With the passage of time, and as gamers acquire more and more gaming hardware, the need for all in one solutions becomes greater and greater. This is particularly true of classic gaming aficionados, and there are already a few options on that end. Like Hyperkin, with their RetronN 5 device. Which as the name implies, is capable of accepting and playing games that originally hails from five different platforms.
Well, that device has nothing on Project Unity. Originally highlighted by Engadget, it's the brainchild of John "Bacteria" Grayson, it's essentially a box that has the innards of 15 different game machines inside. Including the Amstrad GX4000, Master System, Atari 7800, Colecovision, Intellivision, Sega Genesis, Super Nintendo, Nintendo 64, NES, GBA, Neo Geo, GameCube, Dreamcast, Sega Saturn, and PlayStation 2. Got all that?
Since the some of the systems are able to play more than just one type of game… the PS2 for example can also handle PSone software, for example… Project Unity can actually support 18 different kinds of games. Amazing, huh? And the best part is how everything is running off of a single power supply and video output.
Pretty much anyone who is into retro consoles have the same complaint: too many wires to deal with. One must have a switch box to handle all the different kinds of video ins and outs, plus gigantic power strips to also handle the gigantic power supplies.
To learn more about Project Unity, watch detailed rundown:
As you can see, there's a price for such convenience; it's ugly as hell. Though, sadly, most custom console mods are rather unsightly. But few are as ingenious, like how all the controller tech is packed into a NES cartridge. Though speaking of, its own custom controller is also quite hideous looking (skip to the 09:30 mark is see what I mean).
The question that most will undoubtedly ask is why? And the answer is, why not? Though one must also know the truth behind the aforementioned RetronN 5 and all other devices in its class. All the hardware is emulated, whereas Project Unity is the real thing. A real ugly thing, but the real thing nonetheless.
