IT BRICKED: the Evercade VS is not reliable… even the cartridges are not reliable.
Vložit
- čas přidán 12. 09. 2024
- A review, a preview and a warning: I owned an Evercade VS (thus the video is, in part, a review) and I have decided NOT to buy the Evercade EXP. Shout out to @PKInTheUniverse for clarifying that it is called "the Evercade VS" and not "The Evercade Vs.", i.e., it is not actually pronounced "versus"! Livestreams are announced in advance via Instagram: www.instagram....
Support the creation of new content on the channel (and speak to me, directly, if you want to) via Patreon, for $1 per month: / a_bas_le_ciel
I upload regularly to three youtube channels, covering (i) nonfiction (both personal and political), (ii) fiction (including my own creative writing) and (iii) the study of languages (including Chinese). The links to them are: 1. à-bas-le-ciel = / heijinzhengzhi 2. From Ink to Inc. = / frominktoinc 3. A channel using my own name, Eisel Mazard = / @eiselmazard
A searchable list of all of my videos (more effective than searching within youtube, IMO) can be found here: aryailia.githu... #evercade #revew #evercadevs #retrogaming
I'm actually shocked. I own the VS and a couple carts. I really wanted Evercade VS and the company to succeed. I thought I was getting a legit game cartridge like we had back in the day. Crazy!
You’re right most people don’t know this. That said, they haven’t hid what it is they’re selling. Evercade has openly discussed how they make/create their carts.
That said, for $20-$25 I feel like I’m getting a decent product. $20 just isn’t a lot of money these days. So I don’t expect a high end experience for what I’m buying.
Re: "Evercade has openly discussed how they make/create their carts." You think they've been open about the fact that these are on _rewritable_ media? That the data on the cart gets rewritten with updates and can be fried with a crash? Really?
I thought it quite obvious from start that the cartridges are plain rewritable ssds (or similar), from the fact that the save state follows the cartridge. (I guess you could make something that combines ROM and ssd, but I wonder how that would increase the production costs.) Evercades EXP FAQ page is quite transparent on both this, and that the games are emulated.
@@VEGANVANIABuy an EverSD and back-up all your carts if you're that worried. That's why it was created. It's cheap and insanely easy to use. It's too easy, actually. Now whenever i power-on my Evercade, i have no carts in either slot....if you catch my drift....
I Mean realistically speaking you could consider this a good thing. It would mean anyone could backup their carts and flash the data back on them at any time. All depends on how you look at it
Yeah, but you'd need to have a "hand made" Evercade cart to USB adapter… unless/until some pro-piracy company starts manufacturing and selling one… and then because of Evercade's own anti-piracy measures, and you'd have to be willing to risk the increased possibility that everything turns into a brick with the next system update, etc. But yes: there are advantages and disadvantages.
I'm sure someone somewhere is writing an emulator for this console. Once it gets released lots of these machines are gonna flood goodwills.
@@fartking2845 I think there's only a handful of games that run natively on this console. The vast majority are running roms through emulation on the evercade. But that's the vast majority of old games we see released on all consoles these days. Be they on pc play station Xbox or Nintendo. They're almost all exclusively emulating. M2 shot triggers releases being amongst the few exceptions. They port games to run natively, but there games are full price £60 affair's. And they specialise in shmups
@@1invag I've been on\off about buying one and I can't justify it. I love the whole look\feel to it, but it lacks content. If its just a bunch of retro roms crammed onto those fake cartridge sticks screw it. I assumed developers were making exclusive games just for the evercade but I was wrong. I saw the duke nukem edition and it hooked me, but I'm glad I've seen your video first. Its just another fad to get scammed. If I'm wrong then I stand corrected.
Edit: If they started to release new games for the EC then I might reconsider. Same thing happened to dreamcast. Lack of games, software helps sell hardware and that's what gamers like I want. My opinion might change in the near future. Time will tell.
Psshhh.. people spend 1000's on unlicensed hardware and emulation machines. This is pocket change compared to that and the games are licensed.
Watch the whole video: it's only 9 minutes long.
