Author: taternews

📰 New article from RetroRGB

Weekly Roundup #500

https://retrorgb.com/week500.html

🎉 Roundup #500 — A Milestone Worth Celebrating!

Bob from RetroRGB just dropped episode #500 of his beloved weekly roundup — a massive milestone that’s equal parts nostalgia, humor, and deep-cut tech love. From disassembling a Virtua Racing 32X to reviewing budget NAS drives for MiSTer FPGA setups, this episode is packed with retro goodness (and a few very random truck parts).

🔧 Highlights You’ll Love:

• 4K30 HDMI cables recalled? Yep — some “HD” cables are more HD-awful than high-def.
• GameCube modding gets fresh life: New Ethernet adapters and SD2SP2 variants for Swiss firmware.
• NES Commando glitches dissected — because yes, that weird scrolling bug has a code-level explanation.
• Open-source GBA motherboard? Because why not build your own retro handheld from scratch?

🎬 And if you’ve been watching for a while: thank you. Bob’s been churning out deep dives since episode #1 (check the 300th & 400th for throwback fun), all while keeping things accessible, educational, and weirdly soothing.

🎧 Whether you prefer video or audio (Spotify, iTunes, etc.), the Roundup’s got your back — and if you’re feeling generous, a little support helps keep the retro lights on. 🖥️✨

👉 Subscribe or support here

(Yes, those Amazon affiliate links really do help — no extra cost to you.)

📰 New article from TorrentFreak

Anna’s Archive Quietly ‘Releases’ Millions of Spotify Tracks, Despite Legal Pushback

https://torrentfreak.com/annas-archive-quietly-releases-millions-of-spotify-tracks-despite-legal-pushback/

Anna’s Archive Just Dropped Millions of Spotify Tracks — And It Might Just Be Legal theater in action

You know Anna’s Archive as the shadow-library hub for pirated books. But last week, it quietly unleashed something far more explosive: 2.8 million Spotify tracks, totaling ~6TB of music — and it’s happening despite a federal injunction.

Here’s what went down:

• In December, Anna’s Archive announced it had backed up Spotify — initially just metadata (titles, artists, etc.).
• The music industry panicked. Universal, Sony, Warner, and Spotify filed a lawsuit — and won a preliminary injunction in January ordering takedowns.
• Anna’s appeared to comply: its Spotify section vanished… only to reappear — this time with actual music files — in early February.

🔍 The torrents? Labeled “pop_0” (read: most popular tracks), each named after Spotify’s internal track IDs — no human-readable titles, but packed with full metadata and even album art. One 29GB “seekable” file likely acts as the master index.

Why this matters:

• This isn’t just metadata anymore — it’s copyrighted audio, directly from Spotify’s cache.
• The site’s new Greenland-based domain (outside U.S. jurisdiction?) suggests creative workarounds to dodge enforcement.
• With claims of archiving 86 million tracks (~300TB), this could be just the beginning.

Spotify and labels haven’t publicly escalated yet — but don’t expect silence to last. Expect more takedowns, DMCA strikes… or maybe even a new wave of decentralized hosting tricks.

The real question?

Who’s downloading these before they’re gone? 🎧💥

📰 New article from Retro Handhelds

New Open-Source Toyota Game Engine In Development

https://retrohandhelds.gg/new-open-source-toyota-game-engine-in-development/

Toyota’s surprise entry into game dev? A slick, open-source engine for low-power 3D—yes, really.

Meet Flourite, Toyota Connected’s new open-source game engine—born not for Supras, but for dashboards. Built to run high-quality 3D UIs on embedded hardware (think infotainment screens), it’s surprisingly ambitious: Dart/Flutter for UI, C++ ECS under the hood, and Google’s Filament renderer for visuals. Think “console-grade” graphics… on hardware that usually struggles with Netflix.

The real kicker? It’s built for tinkerers, too. With Flutter hot reload, artist-friendly Blender integrations (clickable zones defined in 3D! 🎨), and a lean architecture, Flourite could be huge for retro handhelds, custom Linux gadgets, or even hobbyist AR wearables—if the docs stay friendly and the license permissive.

Toyota says it’s for cars. But history shows open-source tools like this rarely stay put. Once the SDK lands, expect a GitHub explosion: “Wait, you can run Flourite on a GameBoy Advance?!” 🕹️

Source: Automaton Media

📰 New article from Retro Handhelds

RG Vita First Look + RG G01, GameSir Pocket Taco & MCON Unboxed! [Video]

https://retrohandhelds.gg/rg-vita-first-look-rg-g01-gamesir-pocket-taco-mcon-unboxed-video/

Quick Take: Retro Handhelds’ S6E4 Delivers a Treat for Pocket Gamers 🎮

This week’s Retro Handhelds podcast packed a punch — with unboxings, hardware deep dives, and sales that’ll make your wallet (and game library) smile.

