Polymega have made quite a name for themselves with their Polymega Modular Consolizer emulation suite that covers a wide range of retro gaming solutions.
Their modular home console features original cartridge and disc compatible hardware. And surely the fact that their stuff is absolutely gorgeous helps their case.
Before we take a look at what’s new from Polymega, let’s do a quick recap of what exactly the Polymega consolizer does. Because it is quite incredible.
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Polymega Details
The Polymega Modular Consolizer Base Unit is a modular emulation console for desktop and home use.
The interchangeable back unit is swapped out to offer modules that play original cartridges for NES, SNES, Sega Genesis, 32X, and more.
They currently have five total modules for various console support.
Each module also comes with the appropriate controller for that particular console.
For example – their SNES module accepts SNES cartridges, has the SNES controller ports, and also comes with an SNES style controller.
Obviously, they are really making the “modular” part of the system work and have solutions for most of our favorite retro game consoles.
You can purchase the Polymega Deluxe Bundle and your base unit will come with four modules (NES, SNES, Megadrive/Genesis/32x, TurboGrafx/PC-Engine). You just won’t get that N64 module with that package.
The base unit also has an optical drive, which has support for most disc based game systems like PlayStation®, Sega Saturn, Sega CD, TurboGrafx-CD, and Neo Geo CD.
So to clarify… disc based consoles come default in the main base unit. And the modules add the capability to play cartridge based consoles, while also providing the appropriate controllers for those consoles.
Heck, their controllers are even compatible with the original consoles. And they even have a light gun that works on HDTVs!
Of course, the Polymega console is not new. In fact we covered it previously.
But the company that brought us one of the coolest modular consolizers is now expanding their capabilities with some new additions to their family.
Let’s take a look at what’s new from Polymega…
Polymega App
To make all of this work, they have developed their own proprietary emulation app appropriately called the Polymega App.
The Polymega Modular Consolizer App is an emulation front-end, much like RetroArch or OpenEmu, my two favorite all-in-one emulation solutions.
Both of which were mentioned in our articles about the best Mac emulators and the best emulators for PC.
The Polymega App offers a way to both play your games, as well as to archive them.
And when I say “archive”, I mean download the read-only-memory (ROM) from your own physical media (cartridges and discs) to save to your desktop computer.
Polymega says you will have no need to download emulator cores, ROMs, BIOS files, or do any other tinkering to get your games to play with the Polymega App. It should be ready to rock and roll as soon as you install it to your computer.
And the Polymega App is 100% free. Which is what we like to hear.
More From Polymega
All new Polymega consoles will ship with their new 2nd generation Universal Wireless Controller.
The new controller has improved latency and battery life, and compatibility with Android for the Polymega App.
Their new Polymega Remix unit is their universal cd-rom reader that can connect to the Polymega Base Unit or directly to your computer via a USB connection.
This means you can play and archive content from many disc based game consoles using the app.
And finally, the Polymega XL Subscription service is their cloud storage and streaming service.
Members will be able to access their game library on other devices, as well as take advantage of multiplayer functions of games with your friends.
Conclusions
Polymega is certainly offering some interesting hardware for home emulation.
Their modules give users a ton of options to use their original cartridges and discs.
And if you want a way to “archive” your games and save them to your home computer, Polymega offers the hardware and software interfaces to do that.
Of course, if you’re actually archiving from your own media, there’s no legal grey area with that. You do own the games.
If you’re somebody who has a ton of original games around and wants a brand new modular way to play those games on a modern system, then the Polymega is surely one of the most beautiful ways you can do it.
Would you buy the Polymega? Let us know on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!
Anthony has been a video game lover ever since he can remember. He became a fulltime nomad in 2018, living throughout most of Asia. He focused his passion in retro gaming and began creating a game for the Game Boy Color while living in Nara, Japan during the 2020 pandemic. He is now in Chiang Mai, Thailand, where he spends most of his time gaming, going on long walks and meeting as many stray dogs as possible.
