Have you seen, or have, one of the Flashback gaming systems emulating the old Atari 2600, ColecoVision, IntelliVision and Sega Genesis game systems complete with games?
There is a certain novelty, and for the older crowd (sorry geezers :p ), nostalgia in these Flashback systems. Not only is the initial cost lower than the original systems cost, but they come loaded with the games you had to buy individually when they were new. Of course with any emulation there is a degree of success and failure in capturing the original game. For those who played the original games (a.k.a. geezer geeks), I think the disappointment is higher as they have the original experience to compare it to whereas those of us who either have not had the system before or are not old enough to remember them, the emulations good or bad can be quite enjoyable.
I sometimes look around at older vintage computer systems. I was looking on eBay at Atari XLs, Commodore 64s, TRS-80s, Radio Shack Color Computers (CoCo), Timex Sinclairs, and the list goes on and on. It struck me that the technology to emulate the old gaming systems could probably be used to emulate the old computer systems as well.
Could you imagine a box barely bigger than a modern netbook complete with a Commodore 64 or Atari XL system including a built-in keyboard and many of the programs and games that were available for that system? And like the original systems and the Flashback systems all you need to do is plug it into your TV set.
The question, though, is would such a thing as a Flashback computer system sell?
Compared to buying vintage computers on eBay it would be a fraction of the price as well require a fraction of the space to set it up. I would certainly be interested in one myself, for each system emulated. Of course, like the Flashback game systems, it would only be for fun. But then what is the purpose of buying vintage computer systems other than for fun or collecting them?
What do you think and what vintage computer system would you like to see as a Flashback computer?
Toxic Fletch