First up: Anbernic’s RG Vita makes its debut, and Rob actually has one in hand. Early impressions? A solid retro powerhouse with a modern twist — think dual analogs, USB-C, and Android 13 love. Paired with the RG G01 controller (a compact, gamepad-style companion), it’s looking like a serious contender for on-the-go gaming.

Also unboxed and reviewed:

• GameSir Pocket Taco (Andrew’s hands-on take — surprisingly spiffy for its size!)
• MCON and Abxylute M4 — niche but intriguing controller options
• The AKNES 8BitDo N64-style controller, now with USB-C — finally, a retro pad that won’t quit on you.

Bonus round: AYANEO’s QA slip means free Pocket Air units for affected buyers, plus updates on the Pocket Fit, Pocket Play, and GKD’s upcoming rumored handhelds. TrimUI teases a new Brick Pro variant, and Retro Handhelds’ site relaunch brings fresh deals (MagicX, Anbernic, AliExpress, AYN Spring sales).

Pro tip: Hit up their new site for promo codes like 2RHH, USSS04, or RHSPRING10 — discounts stack, and timing’s perfect for Easter (or just Easter Egg hunting on your new rig).

🔗 Dive into the full unboxing and debate: [Retro Handhelds Podcast S6E4](#)

📰 New article from Retro Handhelds

One VHS Tape Just Saved a Long-Lost Space Channel 5 / MTV Collab

https://retrohandhelds.gg/one-vhs-tape-just-saved-a-long-lost-space-channel-5-mtv-collab/

A VHS Tape Just Unearthed Sega’s Wildest 2000 MTV Crossover—Featuring Ulala Hosting the VMAs

Imagine this: NSYNC, Britney Spears, and a pink-suited space reporter named Ulala—all in the same promo spot—broadcast live during the 2000 VMAs. Sounds absurd? It was*, and for 25 years, it was considered lost media… until a VHS tape surfaced like a time-traveling Easter egg.

The footage resurfaced thanks to archivist @ftb1979.bsky.social, who digitized an old recording of the VMAs—and only recently realized they’d captured a secret promotional interlude starring Space Channel 5’s Ulala. She appeared as a virtual host, delivering nominees in that gloriously chunky Sega-psychedelic aesthetic: think neon grids, pixelated confetti, and a vibe that screams “Dreamcast era marketing genius or catastrophic misfire?”

Why does this matter? Because it’s a relic of Sega’s final, glorious push before the Dreamcast died—a time when they’d team up with MTV just to drop ultra-specific nostalgia bombs. For fans, it’s fresh canon. For the rest of us? It’s a three-minute fever dream from when “ultra-cool gaming brand” still meant “we’ll do whatever it takes to get noticed.”

And all because someone skipped taping over their VHS with King of Queens. Some legends are just too weird to erase.

📰 New article from Retro Handhelds

The Lord of the Rings MMO We’ll Never Play Leaks In Screenshots

https://retrohandhelds.gg/the-lord-of-the-rings-mmo-well-never-play-leaks-in-screenshots/

RIP: The Lord of the Rings MMO That Was Almost a Card-Driven, Telltale-esque Dream

Imagine: Eidos Montreal—the Deus Ex and modern Tomb Raider crew—teaming up with Amazon and Embracer to build a Lord of the Rings MMO… but not the one you’d expect. No sword-swinging loot grind. Instead, this ghost of a game was an overhead-view, narrative-driven, card-based MMO set in the sun-drenched pirate port of Umbar—yes, that Corsair stronghold from Tolkien’s appendices.

Leaked screenshots reveal two versions of the city: one gleaming, one in ruins (spoiler: things went very wrong), plus gritty environmental assets and untextured models that scream “Tolkien deep cut, but make it greybox.” The card system? Still shrouded in mystery—only confirmed as “core to the pitch”—but it hints at something closer to XCOM meets The Walking Dead than World of Warcraft.

Then came Amazon’s 2024 layoffs, Embracer’s budget panic, and boom: project axed. A cautionary tale of ambition, corporate fragility, and the curse of trying to turn a beloved IP into something truly weird.

Good news? Another LOTR game is reportedly in the works—third-person, cinematic, Saudi-funded (natch)—likely aiming to ride the Hogwarts Legacy wave.

Bad news? It probably won’t involve you playing a card called “Sting +1 (Slightly Jagged)” while debating moral choices in Umbar’s tavern.

Sometimes, the most thrilling Middle-earth isn’t the one you get—it’s the one that got cancelled.

📰 New article from Retro Handhelds

Sega Hikaru Emulation Now Possible Thanks To Return Of DEmul

https://retrohandhelds.gg/sega-hikaru-emulation-now-possible-thanks-to-return-of-demul/

Sega’s Rarest Arcade Board Just Got aSecond Life—Thanks to a Zombie Emulator

Seven years after going silent, DEmul—the legendary Dreamcast emulator—is back, and it’s dragging Sega’s most elusive arcade hardware kicking and screaming into the modern age.

