I hadn't seen the RetroUSB one. I think they just don't do enough volume to get the cost down. It's not so much the materials and such, I'm guessing.
Getting under $100 would do a lot better in the enthusiast market, but I think a good version of the RetroN could sell very well at $50 or $60 with the distribution they have.
Well I was joking around. I know that what Nick meant by "just a bit more expensive" was "not much more" than the $39.99 price point. My point was that we do have something that's a bit more money than a typical NOAC console, and better quality. We would have that middle ground if a company like Hyperkin could mass produce something like the AVS, but they're just not aiming for that level of accuracy in a clone console. All the same that they don't, I'm sure they wouldn't put as much effort into designing it to be good as possible as someone like Retro USB has.
racketboy wrote:I hadn't seen the RetroUSB one. I think they just don't do enough volume to get the cost down. It's not so much the materials and such, I'm guessing.
Yeah, exactly. As far as I know, Retro USB is a one-man operation. The AVS is made in small batches compared to the volume someone like Hyperkin can do.
I trust RetroUSB enough. I've had 3 of their carts (just have Kid Dracula still) and 2 of the powerpaks over time for NES. It's solid work. But as already pointed out, it's expensive, too expensive, but likely due to the R&D and overhead involved in doing a small run of them. They don't have the facilities to do what Hyperkin/Innex type people can do that would drive it into that $99 (sub $100) price range which would be a tipping point for many. Hell I'd even consider buying one at that price, but right now not a chance.
Part of me feels like I should email them and offer to invest in getting a large batch manufacturered. At least in the industry I work in, the minimums for things like plastic molding is like 25,000 units. You might be able to get down to 10,000.
Do you think that many units would sell if they were like $75?