DOESN'T MATTER WHAT IS LICENSED
IF ITS STR8 SCAMMING DECEPTIVE ASS QUALITY THEN PRIDE IN OWNING "OFFICIAL LICENSED PRODUCTS"
DOESNT MEAN SHIT ANYMORE 8/////////
I had no idea this was under the hood. I owned one previously and sold it, was thinking about buying a newer EXP model. I think I'll avoid and just keep using my phone/razer kishi combo instead to play older games.
Thanks for taking the time to write in. I think there's _some_ value in the Evercade VS, but in the handheld Evercade consoles, _none at all._
It's interesting that the cart is like R4 for Nintendo DS, SuperCard for GameBoy Advance or any kind of programmer for consoles. The console was promoted something like that feature to replace games in internal storage.
For full price it's not nice to see that cartdrige can be overwrite but at bargain discount price it's a interesting tech to dig into.
They have succeeded in creating "a hobby within a hobby." Everyone knows what they're buying is worthless, but they enjoy buying it anyway -perhaps because they've already bought so many things that were _even more worthless,_ such as downloads from the 3DS eshop.
I have never once thought that the evercade cartridges were built like original cartridges.
If they were, they wouldn't be as cheap.
You're wrong: take a look at the prices for brand new, "real" ROM chip cartridges made in China (basically knock offs of retro NES and Sega games). You're not half wrong: you're wrong.
@@VEGANVANIA I don't care right you think you are, the carts would cost clearly cost more if they were all on custom ROM's. OG cart's contain a single game and many evercade carts include up to 12 titles, plus games from the home computer era were on Cassette or disc.
It's clear from the vid you fundamentally dislike Evercade and that's fine, but like every opinion.. it's still just an opinion, with all the biases it displays.
@@wssayerNo, you're actually wrong, and you haven't done one Google search about this, much less have you spoken to someone in the industry (in China) about production costs: look at a brand new cart for sale with 500 NES games on it, or 300 Genesis games on it. The cost of the plastic housing, PCB and label (etc.) will be exactly the same for legit and illegitimate ROMs going onto a cart of this kind. You're lying, and you're not even aware of why you're lying. I am a fan of the Evercade, but it is unreliable hardware with unreliable software on unreliable (rewritable) media: those are facts, not my opinions about them. And Blaze will not even reply to an email if your cart or system fail, so you'd better rely on Amazon to get a refund, etc. -and this just happened to me again THIS WEEK (see my video on Astebros). Watch the whole video: my system really did "brick", and yours can, too!
@@VEGANVANIAThis is an odd argument. Those 300/500/1000+ game cartridges from China are notoriously poorly made and unreliable. Not sure what point you think you're making there. And to accuse the other guy of 'lying'? Unnecessary.
Considering the prices the system and cartridges sell at its not surprising that this is not the best way to collect games. Its certainly a better option than buying vintage games and consoles unless you have lots of disposable income. For example I bought my SNES in 1992. It came with Link to the Past and I bought Super Metroid with it. The system and both games still work perfectly and the battery backup in both cartridges still work over 30 years later. In comparison one of my evercade cartridges stopped working just a few months after I bought it.
There's still ways to find cheap used stuff. It's just more in person than online
THIS is the problem: _"In comparison one of my evercade cartridges stopped working just a few months after I bought it."_ The cartridges can brick at any time and the system itself can brick at any time: we've had two different Evercade VS systems brick on us, with (evidently) totally different firmware problems. Nobody has statistics, but I cannot imagine that the failure rate was this high for the Sega GG Mini (i.e., a relatively cheap product from that company) let alone a mainstream Sega console. I've had people writing in to me describing Evercade handheld systems "melting" when they're left plugged in to recharge overnight (one guy had this happen with two different Evercade handhelds). People are showing a lot of goodwill toward a brand with both unreliable consoles AND CARTRIDGES.
For me its not about the hardware...its about the licensing. Someone gets money from these games unlike the 10,000 game emulation devices from ali express.
In terms of long-term use, ive had real cartridges fail on me. Im willing to take the risk with evercade. If your a lifetime full on collector, maybe reaserch and make your decision based on that but this video is good for showing the other side of the fence.
Thanks for taking the time to write in.
