Thoughts on Hyperkin Products
Hyperkin… To quote Obi-Wan, that’s a name I’ve not heard in a long time… A long time, indeed. To be honest, it was about 3 years ago since I first learned about the company, and I truly wished that I kept a closer eye on them, because I think I missed out on a lot of what they have to offer gamers who still play the classic games.
Funny thing is, I was just scrolling through my daily news feed when I came across some news about the Game Boy. As it turns out, Hyperkin is planning on manufacturing a new version of the Game Boy for fans to enjoy. That handheld system is older than myself, yet there are still a number of avid fans who still enjoy the games.
For those of you not familiar with the name, Hyperkin is an American company that specializes in manufacturing and distributing video game accessories and peripherals. In other words, they make controllers and the like. But they also make consoles for older game systems like the SNES, NES, and even the Game Boy.
Truth is, the notion of playing my older games on a console that is not “official”, per se, has always felt uneasy and skeptical. Maybe I had one too many MadCatz controllers kick the bucket back in the day, but it is definitely one of the reasons why I always tried to buy the officially licensed product whenever I could. Maybe that’s just the old school gamer in me speaking out. But from another standpoint, these third party consoles are simply filling a unique niche. Hyperkin is a company making new versions of old consoles that are no longer made by the likes of Nintendo, Sega, Atari, etc. … And if Hyperkin’s consoles can play our classic games just as well, if not better, then who am I to judge?
Another thing… Electronics can fail. As much as we like to take pride in the quality work of our console makers, there will always come a time when our old console may not power on the next day. There is a reason why manufacturer’s warranty exists.
Suppose that the original console is designed to be flawless. Let’s suppose that, just like that old Game Boy that survived a bomb blast, our old systems will always work, without failure. What’s to say that our current technology cannot meet those standards, or worse, evolves to make our old consoles obsolete? For example, Duck Hunt, for the NES. The Zapper used to play this game is a light gun, a device designed to capture an image on a CRT screen. This is essentially how the game knows that you’ve shot a duck. This same device does not work when the game is played on an HDTV. Perhaps I should be thankful that I still have my old standard definition TV sitting in my spare room, because for now, that is the only way that I can play that game.
Technology is imperfect, as much as I’d hate to admit. And I dread the day that my NES stops working, because then, I won’t be able to play the games that fondly remind me of happy memories.
I think I’ve rambled on a little too much. Why have I taken interest in this company? Because they know that there exist gamers out there like myself, who love the old classic consoles, but lament the fact that they may one day become obsolete. Nostalgia is a big thing for me; I probably would not have rediscovered Hyperkin if not for that random post in my news feed about Game Boys.
Now, I’m not going to continue gushing about a company/product until I’ve had a chance to give it the benefit of the doubt… and a good review. I wouldn’t be helping any of my readers out if I didn’t take the time to do some research and see if these consoles are worth buying or playing.
That being said, I will be looking into what else Hyperkin has to offer. While I did write about one of their consoles back in the day, I feel that I could do a whole lot better and review some more of the consoles that they made.
One positive outlook I have for Hyperkin consoles is the fact that this may be a way for younger generations of gamers to be introduced to some of the older games.
Hyperkin has a lot of their products on Amazon, and since I’ve had a lot of good experience with shopping via Amazon, you might have a better time finding an alternative to the original console.
Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the read.
Have fun, as always.
~Ken