Enter Hikaru, a rare, Dreamcast-based arcade board that powered only six games (including Planet Harriers and Star Wars Racer Arcade) before Sega moved on. With most Hikaru PCBs failing due to a notorious manufacturing flaw, playing these games authentically has been nearly impossible—until now.

Developer MetalliC, who quietly kept working on DEmul in the background, has reverse-engineered Hikaru’s quirks using Ghidra, Xbox 360 ports, and sheer persistence. The result? Near-perfect rendering: lighting, fog, motion blur, Z-blend transparency, and even scrolling lava textures now match the arcade original.

It’s not perfect—MetalliC calls it “not too bad and close enough”—but for fans of Planet Harriers, this is like finding a working arcade cabinet in a flooded basement… and it actually boots.

A proper public release is coming, likely with modern display tweaks (aspect ratios, resolution options), and suddenly, a forgotten corner of Sega’s arcade legacy is just a download away. 🕹️💥

Source: Read Only Memo / Emulators / Sega Dreamcast / Sega Hikaru

📰 New article from Retro Handhelds

This SM64 Hack Lets N64 and PS2 Play Online Co‑Op

https://retrohandhelds.gg/this-sm64-hack-lets-n64-and-ps2-play-online-co-op/

When Retro Meets Ridiculous: Mario Crosses Console Wars—With a Raspberry Pi as the Matchmaker

Imagine two friends—one clutching an N64, the other a PS2—jumping into Super Mario 64… together. Sounds impossible? According to YouTube wizard Carl Does Tech Things, it’s not just possible—it’s happening, thanks to a wild hack that bridges two warring consoles with a Raspberry Pi Pico in the middle like some kind of tiny networking ninja.

How? By leveraging the PS2’s open-source decompilation of SM64, Carl had to solve deep technical headaches: syncing two independent Marios (with full movesets!), fixing animation glitches, and building a custom server that both consoles can talk to—despite their wildly different architectures. And yes, he repurposed a PlayStation 1’s CPU to handle the networking over USB. It’s like giving Mario a jetpack made of nostalgia and solder.

Sure, it’s not exactly plug-and-play living-room ready—but as a proof-of-concept?Absolutely legendary. In an era where corporations monetize nostalgia like it’s going out of style, this kind of DIY brilliance reminds us: the retro scene isn’t just preserving history—it’s actively rewriting it, one cursed crossover at a time. 🍄✨

📰 New article from Retro Handhelds

Capcom Is Using Science To Make RE Spinoff Terrifying

https://retrohandhelds.gg/capcom-is-using-science-to-make-re-spinoff-terrifying/

Capcom’s Horror Lab: Measuring Fear with Electrodes and Emotions

What do you do when you want a Resident Evil spinoff to genuinely terrify—especially as a free-to-play, mobile strategy game? You strap playtesters to medical-grade sensors and run controlled horror experiments.

Enter Resident Evil: Survival Unit, a spinoff from South Korean studio JOYCITY (in cahoots with Aniplex and Capcom) that’s less about shooting zombies and more about building defenses, solving puzzles, and surviving under pressure—all while staying true to RE’s signature dread. To nail the scare factor, devs hooked testers up with brainwave monitors, eye-trackers, and heart-rate sensors. Why? Because surveys lie; your pulse doesn’t.

The results weren’t just for bragging rights. When bio-signals spiked—or flatlined—developers tweaked pacing, sound design (like eerie silence punctuated only by footsteps), and jump-scare timing. It’s Project S.T.A.R. meets MythBusters, with a side of Umbrella Corporation flair.

Whether this neuro-scared approach translates to long-term horror greatness remains to be seen—but if nothing else, Capcom just turned player feedback into a very bioluminescent science fair project. 🧪⚡💀

📰 New article from Retro Handhelds

Retro Game Corps Just Made ES-DE Setup Less Painful

https://retrohandhelds.gg/retro-game-corps-just-made-es-de-setup-less-painful/

Retro Game Corps Just Made ES-DE Setup Actually Chill

Ever spent hours prepping a microSD card for your new Android handheld—only to realize you need ES-DE installed before it’ll generate the proper ROM folder structure? Yeah, us too. Enter Russ from Retro Game Corps, dropping a tiny but huge time-saver: the ES-DE Pre-Builder.

This nifty ZIP file contains all the blank folders ES-DE normally creates during setup—no installation required. Pop it on your SD card before your handheld arrives (say, for a RP5 or Flip), and boom: when ES-DE finally boots up, it’s already familiar with your meticulously organized ROMs. No fumbling. No re-scraping. Just game time, sooner.

Why it’s slick:

• ✅ Prep your SD card while waiting for shipping
• ✅ Use the ES-DE layout with other frontends (like Daijishō or Reset Collection)
• ✅ Build a portable library on NAS/hard drive, then sync across devices

It’s not flashy—but it is thoughtful. For the pre-order strategists, folder-nerds, and “library before hardware” crew: this is the little tool that says, “You’ve got this.”

Download it (free, open-source) on Retro Game Corps’ GitHub.