I'm still REALLY on the fence about this! I've already got my bases covered with Wii U+Homebrew channel, but I still want to give my carts the love they deserve. Every time I think I've talked myself out of getting one (Reasoning usually falling under 1)My Everdrives won't work in it. 2)WiiU + Homebrew = why are you still even thinking about this. 3)Face it, what you -really- want is an XRGB, this is just a much cheaper solution) I keep getting the want back in my head (reasoning following 1)It's damn convenient to have all those options in 1 box, scaled up pretty nicely. Using all my OG controllers is icing on the cake! 2) Costs way less than an XRGB 3)Wife really wants to play her old Pokemon carts on TV).
Worth adding that I know if I buy one, I'm not buying a substitute for all my OG hardware (which is obviously the best way to play), merely a convenient solution.
The thing is what it is...it is a convenient home console.
I've said it here before, it won't appeal to everyone but to those that it does appeal to, its awesome.
I don't have a designated gaming area anymore so I don't leave my systems hooked up all of the time. Hell, most of my systems are in storage. There literally has been times when I want to play a game, begin to chew on how much digging I have to do to set it up and I land up saying "screw it".
Like I said earlier, I have a small 32" LED in my bedroom. I hooked up a 20' HDMI cable to it and shoved the Retron under my bed. I hooked up one SNES controller and that's it...I'm done. Slide it out, pop in a cart and I'm good to go. I can save-state the game if I get tired of it or run out of time and come back to it later.
The system that is easy to pick up is the one I'll play. This is the reason why I got a Retron...it fits my needs perfectly.
Concerning ROMs...
Truth be told...I already have most of the games I'd ever want anyway. I was chewing on this earlier today. I started collecting back in the mid 90s. I got my hands on a ton of games and I've had 1000s of them pass through my home before I hung up active collecting sometime around 2008-9. There are only a scant few games I wish I had but don't...and that list is small. I have some 100 or so NES games and really...I have too many now. I have 25 or so REALLY good SNES games and besides Earthbound...I can't really think of any more I really want. I have limited game time anymore and I cycle games I really like throughout the year, I really don't need any more.
I would probably just land up being a ROM whore. I'd DL entire libraries and land up playing the same damn games I already own. The ONLY exception to this rule would be Famicom titles...to which I only have 3 or 4. I'd like to try out more but don't want to screw with it. Outside of that...I'd be like any other ROM guy with 10,000+ ROMs that I never play.
Lastly...the Retron isn't a replacement...but it is insurance. My CRT's won't last forever and new TVs don't play nice with composite video signals. The Retron is a nice way to know I can play my original carts for years to come.
