[AKrumbach]

It's not the form factor but the official FAQ page that really makes me think this is a RPi+UI, especially when the last question/answer pair is:

> Can’t I just buy a Raspberry Pi, an enclosure, gamepad, keyboard, and mouse, 3D print a faceplate, install Armbian, buy 30+ games, build the source for ARM or install/configure in DOSBox for each and every game, create a menu system with game art, and tell everyone about it at parties?

> No.

With no other explanation or expansion on that answer, it reads to me like "That was our idea, now go away". OTOH, if they manage to license a number of classic games which aren't legally available elsewhere (like the original Sid Meier Civilization, or Lemmings) this might be worth the surcharge.

[jedimastert]

I feel like that's too self-aware to not be tongue-in-cheek. I think that question is hinting at the fact that real value of the product comes in the effort and work into designing the thing, not necessarily the novelty of it.

Basically: sure, you could totally make something like this. But how much is your time worth?

[badgers]

I agree; it reminds me of the Dropbox comment from 2007 [1]:

> I have a few qualms with this app: > 1. For a Linux user, you can already build such a system yourself quite trivially by getting an FTP account, mounting it locally with curlftpfs, and then using SVN or CVS on the mounted filesystem. From Windows or Mac, this FTP account could be accessed through built-in software.

1 - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9224

[rbanffy]

I got myself a C64 mini precisely because it's a finished product and because I wanted to support them.

[SmellyGeekBoy]

It's a reference to a very common question that comes up when discussing things like the NES Mini and these other mini consoles - "what's to stop me buying a Raspberry Pi and loading it up with ROMs myself". I assume they're tired of being repeatedly asked this question and so added this tongue-in-cheek answer to their FAQs.

[AKrumbach]

Well, for a SNES/NES/Atari/Genesis/etc. classic device, the issue might not be getting ROM images but doing so legally. Sure, I could find a torrent containing the entire NES+SNES library for making retro-Pi... but that doesn't make it any less piracy if I don't own original carts for all of those games. The fact that so many classic PC/DOS games either have been put online by the original owners for free (such as SimCity or the Zork trilogy) or can still be purchased on Steam or GOG.COM (like Sierra's Kings Quest/Space Quest collections) makes this sort of device far less valuable from that angle.

Furthermore, that leads into a question of "Why should young people care about the copyright of 20+ year old games?" ... which probably is actually a very good question deserving of serious examination instead of mere snark.

[phjesusthatguy3]

The only thing worse than a Frequently Asked Questions that doesn't actually include any questions that are frequently asked is one that includes unhelpful answers to questions that are.

[craftyguy]

> like the original Sid Meier Civilization,

I was a bit saddened at the thought that this game would be lost forever after reading your comment, but I found that someone has made it available/playable via browser:

https://classicreload.com/civilization.html