Hate to say it, but: If your cart or system are out of the warranty period then your are assed out. It happens. most manufacturers only offer a 90 day warranty. Make back up carts if you can. I have the ROM files of all my games. If my console dies, I just gotta buy a new one, or emulate it.
where do you get that Phantasy Star Collection? looked online and am having trouble finding it. this looks very cool and I want to get my hands on it. went to their CZcams channel and it's not a sellable item.
Watch the video a second time: you'll figure it out. 🙃
It says right there theses are fan made cartridges. ie there is no PS collection.
I am a little confused here. If i put the "cartridges" and work why would i need to update anything?
Why don't i just leave it offline?
What do this updates even offer?
And how can an update brick a console but not the other consoles that are exactly the same? If an update is bad and bricks your console wouldn't it do it to every console?
Also their cartridge being rewritable memory chip i get but logically even such memory can last if you don't delete and write stuff on it all the time so why update the cartridge when the games are already on it?
Re: _"And how can an update brick a console but not the other consoles that are exactly the same?"_ You must be new here…
Blaze makes no secret that it's licensed emulation, yes every now and again it may brick a cartridge but blaze will happily replace anything that breaks provided you show them proof of purchase, i've had it happen twice and each time it's been replaced .
That's nice to hear instead of hating a company.
You have a new channel!
Im thinking about pulling my VS out of deep freeze and testing the “cartridges” to see whether or not anything works. Have you seen their new $60 handheld? They quietly dumped it on the market a month ago.
Yep. I do now own _a second Evercade VS_ that I bought second hand for a shockingly low price: I said to the guy at the store that I was happier to buy it used (than new) because that meant it was less likely _to brick_ (verb).
I have a super pocker, and I bought 4 cartridges, 3 cartridges started, but the technos arcade 1 cartridge is not reading. Does anyone know what can it be? They told me about updating the cartridge and the game, is that it?
I've bought into the ecosystem, and I am worried. I've seen carts arrive DOA (which I was able to repair myself without the need to contact Blaze). I've heard of people's data becoming corrupt on the carts, which I wanted to have them send to me so I could inspect the carts, but they were worried to do so (rightfully so, considering they don't know me). But, I have become addicted to their product, and love the EXP, but most of my gaming happens on the VS.
If you Google around, you'll see reports (including CZcams videos) of these problems (making carts unplayable) with the final two updates of 2023. Obviously, nobody has statistics to prove these things, but apparently the first update bricked some carts (and systems?) so they hastened to bring out a second update right away (along with vague apologies for new features that were still missing, etc.). So... this seems to be current and ongoing.
@@VEGANVANIA yeah, like I said it has me worried. I've been fortunate so far, but I know that the pulling and inserting of flash memory is not good. I always try to shut my console down or use the feature that allows you to unmounted the cart before pulling it out. (That is through the EverSD OS hack).
Good then that I have the original handheld as it isn't connected to WiFi for their russian roulette updates.
That happened _AGAIN_ recently, December 2023 and January 2024, with one update creating huge problems followed by a rushed recall, etc.@@bigbabatunde1218
@@VEGANVANIA I'm under the impression that it's happening every time they offer an update, and that could be several times a year. That's the real issue I have with them, selling retro inspired products but relying more than ever on very non reto means of selling them to customers, as in online ordering as no shop sells them from a shop shelf, and of course their adoption of updates to fix issues, issues that shouldn't exist with games from 30 years ago.
At the VERY least, the cartridges should be write protected, so that they can't be corrupted.
Or they could give you the option to rewrite the carts downloading from an eShop... ? Yeah, I'd prefer permanent ROM chips myself, but... ?
How would they then be able to provide the "save on exp and continue on the VS" feature? 🤔
@@LarsErikBruce MicroSD slot in the console? Or even on the cartridge itself so that you don't have to remember to bring the card.
Ok so, I actually bought the VS for the purpose of making my own carts. I saw that guys video with Phantasy Star and a few others and the process was rediculously easy (backing up all originals as well).
I enjoy making emulation consoles as a hobby, but always missing the cartridge aspect.. even though its just a glorified SD its still fun for what it is.
