you for the great points SS, gave me a lot to think about with each one.
And I thank you all for the luck. It seems I will need a lot more with this project as everyone has pointed out the difficulty of it.

 

[ShockSlayer]

I really don't understand why you guys think this wont sell, if it in fact gets to the marketing stage. How many people have come on this forum going "i want make portaball ninty 64 cuz i saw on youtube how i do dis?" They'll mindlessly flail their money at things if it means getting what they want.

Except they don't. How many thousands of those comments do we* get saying "I will buy this" or "I want it" or "Where can I get one?" Suddenly the portable goes up for sale and no one has anything to say.

Saying it needs to be smaller than the trisixtyfource is just ridiculous, as that's obviously not the goal of the product.

Goal of the product does not sell. Small does. End of story there, you won't sell a thick, fat steaming pile of flax, but you will sell a small one. We* know this to be true, because those of us* who've made both big and small know exactly how that affects sales.

Requiring an everdrive / 64 drive is equally as silly, as most of them wont know what one is, and soldering one on to an n64 isnt really fitting in line with the DIY focus of the project. Also, the unit is mostly for novelty, and out the door goes the novelty when you're booting roms from inside the unit.

It's not silly, you say "play N64 games off of an SD/CF card fullspeed" and you don't require any more explaining, they'll eat that flax right up. I've got the numbers to prove that, too. Novelty is a portable in it of itself, don't tell me that my XGC isn't novelty just because it lacks a gigantic *Can'tSayThisOnTV*ing disc drive, and loads games off of an SD card instead.

I agree that adding an av out is a really positive thing in terms of selling them, but 4 controller ports isn't exactly necessary.

Yeah, of course not, that's why everyone asks where they are or why aren't they in there in comments, and it's been selling points in commissions to have multiplayer. Go ahead, tell us* we're* wrong.

---

1. Your design is in no way superior, and that's exactly the point I'm making. I've BUILT portables with controller flanks. I think they are comfortable, although they seem to add weight and are generally structurally unstable. People I shared them with say they are too thick, too big and too heavy. They say they'd rather play their boxy gameboy. You are building luggables at best, anyone skilled enough to complete an n64p wouldn't use this design, assuming they have a brain. Want comfort? Sit at home on your couch and play with a real *Can'tSayThisOnTV*ing controller, not a thick unwieldy beast.

2. 2 inches thick and only a 2.5 hour battery life? An untalented 14 year old following a poorly written guide with no help could do better than that(and they were, many years ago.) There is nothing scary about cutting boards, especially when we have plenty of guides for the actual DIYers. Who are you making these for? I can't seem to figure out your market.

3. Again, what DIYer is afraid of a rotary tool, a pair of shears, or a hobby knife? You continue to narrow down your already microscopic market. There's something to be said for keeping your own cartridge's gamesaves, but that's hasn't slowed down emulators a single bit, has it? People are more likely to own an SD card nowadays and would rather have the convenience. Unless I'm missing the part of the portables design that stores carts inside, you have been throwing that 2" around like it's nothing(it's a lot.)

4. Of course I understand that it's really not going to be used, but they want it anyways. If you are Heck bent on not including all of them, make it to where your kits wirelessly link up or something, they want full connectivity, they think they have friends.

5. Of course. I'm not saying make it out of rubber, but it needs to be able to hold up to abuse as best as you can make it, and currently? NOPE.

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* = "We" or "us" or any variation of the aforementioned being experienced portablizers who have made several and sold several portables and been in this EXACT business for over half a decade AND WE KNOW WHAT THE Heck WE ARE TALKING ABOUT. SERIOUSLY. We aren't wrong in any way, we are experts. *Can'tSayThisOnTV*ing experts. That's how people come up with facts that aren't transitive(a=b b=c therefore a=c.)

---

If there was any money to make, any market to take advantage of, or any way this could be useful, then I'd let you know. There's a reason the others are saying "I'd love to see it happen" because it'd take nothing short of a miracle to be able to pull off what you are trying to do.

It's like turning oxygen into gold; I've longed to witness such an event.

I've typed all this up because I'm pretty bored right now, waiting on my family to get up so we can go get breakfast. I literally do not care what you do, and you are set in your beliefs that you can make this work.
I've been part of this hobby for over half a decade, and my beliefs and opinions have been shaped and supported and made strong by others in this community, and through the experiences I've had being a part of it. As a result I've risen to become a prominent figure, chosen not only because of my steadfast devotion to the hobby, but also for my wide range of experience.

I've seen a lot. I've done a lot. I've tried a lot. People support me.
I think it's safe to say I know what I'm talking about.
I may sound abrasive, or brash, or mean, but it's mainly because my mission is to get flax done. And that works better than being nice or politically correct.
I'm not your mother.

I told you the formula for success.
Follow it or fail.

