Talking to an Argonaut

Chris Walsh a former Argonaut programmer has kindly dredged his memory and recalled a few snippets about working on the Konix exclusive game Bikers.

I also probed his memory for traces of Starglider information whilst I had his attention.

Sharing resources with the Video Game Console Library

The very excellent VGCL is hosting a feature about the Konix Multi-system to make their archive of interesting machines more complete.

If you've read everything on this site, then you won't learn anything new about the Multi-system, but I do thoroughly recommend visiting their website as it has a massive amount of very interesting material about other interesting and obscure machines, one of which I've made reference to in one of my pages.

You won't be disappointed, and it was a pleasure to work with 'Marriot Guy' and I'll be reading his site to make sure I fill in the gaps in my knowledge of other gaming systems!

Rotox Information Added

I've just spoken with Nick Speakman formerly of Binary Designs and now Matrix Software.

Nick has filled in some information regarding the nature of the Multi-system port of Rotox.

Follow this link to the Rotox page for the update.

Power Rider Revealed!

Matt Bignell is the young man seen commanding the Power Chair in this picture, he has shared his experience with us about how he came to be photographed and how he became a member of the exclusive "Power Riders" club (at least that's what I'm calling it!).

Where was Kickstarter 20 years ago?

Although this isn't a piece of Konix news, I feel that it's so important a milestone in the games industry that it's worthy of comment. The proposed Ouya Android based Games Console has been successfully funded through Kickstarter.

Look back 20 years and imagine the significance of having a scheme where people could have helped fund the Konix Multi-system - it's truly staggering. As a games player, although the concept of this machine leaves me cold, I am interested to see what sort of impact this machine has going up against the establishment. Read more about the Ouya at the project's

*Update*

Wow - 9 million dollars. Just stop for two seconds and think... 9 million dollars! This is for a device that doesn't use new technology (it uses proven tech.), it has no fancy gimmicks, It's games are the ones you already have on your Android phone. It uses the shareware model of getting a level for free and paying for the rest - just like 20 years ago...

All it really offers is ownership. Complete freedom to modify add subtract and tailor this device to your own wishes, not unlike a PC - however these days someone else works out all the hard bits for you and you don't have to do it yourself. Don't get me wrong - I'm not critical, I've backed it and it's nice that there is a machine where I can freely tinker unlike having to feel like a dirty pirate for wanting to free my Xbox 1 of it's region restrictions or to run XBMC for example.

Now - back to the point - where's the Kickstarter for a Multi-system + Power Chair revival... Wyn are you reading this?

MSU Updates

I've been lucky enough to talk with some more guys who worked at MSU.

A much fuller picture of the post Konix development of the Multi-system has come out.
Also, I now feel I can tell a much franker more and accurate story of how life was at MSU.

Read the fascinating continuation of the Konix story here

Did you, or someone you know, work at Konix?

I'm looking to talk to anyone who did or who knows someone who worked here.

I've talked to most of the bosses (except for Robert Kent - where are you Robert?), but now I want to talk to the people who worked on the production line, the packaging area - anywhere.

I want to hear your stories of the mood in the factory building up to the production of the Multi-system.

Please email me with whatever information you have.

Wanted! Emulator Programmers

If you're a programmer who works for a living and programs things like Emulators for fun, you're probably aware that taking on a project like this is prone to "real life" getting in the way. Unfortunately, that's what's happened to two programmers who were thinking of working on a Konix emulator.

If I have any say in it, I think it would be better if it's designed to be as portable as possible to start with.

If you'd like to take on the task and are happy for it to be open source (so that other people can pick it up if it has to be put on hold) then please email me.

Konix Multi-system PCB

This is an actual PCB that would have been used in a production Konix Multi-system. Of course, it's unpopulated. Given time, I may be able to track down a circuit diagram and then source the components needed to populate it. For the meantime, it's actually pretty cool and very useful that it is unpopulated, as it makes it much easier to make a copy of the PCB prior to experimentation (if any).

The photo (created using my Scanner for highest resolution and best degree of accuracy) is very large (around 9MB) so be patient when clicking the links for a larger version!. This is the real deal - it fits like a glove in the production plastic case I have which I have been kindly given and will get photographed very soon.

Spring Clean

The Eagle-eyed amongst you may notice subtle changes - I'm finally getting around to proof reading and tweaking various things on the site.

There's a lot of info to come as a result of Brian and Chris contributing to the website (thanks once again guys!). Now I have to get around to writing it all up and taking photos. Before that though, I'm making sure the rest of the house is in order a little and nicely spring cleaned in preparation.