However if i thought these were in fact built like regular cartridges before purchase i wouldnt have been pleased so I get your gripe too.
Fun fact the worms cart you show is the largest i find at 512 megs so i use that often, fit every tg-16 game on one for fun haha
That is interesting to hear about the Worms cartridge: if you combine Worms and Team 17, you unlock the Amiga version of Worms, so… ? Perhaps that's what takes up so much space?
@@VEGANVANIA the version of worms armageddon is the psone version which is close to 300mb I believe, I'm sure most carts with psone games will be around that size.
I feel I should mention this fun trick doesnt work on every cart, my pc cant read the indie games like Cathedral, or pc games like the new Delphine cart.
Do the cartridges only contain the games or do they come with a prepacked emulator? Would be interesting to know what they're using (and would explain the cartridges being updated, got to always run the latest emulator... or put save data somewhere)
@@GeoNeilUK The emulators are built into the systems themselves, and tbh I havent tried to figure out which ones they are, I havent gotten mame to work, but I havent tried to hard, I'm sure the info for that is there somewhere.
However, the cart loader program I use supplied by eversd had an option to put emulators and retroarch onto the cart and use those instead.
I havent played around with this in a while so memory is a bit fuzzy on the details :D
@@GeoNeilUKI'm guessing that some carts come with patches as the Jaleco Arcade didn't run right away on my original handheld at first but flawlessly afterwards and since.
If you do not like their products either you could always buy the EverSD anyways and use it as a black market console with retroarch.
So these are flash carts, and you could theoretically hack the system to allow you to write to said cart, opening up homebrew. Got it.
Yep. It doesn't even require hacking, merely that you (physically) create a USB adapter so that you can access the data from your (desktop) computer.
Wait is this news? Did people not realize it was just flash storage with a rom? Any mainstream company selling classic games the last 20 years has been selling you roms 9 out of 10 times. Anyone thinking they are getting the real deal is just ignorant and uninformed. Its all emulation same thing you can do for free on many devices you already own.
Watch the whole video.
When you were saying that the cartridges are glorified USB sticks I thought "So what? It's data on a storage medium, no different to a cartridge! How do you think witch cartridges are made?!"
Then you talked aout cartridges and consoles failing. OK, that's a problem.
Yep.
Yeah, but that's the reason to back up your cartridges and play only from the copies. I ordered the EverSD at the same time as the VS because I saw the video you excerpted about cartridges basically being SD cards.
I assume that the O.S. has some kind of anti-piracy routine that prevents you from using the EverSD -I assume that, for example, when you download a system update for the EvercadeVS, it would have (with each update) new features to try to block you from using the EverSD -and I may add that I would also assume that if you have a handheld system that you never update, this might not be a problem.
@@a-bas-le-ciel Yeah so if you want to use EverSD you have to wait for the EverSD patches rather than the official updates. I think it's worth it though. The only real downside is not getting to play the game of the month when it's released in the updates, but I'll buy the Indie Heroes cartridge when it comes out anyway, so it's just a matter of waiting a few months.
Thanks for taking the time to write in and clarify that.
Using flash was a horrible idea. I had no idea but I should have known better considering where we are today. We are not getting ROM's in these things. It's cheap to use flash and that's what they did. And rest assured it is going to die.
I assume they liked the idea of being able to _rewrite the data on the cart_ via a downloadable update (and this has happened, repeatedly, most notoriously with the _Renovation_ cartridge).
All about price-cutting with these ghouls...
When?.... When we are 80 years old. LOL People need to get over the whole "Omg what if I wanted to play this 20 years from now" stuff. Most people buying these things are in their 30's and 40's, we will be old and shriveled by then anyways if the console shuts down. Enjoy what you have now. Who cares.
@@VideoGameXDomain I think you would have to ask the manufacturer of the flash "when". I work for a flash manufacturer that develops flash for SD and USB, probably the same stuff used in these. The flash has a very finite life...and it's not 40 years. Try more like 5. Regardless, if you are OK with your games dying prematurely on you because you figure you'll be too old to play them whenever that time happens, go buy some of these carts!
@@eightbit1975 It's not going to die in 5 years. You are over thinking.
