This post is not a dig, or a joke – Polymega has just instructed people through their Instagram stories that they should cancel any orders placed through Walmart and re-purchase directly on Polymega’s website. The price is now $50 more expensive than Walmart was selling it for, but you can use the code WALMART50 for a $50 discount for the next few days:
Instagram announcement (must be on mobile to see): https://www.instagram.com/polymega/
Main Polymega page: https://polymega.com/collections/all
As of the time of this post, there’s no official mention of this issue anywhere other than Instagram stories, however seeing as it’s their official account, the message seems legit: They can’t get in touch with anyone at Walmart and don’t know what to do. To make an already awkward situation worse, pre-orders are still live on Walmart’s website and any orders placed on the Polymega website won’t ship until Q3 of this year. So, anyone who pre-ordered on Walmart’s website is essentially sent to the back of the line (see the bottom of the screenshot below):
While I absolutely sympathize that problems like this are often completely out of a company’s control, there’s just been one fail after another with the launch of this product. The price increase will definitely be a dealbreaker for some as well, since their coupon code is only valid for around 60 days.
I often get asked who the Polymega is for…and if it’s real. Yes, it is real, but who it’s for is an interesting question. Purchasing original PlayStation, Saturn, Sega CD, TurboGrafx-CD and Neo Geo CD consoles, as well as a basic scaler like a RetroTINK is definitely more expensive than the base model Polymega. If for some reason you wanted to use original discs on flat-panel TV’s, but didn’t already own those consoles, the Polymega is still a good deal at $450. This is especially true, considering almost all of those consoles either already require maintenance, or will within a few years.
One use case that many people often bring up is a “second unit”: People with full CRT setups might enjoy refurbishing and using original consoles, but might also like one clean, tidy box to casually play those discs on a flat-panel. While those are very clear scenarios to describe where the Polymega is still a winner, they’re pretty niche.
My personal opinion hasn’t changed since the first time I saw it in person almost two years ago: I think it has a ton of great potential, but until it offers something the original consoles can’t do, I’m not sure it’s for me. There is a lot of potential in software emulation and with 16:9 and HD rendering hacks available for some classic consoles, the Polymega may some day be an excellent choice to play those games on flat-panels. I’m just not sure if that time is now. I guess we’ll see once they start shipping out to people who purchased from their website…
