The Arms Dealer’s Nintendo 64 Was Pure Emotional Torment to Play
Palmer Luckey, a military contractor, is set to launch the ModRetro M64, a console that evokes mixed feelings due to its ties to the arms industry. The console, which supports both old and new controllers, features a unique dial for menu navigation and aims to cater to indie developers. Despite its nostalgic appeal, the association with Luckey's military ventures raises ethical concerns for some players.
- ▪The ModRetro M64 will launch on July 28 with several exclusive titles.
- ▪It uses an AMD Artix UltraScale+ FPGA chip to emulate the original N64 chip logic.
- ▪The console supports homebrew games and features a dial for menu selection.
Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
Palmer Luckey, a military contractor who makes killer drones, military gear, and surveillance equipment for the U.S. government, would like to sell you a Nintendo 64. I finally had the chance to try out the ModRetro M64, and it left me with a terrible emotional cocktail of love and loathing. I had no place to direct these anxieties. Luckey, the CEO of weapons manufacturer Anduril, wasn’t in the room. But the M64 uses off-the-shelf silicon. So who could I shake my fist at? Myself? I was the one playing the thing, after all. I was the one considering writing this piece. You cannot talk about something without promoting it, without promoting the people who make it. There is no “death of the author” for console makers and war profiteers alike.
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Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at Gizmodo.
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