Vectrex Mini retro console shatters Kickstarter goal within minutes — it will now cost $173, up from $115 and $150, to secure yours.

(Image credit: David Oghia on Kickstarter)

The Vectrex Mini console hit Kickstarter on Monday, as we foretold. It has been a rip-roaring success, with the project blasting past the €100,000 funding goal within 15 minutes. At the time of writing, the project has actually powered beyond €520,000 in backing, with over 2,600 backers pledging support. Remember, this is a modern remake of the legendary Vectrex vector-graphics-based games console from the early 1980s. This edition is built around a diminutive 5-inch OLED display and packs in 12 classic vector titles.

Vectrex Mini Console - Official Trailer! (New) - YouTube

Watch On

Unlike many consoles of the era, and today, the original Vectrex came with a built-in screen. This specially selected portrait-orientated CRT was deemed necessary by the designers to do justice to the glowing vector-based game visuals. Users of the original console seemed to love the arcade-like gaming in the home unlocked by this machine. However, the self-contained original Vectrex’s chosen path pumped up the price (at $199, it would cost nearly $700 in today’s money) and reducing consumer adoption.

Mini remake: inches off hitting the target

So, the unique proposition of the original Vectrex was its great vector game library and the eye-pleasing phosphor glowing screen that came with it. Sadly, from what we have seen of Vectrex Mini machines at trade shows and in hands-on demo videos, the screen side of the equation is lacking in the compact new machine.

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For immersion, the 1982-vintage machine's 9-inch cathode ray tube (CRT) would give the visuals much more presence. Moreover, the original's true oscilloscope-style vector display lit by the CRT phosphor, gave it a chance to compete with arcade experiences.

The Vectrex Mini has just a 5-inch OLED display, and many people will be reading this today on a smartphone with a bigger screen. It is that small...

While OLED might be the best modern flat panel display tech for its pure blacks, it is going to need some filtering / effects to compete with the original’s vector CRT glow.

Our advice would be to check one of these Vectrex Mini consoles out in person. See if the promise of "Half the Size, All the Magic" holds water, before spending your hard-earned cash.

Late birds pay more

If you didn’t set your alarm clock for the opening up of this cute retro mini-console remake project to backers, you’ve already missed the Founders Edition tier ($115), the Early Bird tier ($150), and are now looking sheepishly at The Vectrex Mini Standard Edition at $173. If it has gotten too rich for your blood, you can always just grab one of the extensive retro gaming T-shirt designs which this project seems to have precipitated and play an emulator on your PC.

Please be warned that crowdfunding a project is not a guarantee of receiving a finished product. Backing a crowdfunded project is akin to an investment; you believe in the project and want it to succeed. You are not purchasing a retail product.

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Mark Tyson is a news editor at Tom's Hardware. He enjoys covering the full breadth of PC tech; from business and semiconductor design to products approaching the edge of reason.

7 Comments Comment from the forums

pug_s

I remember playing one of these at someone's house at long time ago. I remember that they could not remove me out of my seat playing that thing.
Reply
thisisaname

At the time of writing, the project has actually powered beyond €520,000 in backing, with over 2,600 backers pledging support.

Unless my maths is wrong that is an average of $200 each far more than the $173 you say is now the minimum to get one.

Another thing if the screen is 5 inches not 9 that is a lot more than half the size.
Reply
DSzymborski

thisisaname said:
Unless my maths is wrong that is an average of $200 each far more than the $173 you say is now the minimum to get one.

Another thing if the screen is 5 inches not 9 that is a lot more than half the size.

Well, the math for the second is wrong. since it's area. These are not squares, but a square that has sides that are five inches long only has just under a third the area of a square that has nine-inch sides. The same is true if it's the diagonal measured, as is typical for screen; a square that has 3.54-inch sides is the same ratio to the square that has 6.36-inch sides (since each side would be the diagonal over sqrt of 2).

Now, without the exact measurements of the system, one can't be precise, but from the image, it's quite obvious that it's less than half the size!

It's always good to remember area when buying pizza. A 16-inch pizza is about 78% more pizza than a 12-inch pizza.

Also, you made a wrong math assumption with the calculation. You can't divide 520,000 by 2,600 to get the price paid per mini console because there were a lot of tiers. For example, 400 people bought the bundle that cost $287 and 245 people bought the bundle that got you a black one and a white one for $379 (well, the euro equivalent that was $379, of course). There were also a few tiers cheaper that didn't get the console, but only handful of people bought the t-shirts only.
Reply
doughillman

Half the size of the already small original and, far more importantly. NOT vector graphics.

No thanks.
Reply
thisisaname

DSzymborski said:
Well, the math for the second is wrong. since it's area. These are not squares, but a square that has sides that are five inches long only has just under a third the area of a square that has nine-inch sides. The same is true if it's the diagonal measured, as is typical for screen; a square that has 3.54-inch sides is the same ratio to the square that has 6.36-inch sides (since each side would be the diagonal over sqrt of 2).

Now, without the exact measurements of the system, one can't be precise, but from the image, it's quite obvious that it's less than half the size!

It's always good to remember area when buying pizza. A 16-inch pizza is about 78% more pizza than a 12-inch pizza.

Also, you made a wrong math assumption with the calculation. You can't divide 520,000 by 2,600 to get the price paid per mini console because there were a lot of tiers. For example, 400 people bought the bundle that cost $287 and 245 people bought the bundle that got you a black one and a white one for $379 (well, the euro equivalent that was $379, of course). There were also a few tiers cheaper that didn't get the console, but only handful of people bought the t-shirts only.
Oops I meant to write that is a lot less than half :(
Reply
TerryLaze

doughillman said:
Half the size of the already small original and, far more importantly. NOT vector graphics.

No thanks.
Vector graphics would need a crt and those aren't made anymore....
Also with a good display you can replicate vector graphics pretty well.
Reply
bit_user

TerryLaze said:
Vector graphics would need a crt and those aren't made anymore....
Even if they were, the size, weight, and heat were definite negatives. They also wear out faster most LCDs and you'd better not drop them!

As someone who continued using CRTs longer than most, I have absolutely no desire to go back.

TerryLaze said:
Also with a good display you can replicate vector graphics pretty well.
This. I saw a demo running on a Vectrex emulator, side-by-side with a vintage unit. The emulator lovingly recreated all the effects and artifacts of the original, including the diffuse glow you'd get when the beam went just outside the active display area!

@doughillman , if they're using the same emulator I saw, it's really good enough that there's no point in using one of the few original units still in existence, unless you're an absolute purist or buying it as a museum piece.
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