SS

 

[mesojdm]

Hey Palmer, thank you for the kind welcome, and I completely respect your analogy on the situation, but I hope you can respect the actual work I have done thus far as an entry into believing I can pull this off-I know this doesn't say anything for the legitimacy of my manufacturing connections, and probably hinders it in fact that I would choose to hand make this instead of taking it straight to manufacturer. but I think you will find the point I made to SS a valid one.

to answer your concerns.

Yes I was definitely a 90's kid and have accomplished a lot in a relatively short amount of time. I am dedicated, driven, and a little stubborn, but it has got me pretty far in the last ten years. I know throwing out connections overseas makes me look severely stuck up and unbelievable. I don't expect anyone to believe me either without throwing out a track record, but i think at this point I don't really care if you believe me or not.

also Palmer, I need to clarify that, the button inserts and speaker grills + tiny other parts were stripped off the 64 itself, because trying to reproduce those tiny details exactly would be insane not to mention severely retarded on my part. Everything else however is full fiberglass. It required a 3d model to be made, silicon mold negatives, then new positives. Which you can see below

again palmer read what I sent to SS but basically this is a relatively free way to create the first prototypes, I started this project less than a month ago, have created full working 3d prototypes and sourced every accessory this project needs, taking this to a manufacturing shop and doing trial and error cnc work is something that I didn't really want to deal with, and probably would have delayed the project time with the availability of the companies.

4. To answer your final concern, yes, here in the states this mold would be around $15 - $20k at a very conservative shop. Which Is why I travel overseas to start up production lines like this because mold costs are about less than half that cost. For quantity of orders I have a few tricks up my sleeve which might work, or might just stall the project from ever being completed, we will find out.
Thank you again for the hospitality palmer. I look forward to maybe sending the production kit your way in hopes that you can review it and post a hands on when it comes to that point( i would send it to shock slayer but i'm afraid he would throw it across the room )

 

[mesojdm]

SS thank you for the harsh reality, and yes I am fully prepared to try my hand at a miracle, also the 2 inch figure, as you can see below is the very thickest part of the portable and is generally 1 inch the majority of it, and 2.5 hours with a 7in screen id say that is pretty good imho

 

[ShockSlayer]

Well, if nothing else, you've got a strong spirit.

 

[hailrazer]

Make it happen. Build a nice one, send it to Palmer for a review.

Let's see the review

 

[Ashen]

I think another major factor that you really need to consider is that the N64 is pretty Dang close to being able to be emulated to a decent extent on A LOT of modern mobile devices. Mobile phones, PSP, and inevitably PSVita and 3DS once they are hacked to allow homebrew.

I have considered building myself Atari2600, NES, SNES, PSone portables. But every time I consider it the major factor that stops me is that I can play all of that stuff on my PSP with pretty Dang good compatibility, small form factor and pretty decent battery life. A lot of portablizers and original hardware enthusiasts don't like to hear this, but its true. Most people don't give a flax about original hardware if they can toss 600 of their favorite old school games on an SD card and be on their merry way.

If ever in the near future the GameCube was emulated to a good extent on say the PSVita (which I seriously doubt), I would probably give up on making GameCube portables. There's really just not a whole lot of point to it after a system is emulated well on a mobile device IMO.

That all being said, If you're still hellbent on producing these I believe that with the right target audience marketing and price point you could sell some. If I were you though, I would set out with the mindset that you will probably loose money on this deal, at least initially. The design is not terrible in my eyes by any means. It needs some tweaking for sure, IMO you need to move the controller ports back to the original positions as where you have them currently is a terrible design. I myself am not a big fan of controller flanks, But for what it is and how you plan to accomplish the whole "plug in the N64mobo and go" enough people may buy these for you to break even or even make a small profit.

Just my two cents.

 

[Zero]

I have considered building myself Atari2600, NES, SNES, PSone portables. But every time I consider it the major factor that stops me is that I can play all of that stuff on my PSP with pretty Dang good compatibility, small form factor and pretty decent battery life. A lot of portablizers and original hardware enthusiasts don't like to hear this, but its true. Most people don't give a flax about original hardware if they can toss 600 of their favorite old school games on an SD card and be on their merry way.

That's true, but there have already been like 2-3 commercial SNES portables, and iirc there was a new one just shown at CES, so I assume they must sell decent enough. The fact is, if he's the first to do something like this and actually get it off the ground, a lot of first adopters won't care about a lot of the issues, because there is no other alternative. This probably holds more true for completely pre-built portables than kits though.

 

[PalmerTech]

I totally get what you are saying about hand making it. I work with head mounted displays and military simulation gear myself, and while I am addicted to laser cutters and CNC machines, I do like to prototype stuff by hand to get a feel for it. That fiberglass and mold work you have there is great, my confidence in this has been boosted tenfold, easily.

I would love to review a unit if it gets to that point. I am not sure this can be a successful idea, but if you can do what you claim, then it seems like it has a decent shot.