Wanted to get this system it looks really cool. Opted for a Ali Express one instead with all the games on it and it works fine.
there is a customer support?
Thank you for the video.
For the emulation part: Of course its emulation. I doubt any of these games have their source code still saved somewhere to be compiled onto a new handheld. Especially not for THAT price. Its just roms and I knew that the second I saw the first evercade. And while the whole SD-Card-type of save medium sounds a bit too easy its basically just a way to cut some cost. Yeah, they could invent their own save-chip and make the pin out of the cartridge work with that. But rom chips are a thing of the past and in the end everything would more or less just be a more expensive way to do the exact same thing. At least we get some nice looking cartridge shell instead of the stuff the Neo Geo X Gold or whatever it was called did back then... XD
(Also... the Switch and DS cartridges are also just fancy sd card like chips, that save the actual data. Thats just how stuff works)
For the longevity... yeah thats a concern. Not sure how to fix something like that, though. Only thing that comes to mind would be downloading updates and savegames just on the player, not the cartridge. But that would also mean in many years some updates would be lost to time.
Re: _"And while the whole SD-Card-type of save medium sounds a bit too easy its basically just a way to cut some cost."_ You sound like someone who has never bothered to google the details. Re: _"(Also... the Switch and DS cartridges are also just fancy sd card like chips, that save the actual data. Thats just how stuff works)"_ You sound like someone who has never bothered to google the details.
@@VEGANVANIA na, just realistic here. Sure, there are other options out there but it's a lot more effecient to build upon something easy to work with instead of trying to be unique for the sake of it. A big company would probably develop something different, but a small one like Blaze is better of just using stuff already available and easy to work with. It's not just the cost of the production but for development too.
Beside that as far as I know they never advertised those games to be native ports (outside a few Linux ports released) but the original games. Aka... roms.
It's the same on every other system that plays old games nowadays.
You make a fair point: my counter argument is that you've got to transcend the times to transform the times -you've got to challenge yourself and challenge the audience's expectations.@@Rosa_Canina
I pretty much assumed the Evercade 'cartridges' would just be some type of flash memory. That's why even as a collector across many systems, I couldn't see the point in collecting for a multi-system emulator that just repackaged ROMs in a proprietary storage format. Might as well buy the original games with genuine packaging - even if you don't have the console - then download the ROM to use with whatever emulator you prefer.
The packaging provided by Evercade, also, is really bad: if the box (and cover art) is supposed to be part of the value of the product… they REALLY made some very poor strategic decisions here.
@@VEGANVANIAThe reading matter may as well not be there as the writing is tiny and sparse.
yep, Evercade is still going strong
This thing is a piece of junk dont know why people buy them when there are so many better options out there.
The controllers are good: if you see the "VS" for a low enough price… you could talk yourself into it (because the USB controllers can ultimately be used with another system).
It's a poor show. Like you say "It doesn't embrace low end or neither high end"
Awesome video. Thank you.
Those things are cheaply made and are not built to last
The controllers that are packed with the VS are really good: pretty much everything else raises question marks. ;-)
Have fun paying 80 to hundreds dollars for some of these games from old hardware buddy LOL
I won’t be purchasing this
ugh ... i just bought into this eco system , have 6 of the carts and the capcom version of the gameboy style handheld arriving next month , guess im done , and i guess i have to play the hell out of these to get my money worth , huge bummer of a video. but great job.
Well... if the system is actually providing you with the ability to play something you otherwise couldn't play _and_ you get it at a cheap enough price, it's worth it: if you have no other way to play Amiga games, or Intellivision games, for example. It's extremely unlikely you don't already have a better way to play NES games (or even arcade R-Type) but there still is a bit of a "use case" to be made for the Evercade (when it is doing something your mobile phone can't already do for you).
I've been intrigued by evercade but this makes me super skeptical now. I wish they would sell us a console and a real cartridge with no dumb updates, like in the old days.
@@VEGANVANIA the evercade does substantially less than even 10 year old cell phones at this point.
I wouldn't know: my phone was manufactured in 2016. ;-) @@RufusTheRed
@@VEGANVANIA i bet you can emulate psx just fine lol
I own these systems and I may have experienced this But it’s just sitting in my closet
Can't you just update the console without putting the carts inside to avoid it updating the cart?
