I'm making new games for the E-Reader

[SylverReZ]

I didn't know anything could run off of it. i thought it only worked for scanning in characters and stuff in games like animal crossing,

e-Reader cards can be bought from stores, but some came free with magazines or Pokemon cards.

 

[kijetesantakalu042]

e-Reader cards can be bought from stores, but some came free with magazines or Pokemon cards.

I didn't say anything about that

 

[SylverReZ]

I didn't say anything about that

I know, just wanted to add in a fun fact.

 

[city41]

The US e-reader and JPN e-reader+ are very similar, but there are some differences. Mostly in the backgrounds and sprites that are on the e-reader itself. I've started gathering the differences here

https://www.retrodotcards.com/tools/sprite-diff

https://www.retrodotcards.com/tools/background-diff

There are differences in the audio resources too, but I've not gotten that far yet.

Since the JPN e-reader is so much cheaper, I'm hoping to release my games in a Japanese regioned version but with English text in the games. This would be on top of the standard Japanese and English versions. It's possible but the text takes up double the space, so it might not be doable for some games.

Post automatically merged: Dec 26, 2024

So interested into trying out your projects. I went ahead and ordered an e-Reader off eBay which should be coming next month.

Yes.. it's an imported model from Japan.

Oh nice, that's awesome!

 

[86houdini]

This is super cool! The e-reader concept has always been compelling to me

 

[city41]

This is super cool! The e-reader concept has always been compelling to me

Yeah I've always liked this little thing.

Here's a video of one of the cards, a little fortune teller toy

 

[city41]

What's up everyone? I thought I'd post a tiny little update. The cards are coming along great. I'd estimate they are about 80% there. I've also secured a manufacturer and have been working with them on creating the final cards.

This is still work in progress, but this is roughly what the cards will look like

 

[city41]

Hey everyone. Just a quick update. I plan to print cards in about 2-3 weeks. From there I am hoping to have them on sale by July. July might not happen as a lot of things need to come together, but that is my goal. I'm very confident they will at least release this year

If you are interested in getting a pack, the best way to help me is to sign up for the mailing list at https://retrodotcards.com. I'm using that as my strongest signal to figure out how big the print run should be. I won't spam you, you'll probably get like 1-2 emails per year from me. I will only email you to let you know new cards have been released.

Here is what the Bomb Hunter card will look like. I hired a great artist to redo it.

why an elephant? That is because of animal mode



oh and why not, a foil Exo Attack card? Currently we have no plans to do foil cards, this was just a test. It's pretty cool though, so maybe we'll look to doing foils down the road.

Anyway, that's all I got for now. If you have any questions, fire away!

 

[Moseii]

this is so cool dude! and the bomb hunter new card looks so cute too!!

 

[mimogen]

do i need ereader cards? probably not.
do i want ereader cards? absolutely, its whimsical to just scan in a game off a card

 

[city41]

The cards will be on sale July 27th at retrodotcards.com

An example of the packaging, those cards in the pic are the real production cards!

 

[FoTan432]

I just discovered this project of yours and I have to say, this makes me soooo happy

Unfortunately, as a European, we didn't even get to enjoy this beautiful piece of tech, before Nintendo decided to retire it. As far as I know, it was only released in Japan and USA. But still, those E-Reader units found their way, even to european shores, during the last years.

I find it to be such a shame, that it got retired so early. In fact, the concept of this is kinda like DLC, way before it became a thing over the internet.

Because THAT is, what makes the E-Reader so unique! For example: take a game 'Starlink: Battle for Atlas', or even the Amiibos. Anything, that you buy in a shop and then use, to 'scan' with a game, is something, that has to be already implemented into the game itself. - By that I mean, if you buy a Yoshi Amibo, the NFC chip inside it only contains the identifier. It does NOT contain any code, which is executed, after you scanned it. Everything, what any Amiibo does inside any game, has to already be implemented inside the game.

So, strictly speaking, the functionality of this or that Amiibo IS ALREADY in the game. It just is not unlocked for you, because you did not scan the corresponding Amiibo. It's almost like that one fiasco with one of the Street Fighter games, where the first DLC of the game was ALREADY on the disc. But they still sold it to you. The DLC on the disc itself was unusable, because the consoles waited for the Goahead from the game logic, to be able to use the data, that was already on the disc.

Now, in contrast to all that – take the E-Reader cards. These REALLY do contain the game logic itself. They contain everything. Graphics, gameplay, music,... everything. That is why we can have such a cool project like this here. Some dude decided to just bring out his own E-Reader Games and Boom! New Games exist. Code, printed onto cards, read by a scanning device, plugged into a Game Boy Advance, or Game Boy Player on a Gamecube.