Are you using capital out of your own pocket, or are you hoping to pull cash from somewhere else?

 

[Basement_Modder]

To be frank, I no longer have time to mod the way I used to, and even though I have all the resources/ money to build an N64p on the level of the TSF or better, I may actually consider picking one of these up if they end up selling, just to save time and have an N64p again. (I miss mine...)

That said, I am skeptical as to the marketability of this, but more power to ya.

 

[mesojdm]

To be frank, I no longer have time to mod the way I used to, and even though I have all the resources/ money to build an N64p on the level of the TSF or better, I may actually consider picking one of these up if they end up selling

This IS the marketability of this product! right there!
I wanted a fun kit than can be assembled in just a few hours, and let me assure you any one who has picked up a soldering iron before will be able to do that.
It is great for people such as yourselves obviously but a father- son project, someone just starting out making kits, college students etc.. This was the whole reason I started this project because of how versatile a relatively cheap, easy to assemble, and not to mention badass kit would be .

And yes the emulator, an arch rival to DIYers everywhere. everyone here can obviously see why we would mod our own systems instead of setting up some roms on a 3.5 inch screen that doesn't give the full effect of what we diyers go for. That is why it will be my goal with this project to show that nostalgia is much cooler than simulated game play. Much of the reason why I chose the larger screen and more comfortable flanks. It peaks an interest. there is no way playing any game on an iphone is going to be that fun or that cool compared to the ability to play multi player games on a cartridge and 7in screen. I think when people see this thing in action, fully painted and working. they will be a lot more inclined to purchase it.
Roms are precisely the reason I set a goal for $200 or even less,
because any more above that margain and you start to lose a huge amount of clientele that are on the fence about the price.

 

[bud]

I'd love to be proven wrong about the price point. In my experience you'd be losing money at that price

 

[pbear22]

I find it kind of comical at how elitist some of the " Founder-Experienced modders" are acting.

With all the, Iv'e done this, Iv'e done that, I am better than you and know more than you, LISTEN OR FAIL RAH RAH RAH!!!!

If you ask me, all you have to do is take one look at the pictures of the prototypes, and you should be able to come to the conclusion that this guy has quite a bit of skill. The design looks unique, comfortable, offers a larger screen than most portables (which average from 3.5-5 in) and the button placement aside from the start button (which I don't think is that critical, but can be easily moved) is well laid out. I feel like a couple of you "long time modders" are missing the point of what he is actually trying to do and what market he is trying to target here. He is not trying to target the hardcore modder/DIY market, he is targeting the Retro gamer enthusiast/collector, the people who enjoy playing with the original cartridges/discs and not emulating. What he is trying to do is something no one else has done for the custom portable market, which is why I can see a lot of hate and nay saying, heck when sound first was introduced in movies all the experts back then said it would just be a passing fad that would never catch on, and we all know how that went. I can totally see and appreciate what he is trying to do. Hacking up a N64 board is not easy for someone who has no idea how to do that stuff, and trying to mass sell/produce a kit like that would be even harder! What he is trying to do is design a kit for people who enjoy playing the original carts/discs that they will then be able to easily grab their N64, pull out the board and plug it into the kit with little to no knowledge of circuit boards, transistors, soldering etc. He is aiming at making this accessible to those that are not as tech savvy as the pro modders. Yes there may be a lot of obstacles for him to overcome, but how many new projects/ideas come with 0 obstacles and are an instant success? I will put it this way, I was searching Google for Different N64Ps, and his is the one that caught my eye the most. One of the most attractive features of his design is the controller shaped handles on the side, I know for one if I was going to play a portable N64 I would enjoy the feel of it to be as close to holding a regular N64 controller as possible. So case in point, he is doing something right with his design, he is not looking to impress the modders, but to attract Retro Gaming enthusiast who would love to have a sleek comfortable Portable N64 that isn't as thick as the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, and something that they can either put together themselves with little effort or purchase one already fully made. What he is trying to do is not something that can't be done, Take the Supaboy and the Retron Duo Portable 2.0, Extremely successful Portable SNES systems that are commercial and sell extremely well, why not one for the N64, and who knows this guys could be the one to do it.

 

[hailrazer]

Well thanks for the rant on a topic that is over 1 1/2 years old.

Moron.

 

[pbear22]

Well thanks for the rant on a topic that is over 1 1/2 years old.

Moron.

Lol its never to old to make Foolish elitist like yourself Angry .

 

[hailrazer]

Well thanks for the rant on a topic that is over 1 1/2 years old.

Moron.

Lol its never to old to make Foolish elitist like yourself Angry .

Wow think up that one by yourself, or did you ask your mommy for a comeback ?

And I wasn't angry. Just don't like stupid people.

 

[Zero]

Locking this since this is an really old thread and I really don't want to see this argument revived.