I read comments Blaze Ent. will send you a new copy anyways if you had any problems... Stop hating a company man, they are giving you classic games for a cheap price LEGALLY. Nobody wants to spend an arm & leg for original old carts that are also dying.
You think Snes & Genesis is going to last "forever" ... nothing is forever. Old carts will eventually die out too. Same with disc rot over time for PS1 games. Get over it is my opinion.
Nothing last forever like that old saying.
Don't you feel ashamed to leave a comment so much less intelligent and well intentioned than the video you're commenting on?
Great video
Bring back real physical media@@@
lol i though i recognized this voice...
🎉
The reason companies get away with shit like this is because most gamers can't be bothered to learn about emulation. Evercade should not even be a thing. You yourself can get a 512GB flash drive or SD card and put every single game from every single system released prior to the Sega Dreamcast. I've been playing emulators on PC since 1997. And even on my Dreamcast since 1998! And if you want to emulate systems beyond that point you ca as well.
I would never pay for a digital download of a classic games on a game console for the simple fact that companies are only going to support it short term and then it's dead, making it impossible for you to buy or play again on that platform. Try buying a classic game on the Wii shop right now, you can't. If you have an older console with a bunch of games you purchased digitally, as soon as that console stops working, you will then realized that you didn't really own those games. You basically rented them. This is why retro gaming is booming right now, because people want ownership (and good games of course). But if you know where to look, you can download those same older games and play them on many different types of devices and not have to worry if they will be available in the future for you to play or not.
Companies want to treat games like TV shows, meaning they decide what's available for you to play and for how long. That's absolutely horrible for anyone that enjoys the hobby of playing video games regularly. That's why I back up and know how to play all my games whenever I want without being controlled by anyone/company. You need to learn people, otherwise you will continue to get screwed over repeatedly.
It's even worse if you care about joysticks: I paid for (legit) digital downloads of the Mega Man games for the 3DS... the built in controller is MISERABLE. You're better off with emulation on anything that has a USB port. When the joystick is considered, black market emulation has a huge advantage over the licit alternatives.
@@VEGANVANIA Yes, ironically most of the emulators released by first party companies to emulate their consoles are usually nowhere near as good as the ones created by hobbyists that are available for free.
I dont think thats it, I emulate everything from NES-PS2 but I still have my evercade and carts.
I got into Evercade because of the modern indie game collections it has (check out Evercade's three INDIE HEROES collections as an example, but they have far more modern indie cartridges than that). Most of those indie games don't have physical copies so I was excited when Evercade was producing physical cartridges with those games. With that said, it's an extreme disappointment that the cartridges are really just "cases" for the little SD cards inside. SD cards do NOT have a long life span (on average they have a TEN YEAR life span. Granted, that's just the average. Some will last more if they are barely used, but some will last much LESS than 10 years if they are used a lot. Also, that 10 year life span average applies towards good brands like Sandisk.
I don't know what type of SD cards they have in those Evercade cartridges...
But I have a really bad feeling they cheaped out and got cheap generic SD cards with an average life span that's a lot less than 10 years and in general are NOT very reliable and are more likely to randomly die out.
Regardless,
NONE of the Evercade cartridges are going to last as long as traditional cartridges like my old Atari 2600 and NES and Sega Master System cartridges that still work after several decades and will continue to work many decades after today.
As long as I clean the connection pins, the majority of them will continue to work decades from now.
I will be shocked if launch Evercade cartridges are still working by 2034.
The main reason I got into Evercade is because I love physical cartridges and was under the impression they were making cartridges similar to the cartridges that were out during the 70's, 80's, and 90's. Never would have thought they would make something during modern times that would be massively INFERIOR to what came out decades ago.
Again, I'm really disappointed in them and I won't be buying anymore of their games (I'm already stuck with 20 of their cartridges which are pretty much ticking time bombs at this point).
I've honestly felt that i should not update the console. It still work and i bought the EverSD card so i can throw anything at it. In the end it's not a good product.
I like the controllers: if you get the whole package for a low enough price, two of the controllers could be _worth it._