Of course, there are limits, to what and how much data these cards can contain, as OP already stated. But, if you take a look at what Nintendo itself has done with them, those early, more simple NES games, like Donkey Kong, Golf, etc. are absolutely possible and so on.

Oh, how I wish, that Nintendo brought out more of their Game&Watch Games on these cards. There was only one, which I guess, they almost used as proof of concept, which was 'Manhole'. I'm guessing, that those Game&watch Games really fit the constraints of E-Reader cards pretty well.

Just imagine a world, where E-Reader cards became successful and consumers, as well as game makers adopted it! Like.. ok, take 'Gauntlet – Dark Legacy' on the Gamecube for example (one of my absolute favorite games ^^). The game itself already had lots of different characters, but now imagine, you could by a deck of cards in the store and have like 3 more, new characters in the game, by scanning the cards in your E-Reader, that is plugged into the Game Boy Player inside your Gamecube!

Or take F-Zero GX... how about having a new racer in the game, by scanning a card? Or playing Zelda Wind Waker... scan a card and you could maybe change wind direction, without having to play that stupid song every time! Or in some fighting game.. scan a card, have a new playable fighter.....

After you scanned the card and added some new game data, it could have even used the memory card, to save it, so that you didn't have to scan it again, every time.

I mean... I shuddder to think about what would have happened with 'The Sims 2' on Gamecube, with corporate backing behind it.... probably the same fiasco, that was 'Sims 4'... but still... if it would have been possible, to literally 'create' items in games, like a new table or a seat, for your Sims, then it would also have been possible for 'Homebrewers' to do the same.... AAAaaannnnnddd.... I think I just answered the question, why the E-Reader didn't take off and wasn't used by any company beyond Nintendo itself.... it is because of exactly that reason – when practically ANYONE would have been able, to write and print their own code on swipable cards... then companies would not have been able to make enough greedy money.

Yes, I know, the printers back then were not really as good... but even back then, it was only a question of time, until this would have been a thing.

Still... I just picture it in my mind... sitting in class, during the 2000s... and going like: ''Hey.. I have a 'Plant Pot' E-Reader card for the Sims 2 on Gamecube... I want to trade it against a nice fancy dining room table!... Who's willing to trade with me?''

The thought alone, of people really owning their 'DLC' and even being able to trade it, or even SELL it in form of those cards... must have been any CEOs worst nightmare, keeping them awake for months on end.

Just as an Info, for the uninitiated: of course, any E-Reader functionality would at least have been implemented, with a games release, so that the possibility of accepting and implementing data from E-Reader cards, would have been there. This would not have been possible after a games release, to somehow do a 'post-patch' and make it work.

Still... I think... oh wow.... ok... just imagine, there would have been a card for Zelda Wind Waker, which gives you like an extra powerful version of the Master Sword.... and now, in addition to that, think like, what if Nintendo only printed like 100 of them, ever. These cards would reach insane prices nowerdays on ebay, etc.

Omg... I think, I just realized, why Nintendo let the whole E-Reader business die!!... Ok.. so, hear me out... on any computer, it is the case, that ANYONE can make ANY game... like, be it really violent games, or even ones with explicit sexual content... and so on. So lets say, someone makes a sexually violent game for PC.... no one even takes notice. And why should they? The game was made, and it works and plays... it is only, when a platform with a big name gets involved in selling it, that people cry about it. Like.... Steam would never be able to sell a game with sexual violence... even if they did, cancel culture would cry as long, until Steam removed it.

Ok.... but now, picture this: The E-Reader would have become a hit! And all the companies, even besides Nintendo itself started using it with Gamecube Games.... suddenly, word got around, there was the most extreme and sexually violent game ever, going around on E-Cards!!!...... Nintendo would not have been able to stop this!... Because literally ANYONE could manufacture and sell these E-Reader card games, again and again and again... the E-Reader made the GBA and Gamecube partly an open platform... like PC is!! This would have been THE worst PR nightmare ever for Nintendo. Of course, they didn't have anything to do with it... but in the publics mind... this violent game AND the name 'Nintendo' being associated together...

Parents wuld have thought: ''What? The most violent game ever, and even with sex, on a Nintendo console??? And Nintendo can not do anything against it?... Oh hell.. my child is most definitely NOT getting a Nintendo console, next christmas!''

Heck, you could have had pronz pics on these E-Reader cards, looking at them, on your GBA ^^

Oh my.....


Anyway.. to get back to topic: I will definitely buy a set of cards! Maybe I even have a good idea for a game to pitch, for Series 02

 

[city41]

Damn, nice reply FoTan! It's a shame the e-reader never really went anywhere. Even in Japan where it got a lot more support I still feel like Nintendo only touched the surface. I hope to change that.