Hi everyone! 
I wanted to share with you an idea (but maybe it’s more an impossible dream 
) that I had! What about a console made by libretro (with cd reading support) for playing retro games? It would improve his specs over the years, so that it will be possible to play ps3 games, then ps4, xbox one games etc… (when the original consoles are dismissed).
It could also have cartridge reader etc… The possibilities are huge!
What do you think?
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Unfortunately, making hardware is difficult and expensive, and it requires a lot of up-front costs. While such a console would be awesome, we’re not really in a position to make such a thing, so the best we can really hope for, I think, is community-developed specs / recommended hardware for a DIY sort of thing.
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Understood! Maybe one day this could be a future Patreon goal! 
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DIY is definitely the best route for now, as I have done this myself using Lakka. I pilfered parts from a few different PCs and put together my own inside of a HTPC case(essentially a DIY NUC). It’s small enough to fit just about anywhere, runs everything from NES up to Saturn and Dreamcast, and is able to be upgraded. Everything is stored on a SSD, so booting and loading is pretty much instant. With a few Raphnet adapters to use original controllers over USB, you’ve got yourself a formidable emulation machine.
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That device has already been made, it’s just not out yet. It’s called the Polymega.
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Ah yes, I forgot all about that. That thing does look pretty neat.
Did not know about Polymega. I must say, the frontend looks quite nice and usable.
Unfortunately, Polymega is closed source and also quite expensive vs just building a similar DIY console. They also abandoned their earlier plans for FPGA “hybrid emulation” and have now settled on just selling a generic emulation box, with a proprietary frontend and paid exclusivity on HLE BIOS for the mednafen cores and updated Kega Fusion (how updated hasn’t been revealed yet; it’s at least a 64-bit build vs the normal 32-bit). Of course, they haven’t actually released any of that, so it’s possible they may reneg on even more promises before it finally comes to market (assuming it actually ever does).
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Don’t get me wrong though, I would never buy one. It’s literally just a cheap computer with a capable dual core CPU dressed up like a console. I really hate the idea that someone wants to sell me a PC that is completely locked down and limited for a premium price. Plus $300 buck only gets you the CD based consoles. If you want NES, SNES, Genesis, and Turbo you will need to have the modules for each of those consoles that are $60 each. No thank you.
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I never counted Genesis or Mega Drive as a separate system, they even added Playstation PAL and Japanese regions as 2 separate CD systems. 30 different compatible systems, it reads,
I have a PC, thanks.
Edit: 5 Different consoles if you count Mega CD CD variants.
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I didn’t know Polymega but I agree with hunterk, it is closed source and quite expensive vs just building a similar DIY console. And they also abandoned a lot of nice plans. But that’s the idea!
I remember reading/hearing about this. Polymega’s creator seemed pretty bummed about abandoning FPGA, commenting that the manpower required to build such a device proved to be quite taxing, which is why they opted for cycle-accurate emulation. IIRC, it had a lot to do with having to build each BIOS from scratch to work in a FPGA environment. Emulation was just easier.
Open-source hardware would be the way to go, less bs and headaches to deal with.
what ever came of this? https://www.libretro.com/index.php/introducing-the-retroarch-open-hardware-project/
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Still working on it.
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